The 1st Test between Sri Lanka and the Windies was an absolute one-sided affair as the home team beat the visitors by a massive margin of 226 runs. However, the 2nd Test was better contested by Sri Lanka and if it wasn’t for frequent rain interruption, they would’ve been able to win the game as well.
Dinesh Chandimal scored a century in the game but his milestone would’ve barely been noticed with Windies pace bowler Shannon Gabriel taking away all the limelight. He bowled well in the 1st innings to pick up just his third 5-wicket haul in test matches, playing in his 34 test match.
Eventually, Gabriel cleaned up the tail and picked up a career-best 8/62, taking his match tally to 13/121. This was one of the best pace bowling displays I have seen in recent times and his performance gave him a huge boost in the ICC Test Rankings, pushing him up to another career best – 12th!
His figures of 8/62 became the 53rd best innings figures in test match history, while his match figures of 13/121 became the 24th best in test history, making this quite an achievement by the 30-year old West Indian. This will be a slap to the face of critics who have constantly questioned Gabriel’s spot in the test team.
Watch highlights of that last day of play here:
