Amir Jangoo and Roston Chase drive West Indies to a rare dominant victory with old Caribbean flair
ICC World Test Championship
The two-match Test series between West Indies and Sri Lanka kicked off in Antigua with a massive innings victory for the hosts in three and a half days. Captain Roston Chase finally tasted his first success as captain of the Test team after eight failed attempts winning the match by a margin of an innings and 217 runs totally decimating the visitors who were playing their first Test match since June 2025. Kemar Roach in his 89th Test match, became the fifth West Indian and 41st overall player to take 300 wickets in Test cricket.
Shamar Joseph and Alzarri Joseph who returned to the longest format post an injury lay-off in late 2025 took 4 and 3 wickets respectively. However, the match will be remembered for a 233 by 28-year old southpaw Amir Jangoo who also scored a hundred on ODI debut and was a Fpart of only his second Test match. Captain Roston Chase also scored a mammoth 194 in a 401-run partnership, the highest ever for 6th wicket in Test cricket.
Jangoo grabs his opportunity with both hands after a last-minute call
Amir Jangoo made his Test debut in 2025 on a tough spin-friendly Multan pitch scoring 0 & 30 before he was dropped for the upcoming series against Australia. Jangoo scored 411 with a batting average of 68.5 in the West Indies Championship this year in 7 innings ending the tournament in second place, two runs behind Joshua Da Silva. Jangoo was recalled in the squad as a back-up batter in the squad and was not supposed to play this game but Shai Hope was ruled out due to a strain in the left shoulder one day before the start of the first Test. Jangoo replaced Hope at the No. 4 position.
With an experience of 47 First Class games, Jangoo averaged 35.95 with only two centuries to his name, both being double hundreds. West Indies lost their openers following a promising at a score of 97 and Kavem Hodge followed them in the pavilion soon. Once West Indies dismissed their opponents for 308 on the first day exploiting all the help possible, their batters got the best conditions to score big and put pressure on Sri Lanka. Joshua Da Silva offered a simple chance to the cover fielder igniting the fear of Windies batters giving away promising starts. Skipper Roston Chase came to the crease once West Indies lost their fifth wicket at the stroke of Tea on Day 2 with Jangoo batting on 37.
West Indies were handed an early advantage when Sri Lanka's new ball pacer Lahiru Kumara left the field in the third over of the innings with a hamstring complain leaving the visitors one bowler short. With the game hanging in balance, Sri Lanka tried to push ahead but Jangoo and Chase had other ideas. Jangoo started his innings a bit nervously but grew in confidence with each passing minute. A chanceless half-century was converted into a maiden three-figure score in the morning session of Day 3.
Jangoo did not offer a single chance to the Sri Lankan fielders as he kept on piling runs with his batting partner Roston Chase. The tired bowling attack were forced to bowl almost 161 overs on a flat pitch as their bowlers struggled to make an impact. Sonal Dinusha who was playing his second Test match like Jangoo had to bowl 56 overs for 2-234, the tenth most runs conceded in a single innings and second-most for Sri Lanka behind Rangana Herath's 2-240 versus India at The Barbourne Cricket Stadium in 2009. Chase and Jangoo added 401 for the sixth wicket, the highest ever sixth wicket stand in Test cricket surpassing 399 by Johnny Bairstow and Ben Stokes for England against South Africa in 2016. This was also the second highest partnership for any wicket by a Windies pair in Test cricket at the back of Conrad Hunte and Gary Sobers' 446 for the second wicket at Sabin Park against Pakistan in 1958.
Jangoo completed his double hundred and became the first player in First Class cricket to double each of his first three hundreds. With West Indies eyeing a gigantic lead, Jangoo started batting in an aggressive manner taking on the spinners for a few boundaries before falling to a bouncer from Milan Rathnayake. An imposing innings from the left-hander will give the management selection headache once Shai Hope to the side from his injury.
Dhananajaya and Chandimal show fight without support from others
Sri Lankan batters have rarely enjoyed success on the Caribbean shores in recent times except for their former captain Dimuth Karunaratne who scored 240 runs in a two-match series here five years ago and veteran Dinesh Chandimal, touring the islands for his third Test series. Post the retirement of Angelo Mathews the team is reliant on the experience of Chandimal and captain Dhananjaya De Silva especially when playing in unfamiliar conditions.
Their batting line-up is filled with ample talent. Opener Pathum Nissanka, wicket-keeper Kusal Mendis and stalwart Kamindu Mendis who averaged 62.67 in 14 matches before the start of first Test compliment the two red-ball specialists. West Indies asked Sri Lanka to bat in tricky conditions backing their fast bowlers to extract help from the pitch assisted by early moisture. Kemar Roach answered his captain's call by picking a wicket of Nissanka in the first over tucking him with a delivery angled towards his ribs which went straight to short leg.
A brief partnership between Nishan Madushka and Chandimal was cut short by Alzarri Joseph in the tenth over removing both Madushka and Mendis in consecutive deliveries. Chandimal stayed firm and batted with assertive intent for a 35th fifty-plus score in Test cricket. Shamar Joseph bowled a two-wicket maiden sending half of the Sri Lankan batting to the pavilion for a score of 110. Dhanajaya De Silva took centerstage joining hands with Sonal Dinusha and Milan Rathnayake in a bid to give his bowlers a fighting score. The free-flowing Dhanajaya took a few risks, hitting a few shots in the air but never let the bowlers get the better off him as he brought up his 13th Test century and first in West Indies. Leading from the front, Dhananjaya's flamboyant 120 helped his side score 308 in the first essay before his bowlers were taken apart by Jangoo and Chase posting a lead of 318 runs in the first essay.
Staring at a massive task, the Sri Lankan batters succumbed to scoreboard pressure in the second innings with Chandimal the only one providing some resistance. They had fallen similarly in the warm-up game while chasing a target of 124, losing the match by 15 runs. Nissanka played two poor shots, Kamindu pushed at one in the first innings before leaving a straighter one in the second and Kusal Mendis also fell in a similar manner to Kamindu both times. The rustiness of not participating in red-ball cricket and the hangover of white-ball cricket was clearly visible. Sri Lanka's long tail could not handle the quality of West Indies bowlers getting dismissed for 101 and losing the game by an innings as they let go of another chance to win their maiden Test series in West Indies.
Roach hits 300, pacers bowl with freedom
In the past few years, it has been a joy to watch the quality of bowling which the West Indies pacers have displayed. Starting with a historic 8-run win at the Gabba against Australia, the pace quartet of Roach, Seales, Alzarri and Shamar has continued to trouble batters in home conditions although the batters have failed to compliment in return. The absence of Alzarri and Shamar hurt this side on the tours to India and New Zealand as the bowlers failed to create enough chances and losing four of their previous five Tests.
Kemar Roach who completed his 250th Test wicket in 2022 against Bangladesh has been searching for his next milestone since the past four years. Battling a career with injuries, the 38-year old continues to comeback in the playing eleven and perform his role of a new-ball specialist. Six short of the magical 300 mark, Roach started the match with a wicket in his first over. Alzarii and Shamar Joseph then bowled two-wicket overs each before a 99-run partnership was broken by Roach in the 51st over. Justin Greaves delivered a spell of 3-13 when the regular pacers failed to remove the tail including the wicket of centurion Dhananjaya De Silva.
It was the turn of Jayden Seales in the second chapter when he dismissed Pathum Nissanka with his first delivery. The Sri Lankan team could not deal with the quality of bowling reeling at a score of 71-6 when Roach came back for his second spell. A three-wicket burst in a space of six balls gave Kemar Roach his well-deserved 300th Test wicket as he became the fifth West Indian bowler to reach the pivotal landmark. A red-ball specialist who loves playing red-ball cricket as a regular in County cricket, Roach has deserved this moment for a long time making his friends and family proud of this momentous achievement. Roach is the first West Indies bowler in the past 29 years and the 41st bowler overall to collect 300 Test wickets. Enjoying his last hurrah, Roach will be proud of the quality this team is producing in terms of pace and will be looking to mentor these youngsters before he bids goodbye to International cricket.
A costly mistake of leaving Vishwa Fernando on the bench hurts Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka went into this match with four right-arm pacers and all-round spin options wearing a similar look to the attack West Indies named in Antigua. While the quartet of pacers employed by the hosts were all different in nature, the likes of Asitha Fernando, Kasun Rajitha and Milan Rathnayake all had a similar skill-set in terms of pace and skill on offer as the skiddy nature of Lahiru Kumara was the only difference. Sri Lanka had the luxury of utilizing the unique left-arm angle of Vishwa Fernando. The 34-year old Vishwa has been in-and-out of the side since his debut in 2016 but has played only a handful 28 Test matches making him the second most experienced bowler in the group behind Lahiru Kumara.
Lahiru Kumara's inclusion was a certainty given his recent performances in domestic cricket although there is always a fitness scare hanging around him. With his last International appearance coming in Feb 2025, the lack of match fitness was an issue and Sri Lanka's worst fears came true when he walked off the field after bowling just one over due to a hamstring complaint leaving the side in the hands of three similar pacers and the spin ability of all-rounder Sonal Dinusha on a batting-friendly surface.
The blunder came in the form of Kasun Rajitha's selection as a first-change bowler. Rajitha has a terrible record in the past few domestic seasons. He has played only three First Class games in 2026 averaging 117 with the ball. In contrast, Vishwa averages 29.17 with 17 wickets in ten First Class matches this season. Even the uncapped 29-year old Isitha Wijesundara has taken 38 wickets this year in 11 matches at an average of 24.73. Isitha has also played regularly for the Sri Lanka A team in recent times. Rajitha on the other hand has been irregular in both domestic and International cricket without any real impact. The only parameter where Rajitha was preferred was his numbers in West Indies during the 2018 tour when he took 11 wickets in two games @ 14.55. But Sri Lanka relied too much on the past numbers and shot themselves in the foot as Rajitha failed to pick-up a wicket and gave away 102 runs in 26 overs.
The only saving grace for Sri Lanka was a deserved maiden fifer by Milan Rathnayake. Impressive on the 2024 tour to England, Rathnayake showed why he can become a solid all-rounder for this team in the lower order as he challenged the batters with the fourth stump line and used his height to good effect removing both Jangoo and Joseph with good bumpers. A special mention to Sonal Dinusha as well who bowled 56 overs on a lifeless pitch for spinners and took 2 wickets to cover up for the absence of Kumara and give the fast bowlers a much needed rest. Sri Lanka are almost forced to make a change in the next Test which starts on Friday to replace Kumara and they should also leave out Rajitha in favor of both Vishwa Fernando and Isitha Wijesundara. The management has nothing to lose and the time is right to hand Isitha a debut who averages 22.44 in 58 Tests as head coach Gary Kirsten aims to turn his side's fortunes in the last match of this tour.
Roston Chase hits a much-needed hundred
Roston Chase was not a part of West Indies' red-ball plans for two years when he was suddenly recalled to the side and elevated to captaincy before the start of this year's World Test Championship following the resignation of their former captain Kraigg Brathwaite. Chase's appointment as captain came as a surprise to many given his returns in the red-ball cricket had been extremely poor with his previous three-figure score coming back in 2019 vs England. His captaincy tenure could not have gone to a worse start as he lost 7 of the first 8 games in-charge still searching for the first win. Chase scored 221 with the bat in those eight matches with an average of 13.81 with the bat and a highest score of 44. With the ball, Chase took 9 wickets @ 70.67 which included a tour of India in spin-friendly conditions.
It was safe to say there was a huge threat hanging over his presence in the longest format. As the toss went in his favor, Chase made the correct choice to bowl first and his bowlers responded in fine fashion taking all ten wickets before the close of play on Day 1. Their batters followed a similar script of gifting wickets as soon as they get set bringing Chase on the crease with his side in a tricky situation. The first task for both Jangoo and Chase was to ensure they did not lose a wicket in the last session which they accomplished easily. On the morning of Day 3 as the pitch got easier to bat, both of them took their time initially tiring the opposition bowlers before Chase brought up his first fifty-plus score in 22 innings which he converted into three-figure mark after 54 innings.
With the bowling attack getting tired, both Chase and Jangoo grabbed the opportunity to go big and ensure they are not forced to bat again. A rare authoritative show with the bat by the West Indies after years gave them a first Test win in 9 matches as they finally climbed off the foot of the World Test Championship table moving one spot ahead of Pakistan. Sri Lanka falls to the sixth spot. This win also provides Chase some breathing space before more questions are posed against him and he will hope to continue in the same vein of form both as an all-rounder and a captain. Chase's next target will be to secure his maiden Test series as captain when West Indies take on Sri Lanka again in the second and last Test on Friday.
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