AFP, Galle :
Sri Lanka are favourites in the second Test against the West Indies that begins on Monday after a resounding victory in the first game, but if the tourists win the toss and get Dimuth Karunaratne early they are in with a chance.
The West Indies top order fared badly in the first Test in Galle, managing just 100 for six in the first innings and slumping to 18 for six in the second.
“Everyone has the ability to play spin. We have to be more precise on our footwork,” Nkrumah Bonner, the lone hero of the second innings with an unbeaten 68, said ahead of the final match in the series, also in Galle.
“The key is for the batters who get a start to go on. I am confident we will do well in the second Test,” the Jamaican said.
It didn’t help in the first game, which Sri Lanka won by 187 runs — a margin that actually flattered the visitors — that the West Indies lost the toss and Sri Lanka enjoyed the best batting conditions on day one.
“The toss is crucial in these conditions. The first day it didn’t spin as much when they batted,” Bonner said. He said they know they have to target Karunaratne when bowling after his masterful 147 and 83 in the rain-affected first match.
Karunaratne is the world’s third highest run-getter this year with over 850 runs in six Tests including four hundreds.
