So why did the Sri Lanka batters thrive in the second Test after faltering in the first? How did a team dismissed for 308 and 101 a few days earlier come to be piling on runs with such ease?
It could be that their batters were now more acclimatized. Their experiences in the first game possibly made them more comfortable in the conditions and with the Dukes ball’s prouder seam providing more swing and deviation off the pitch. The batters may have learnt from their errors from the first Test and were now better prepared. Or, was it that the West Indies attack was missing one key component with the absence of Kemar Roach.
The veteran Barbadian pacer was the most successful bowler in the first Test, capturing six wickets. Along the way he increased his Test haul to 300, solidifying his place amongst the fast bowling elites from the Caribbean. The West Indies missed his control and his consistency. Gone were his hooping inswingers to the right-handers, threatening pads and stumps and inside edges, the kind that struck Nishan Madushka LBW in the second innings. The West Indies also had to do without the threat he provided to the left-handers with balls angling in before swinging away or straightening from a wobbled seam. Those methods have made him one of the most lethal bowlers in the game to left-handed batters.
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