Final day’s play called off:

Series too ends in a deadlock

Chris Dhambarage reporting from Pallekelle

The rain plagued third and final cricket Test match between Sri Lanka and the West Indies ended in a tame draw at the newly constructed Pallekele International Stadium in Kandy yesterday.

The fifth and final days play was also completely ruined without a ball been bowled due to heavy rain. West Indies had reached 303 for 8 from 103.3 overs in their first innings after been put into bat.

As a result the series also ended in a deadlock 0-0 after the drawn first two Test matches at the Galle International Stadium and R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo respectively.

However for Sri Lanka the final outcome was a huge setback as they dropped into the fifth place in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Rankings for Test after having started the series in the third place. In contrast the West Indies will be quite satisfied with the final result of the series considering the fact that they arrived in the island as complete outsiders.

But they were able to dictate terms in the opening Test match largely due to a triple century from their opening batsman Chris Gayle.

Sri Lanka of course did well to take major honors in the second Test match at the R. Premadasa Stadium by having the visitors under pressure almost throughout the game which was also marred by bad weather.

The Lankans went into the third and deciding Test match confidently but once again the West Indies proved their determination through a solid and determined batting performance.

Despite several interruptions for bad light and rain from the beginning the West Indies had their minds very much focused on the situation as they reached an impressive 303 for 8 at the end of the fourth days play. The only consolation for Sri Lanka was the opening spell from their new ball sensation Suranga Lakmal who put his name in the record books by capturing a wicket in the very first ball of the match at Sri Lanka’s eighth Test venue.

The other most significant performance came from the left arm spinner Rangana Herath who certainly brightened up the gloomy conditions by claiming a four wicket haul on the fourth day.

The two teams will now focus their attention towards the shorter version of the game with the opening two one day internationals to be worked off on December 9 and 11 at the newly constructed Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Sooriyawewa, Hambanthota.

The remaining three one day internationals and the only Twenty20 international will be played at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.