Windies consolidate after setbacks

Tea West Indies 212 for 6 (Chanderpaul 43*, Banks 4*) v Sri Lanka

Runako Morton hits a six during his innings of 43 against Sri Lanka © Getty Images

Denesh Ramdin lifted the gloom briefly on an overcast day in Colombo as West Indies recovered from a mini-crisis early in the after session to post a respectable 212 for 6 at tea on the opening day at the Sinhalese Sports Club. Ramdin, one of three debutants in a hugely depleted West Indian side, showed a maturity far beyond his 19 years, stroking a fluent 56 on debut. His dismissal titled the scales back in favour of Sri Lanka, though, with Shivnarine Chanderpaul (27 not out) the only recognised batsman left.

The lack of experience and class in this West Indies batting line-up - only Chanderpaul would have been part of a full-strength side - was obvious as they slumped to 113 for 5 after getting off to a reasonably good start in conditions which, despite the heavy cloud cover, were pretty good for batting. The top five batsmen all got into double-figures, but none made more than Runako Morton's 43.

Though the pitch was an excellent one for batting, Marvan Atapattu wasn't too displeased about losing the toss and being asked to field first. The last time the two sides played a Test at this ground, Chaminda Vaas ran through the West Indian batting, taking 14 wickets in the match as Sri Lanka romped home by ten wickets. He struck early here as well - after serving two wide half-volleys which were spanked through covers, Vaas finally got his act together, and his indipper trapped Xavier Marshall plumb in front for 10.

Morton and Sylvester Joseph then got over their jittery starts and put together a dogged 58 runs for the second wicket. Both were troubled early on, especially by Lasith Maliga's unorthodox bowling style and the disconcerting lift he generated, but the rest of the bowlers were rather easier to handle - Chaminda Vaas and debutant Gayan Wijekoon, a left-arm seamer, were steady but didn't always threaten, Muttiah Muralitharan was feeling his way back after 11 months away from Test cricket, while Rangana Herath got little assistance from the first-day track.

The partnership held sway for much of the morning session before Sri Lanka fought back - Wijekoon got his maiden Test wicket, pinning Joseph on the back foot and winning an lbw appeal from Simon Taufel, while Morton was bowled attempting an ambitious drive.

Things got even better for Sri Lanka immediately after lunch, as Malinga struck twice in his first three balls. Before lunch, he had been guilty of pitching it far too often in his own half of the wicket; when he altered his length, the rewards came swiftly: Narsingh Deonarine wafted at one outside off and was snaffled by the wicketkeeper, while Dwayne Smith, after smashing a four first ball, played all around his front pad and was palpably in front.

At 113 for 5, the West Indian innings was in serious danger of coming unstuck in a hurry. Ramdin didn't inspire confidence immediately either, streaking a drive through gully off Malinga. However, the strokes improved in quality dramatically - the full-length balls were driven through cover or flicked to midwicket quite fluently, while the spinners were tackled with excellent footwork. He brought up his half-century with a glorious cover-drive off Wijekoon, but then fell soon after, dragging one back onto his stumps. In the 79-run stand for the sixth wicket, Chanderpaul's contribution was only 23.

Chanderpaul, though, turned it on a touch after Ramdin's dismissal, squirting a couple of fours through gully in the last few overs before tea. Omari Banks, a fairly handy batsman, was still around, but with the last three having little batting pretensions, how much West Indies end up with depends largely on Chanderpaul's contribution in the final session.

How they were out
Xavier Marshall lbw b Vaas 10 (14 for 1)
Trapped in front by one which pitched on middle and straightened

Sylvester Joseph lbw b Wijekoon 28 (72 for 2)
Pinned on the back foot by a ball which was fractionally short and struck him in front of off

Runako Morton b Muralitharan 43 (95 for 3)
Went for an almighty drive, and the ball turned and sneaked through between bat and pad

Narsingh Deonarine c Sangakkara b Malinga 12 (109 for 4)
Attempted to drive a full, wide delivery and got a thin edge

Dwayne Smith lbw b Malinga 4 (113 for 5)
Caught on the crease by a full-length ball which shaped in

Denesh Ramdin b Wijekoon 56 (192 for 6)
Dragged a drive back onto his stumps