West Indies have ability to level series

Having outplayed West Indies in virtually every department of the game as they won the first Test, Sri Lanka will be confident that they can clinch the series by winning the second match in the three-game series, which starts on Thursday.

Sri Lanka's win in the first Test was their first in five attempts on West Indian soil and though they are favourites to win the second match, West Indies will be hurting and they should not be written off entirely.

They fought hard, eventually in vain, but it could be argued that the toss proved crucial as Sri Lanka batted first, amassed a big score, and then Muttiah Muralitharan made best use of the conditions in the final innings on the fifth day.

West Indies have enough talent in their batting line-up to do something similar in Trinidad, and if they can take early wickets when Sri Lanka take their turn in the middle, then anything can happen.

Bet365 clearly think Sri Lanka will take care of business, though, as they make them 11/10 (2.10) favourites to win the match, with West Indies 3/1 and the draw 15/8.

Trinidad has not been a particularly happy hunting ground for West Indies in recent times as they have lost six of the past seven Tests to be played at Port of Spain, with their lone win in that time coming against Zimbabwe in 2000.

If they are to pick themselves up, then they will need a good batting performance, as said, and bet365 make Ramnaresh Sarwan 10/3 favourite to top-score for his side in the first innings.

Sarwan looked in excellent form in the first Test and just needs some support from his team-mates. Captain Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul are both 7/2 - it would be a surprise if Chanderpaul doesn't score heavily sooner rather than later - and Sewnarine Chattergoon is 5/1, with Marlon Samuels 6/1.

Devon Smith is 13/2, while don't be surprised if Dwayne Bravo has another good match with the bat. He did very well as a makeshift opener in the second innings and 7/1 is not a bad price.

Kumar Sangakkara, as he usually is, is at the head of the betting in the Sri Lanka market, with bet365 rating him as a 3/1 chance to top-score in his side's first innings. The left-hander has been in sensational form for a long time now and is a really classy batsman.

Captain Mahela Jayawardene is next at 10/3 while Malinda Warnapura is 7/2 and Michael Vandort is on offer at 5/1. Chamara Silva is 7/1 and both Tillakaratne Dilshan and Thilan Samaraweera are both 15/2.

I know Sri Lanka dominated the first Test but I have the feeling that West Indies can get back on track by winning this one, at a decent price of 3/1, though I'd wait to see how bats first before really plunging in.