Amir Jangoo may not have even featured in the opening Test for West Indies had Shai Hope not suffered an injury during training. But with a chance handed out, he made full use of it to rescue the hosts from a precarious position to leave them only 37 behind Sri Lanka’s first-innings 308.

Jangoo, playing his second Test, walked in at 97 for 2 in the afternoon, and showed off an obdurate batting style, taking 174 balls for his unbeaten 78. His maiden Test half-century took West Indies to 271 for 5 at stumps.

At the other end, a man with something else to prove batted on from No. 7 – Roston Chase, the West Indies captain who has averaged 15.50 in the 15 innings he has batted since July 2025. Watchful in dead-batting and playing the long game, he joined Jangoo in the middle at 168 for 5, took 105 balls to score 42, and contributed to an unbeaten sixth-wicket partnership of 103 to leave the hosts the happier side after day two.

Their stand was crucial because it came after a middle-session where West Indies lost 4 for 79, losing the gains they had achieved in the morning session, with the openers helping them reach 89 for 1 at lunch.

John Campbell (39) and Brandon King (31) saw off the new ball and enjoyed a half-century stand in the morning. The runs came West Indies’ way right from the start of the day when Lahiru Kumara sprayed the ball wide in his only over of the session, conceding two four-byes, before leaving the field for the rest of the day with a hamstring niggle.  Asitha  Fernando and Kasun Rajitha operated close to the corridor of uncertainty but the openers saw them out successfully against the new ball.

Boundaries from Campbell and King came the classical way – on-drives past the non-striker or crisp shots square on either side – but the occasional mistimed slash also found the fence. The Sri Lanka seamers occasionally got sideways movement off the pitch and in the air, and regularly beat the batters’ edge.

The opening stand ended in the 14th over, shortly after the day’s first drinks break. King miscued a drive off Milan Rathnayaka to short cover.

But in the second session, Sri Lanka’s bowlers were right on top with their consistency, and chipped away at West Indies’ batting line-up. Campbell was out right after lunch when left-arm spinner Sonal Dinusha tempted him with a full ball outside off. Thinking of lofting Dinusha over his head, all he did was hole out to Nishan Madushka.

Next over, Rathnayaka added a second wicket to his name – after King’s dismissal in the morning – by being rewarded for some tidy bowling in the corridor of uncertainty. After zeroing in on a steady line and length through the 26th over, he got a good-length ball to generate some extra bounce, leaving Hodge (16) inside-edging a defensive shot onto his stumps.

Joshua Da Silva (20) and Jangoo began a repair job with West Indies at 102 for 3, and were comfortable absorbing the pressure with run-scoring drying up. Jangoo shuffled around his crease, moving to the leg-side often to access punches and drives through the off side while Da Silva was more watchful.

But after 18 overs of rebuilding with a 52-run partnership for the fourth wicket, Da Silva struck Asitha to cover, reminiscent of the King dismissal earlier in the day. Asitha once again delivered by getting a nagging delivery to nip away. Greaves was in two minds whether to play or leave, and the eventual edge was pounced by a diving Kusal Mendis with a one-handed special.

It was under these circumstances that Chase and Jangoo got together, and batted 33.5 overs till stumps without any further damage. Sri Lanka’s lack of incision late in the back-third of the day was not for lack of trying, but they were a bowler short with Lahiru’s absence. The batting pair were unhurried against the setting sun in the background, and ground out Sri Lanka till stumps. It was the kind of stand that can be the difference between yet another WTC defeat or a first win of the new cycle for West Indies.

Scores:
West Indies 271 for 5 in 84 overs (Amir Jangoo 78*, Roston Chase 42*;  Asitha Fernando 2-25, Milan Rathnayaka 2-45) trail Sri Lanka 308 in 71.5 overs [Dinesh Chandimal 54, Dhananjaya de Silva 120; Justin Greaves 3-39] by 37 runs

[Cricinfo]

The Jana Aragala Sandhanaya yesterday lodged a complaint with the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), calling for an investigation into Deputy Minister Sundaralingam Pradeep over alleged irregularities related to a Guinness World Record event held in Sri Lanka.

The organisation alleged that state patronage had been extended to a private company for the event and that large sums of money had been collected from around 5,000 families of participating students.

Speaking to the media, after submitting the complaint, Jana Aragala Sandhanaya National Executive Council member and Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) Secretary, Duminda Nagamuwa, alleged that the government had promoted the Bharatanatyam workshop, held on June 14, as an event that secured a Guinness World Record for the participation of the largest number of students.

He said a government politician had taken the lead in organising the event, attended by Deputy Minister Mahinda Jayasinghe.

Nagamuwa questioned the decision to provide state support for an event organised by a private entity, claiming that the Guinness certificate issued for the achievement had been awarded not to Sri Lanka or a state institution, but to a company.

“Why did the government provide state patronage to a private institution’s programme?” he asked.

He alleged that each of the approximately 5,000 participating students had paid Rs. 5,000, resulting in the collection of a substantial amount of money. He claimed that parents were also asked to pay additional amounts of Rs. 3,450 for logos and Rs. 2,350 for certificates.

Nagamuwa alleged that many families, from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, had incurred heavy expenses travelling to Colombo and staying there for several days for the event, with some families spending around Rs. 30,000 each.

Opposition MPs yesterday signed a motion demanding  an adjournment debate in Parliament on the prolonged failure to fill vacancies in Sri Lanka’s superior courts.

The motion, submitted under Standing Order 83(1), calls for a debate on the implications of leaving more than eight vacancies in the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal unfilled for over six months.

The Opposition said the proposed debate would examine the impact of the vacancies on the administration of justice, the rule of law, the protection of fundamental rights and public access to justice, while urging the authorities to expedite appointments to the vacant posts.

The motion, bearing the signatures of Opposition MPs, is to be forwarded to Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne, for approval, to schedule the debate.