Galle, Nov. 19: Tharanga Paranavitana hit an impressive 95 and Mahela Jayawardene a solid 58 to help Sri Lanka draw the opening Test against the West Indies on Friday.
Sri Lanka, following on 202 runs behind, reached 241-4 in their second innings when play was called off due to rain after tea on the fifth and final day. Thilan Samaraweera was unbeaten on 19 and Angelo Mathews on five not out.
The West Indies now go into the second Test of the three-match at Colombo next week in a confident frame of mind, having dominated the opening match against favourites Sri Lanka at the Galle International Stadium.
“We are quite confident going into the next Test after dominating this match. The result will give the guys a lot of confidence. I am quite happy with the performance of the team,” said West Indies captain Darren Sammy. “This match has shown we can compete and we can put ourselves in a position to win games.”
Paranavitana, dropped on 53, guided Sri Lanka to safety with a defiant 87-run stand for the third wicket with
Jayawardene.
Brief scores: West Indies 580/9 decl drew with Sri Lanka 378 and 241/4 (Tharanga Paranavitana 95).