Wet balls contribute to West Indies' defeat in Pallekele

West Indies have been unhappy with the state of the pitches in Sri Lanka. After their 2-1 defeat in the T20I series in Dambulla, coach Daren Sammy went as far as to claim a "moral victory" for West Indies, for having supposedly pushed Sri Lanka into producing turning tracks for games two and three.

In the first ODI, West Indies didn't just get another dry surface, the weather in Pallekele also conspired against them. Having won the toss and batted first, the rains coming through in the 39th over of the West Indies innings could barely have affected them worse.

Not only did the interruption last long enough to ensure that Sri Lanka's bowlers - who had had dry conditions to operate in before the weather arrived - did not have to bowl with a wet ball. It also meant West Indies had to contend with a slippery ball right through the second innings - something Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka noted as a factor in his team's victory in the post-match presentation.

After the game, Nishan Madushka, who hit 69 off 54 balls on ODI debut, and was part of a match-winning 137-run partnership with Asalanka, reiterated this.

"Their bowlers were really good, but because of the rain around, I think they had trouble gripping the ball," he said. "There was less turn on the wicket too, to be honest. But they still bowled well. "

In fact, when West Indies still had the new balls (they use one ball at either end in ODIs) and they had not yet become especially damp, their bowlers had dominated. Sri Lanka lost three wickets inside the first seven overs, before Madushka and Asalanka produced their big fourth-wicket stand.

During that partnership, the batters repeatedly hit the balls over the boundary and into areas of the ground and drainage areas that were waterlogged, thereby substantially changing the condition of the ball. In fact, West Indies' bowlers brought this to the umpires' attention at least twice, but were not successful in having the balls changed for drier ones.

Part of Sri Lanka's strategy at 45 for 3 may have been to hang around until bowling became significantly more difficult. "What Charith aiya said was to take the game as deep as possible - to start with dragging the game to 20 or 25 overs, before we reassess," Madushka said. "I think that positive mindset affected me positively as well, and helped me perform."

With the two remaining ODIs also to be played in Pallekele, a notoriously wet venue, conditions may continue to play a significant role in the outcome. So far this tour, from West Indies' perspective, they are the side that has been at a substantial disadvantage.