West Indies seal series win after high-scoring draw in Antigua

Thursday, 9 July 2026 03:16 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

First series victory over Sri Lanka in 23 years

West Indies Captain Roston Chase with the Sobers-Tissera Trophy after his team had won the two-match Test series 1-0

For the first time since February 2023, West Indies secured a Test series victory as the second Test against Sri Lanka in Antigua ended in a high-scoring draw to give them a 1-0 series win. This was also West Indies’ first Test series victory over Sri Lanka in 23 years.

Following the emphatic innings win in the opening Test at the same venue, West Indies went into the second game with the rare opportunity of a series win.

With the onus on Sri Lanka to push for a result, West Indies batters showed no real urgency all through the high-scoring game on a benign surface.

On the final day, Sri Lanka showed some batting intent. They quickly pushed forward from an overnight score of 92-2 with captain Dhananjaya de Silva, Sonal Dinusha and Milan Rathnayake all making brief but breezy contributions. West Indies tried everything in their powers to slow them down with defensive bowling lines. But Sri Lanka took 139 runs in the morning session, scoring at 5.79 runs an over. They went to lunch with a lead of 281, and then returned to push it past 300 before declaring.

Though Sri Lankan pacers got some uneven bounce, nothing truly troubled West Indies openers John Campbell and Brandon King. There were two short, passing showers that brought a halt to the game around tea, but neither could cause a permanent disruption as play could resume on both occasions. In the final session, both King and Campbell got past their respective fifties with ease, and a couple of overs later the teams shook hands for a draw.