Shannon Gabriel finished with figures of 5-59 off 16 overs

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal led by example with an unbeaten 119, but the West Indies claimed the upper hand on the opening day in St Lucia behind pace bowler Shannon Gabriel’s five-wicket haul.

Opting to bat first, Sri Lanka were dealt a big blow on the eighth ball of the match as debutant Mahela Udawatte was brilliantly caught by West Indies captain Jason Holder in the slip cordon off the bowling of Gabriel for a duck.

Dhananjaya de Silva did not last long at the crease as he was clean bowled by Gabriel for 12.

Kusal Perera and Kusal Mendis steadied things with a 44-run partnership before Perera was caught by Holder at third slip off the bowling of Kemar Roach for 32.

Mendis and Chandimal kept the runs flowing with a 67-run stand before Mendis was caught behind off the bowling of Holder for 45.

Once Mendis was gone, things started going downhill for Sri Lanka as they began to losing wickets at regular intervals.

Chandimal continued to fight and frustrated the West Indies’ bowling line-up, but with Gabriel and Roach tearing through the middle and lower order, the tourists were bowled out for 253.

As a result, Chandimal was left stranded on 119, which came off 186 balls and included 10 boundaries and a six.

Dinesh Chandimal scored his 11th Test century

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Gabriel was the pick of the bowlers with five wickets, while Roach took four and Holder chipped in with one.

Trailing by 253 runs, the West Indies only made two runs from the two overs they faced before stumps was called.

Opener Kraigg Brathwaite finished unbeaten on two runs, while his opening partner, Devon Smith, has yet to get off the mark.

The West Indies ended day one on 2/0 and will continue batting on Friday at 10:00 local time or 14:00 GMT.