COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, CMC – The West Indies remained upbeat about winning the second and final Test even though the penultimate day at the P Sara Oval was washed out by persistent rain here yesterday.
Overnight rain and then steady showers throughout the day here ensured that the covers remained on and match officials were forced to call off play around 3 pm, with parts of the outfield under water.
However, interim coach Eldine Baptiste said despite the setback, West Indies were still confident of putting on a strong batting display on today’s final day to win the contest.
The scene at the P Sara Oval in Colombo were the fourth day of the second Test was abandoned due to rain.
“There is nothing we can do about the rain. We have no control over the weather,” he said.
“What we know is that we are still in with a very good chance of winning this Test match and we plan to dig deep and give all we got to get over the line once we get in play tomorrow. It would require patience and application and we are up for it.
“This is a young team and it would be great to come here to Sri Lanka and win a Test match. What would be special is it would be the West Indies’ first win over here.”
West Indies are set to resume the final day on 20 for one in pursuit of 244 for victory, with Shai Hope unbeaten on 17. They lost Kraigg Brathwaite cheaply for three on the stroke of tea on the third day, which also saw no play in the final session also because of rain.
The game has been a low-scoring one, with Sri Lanka managing 200 in their first innings and 206 in their second, and West Indies mustering only 163 in their first innings.
Baptiste praised West Indies’ effort in the game and said a successful run chase would be complete a strong overall performance.
“All in all, bowling wise and fielding wise, we’ve been very good in this Test match so all we need to do is cap it off with a good batting performance.
