West Indies pacers bundle out Sri Lanka for 101, win by an innings and 217 runs to open WTC 2025-27 account

Sri Lanka suffered their first defeat of the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle. Sri Lanka batters surrendered at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua and lost to hosts West Indies by an innings and 217 runs. This is West Indies' first win of the current WTC cycle and also the first under Roston Chase's leadership.

ALSO READ: 'It's been really tough': Ben Stokes shares emotional first reaction to retirement announcement

Starting the Day 4 at 15/1, Sri Lanka lost the wicket of Nishan Madushka early, getting out lbw to Kemar Roach. Jayden Seales with his first ball of the day got the wicket of nighwatchman Kasun Rajitha. Dinesh Chandimal and Kasun Rajitha were building a partnership. In his second over, Shamar Joseph knocked over Kamindu. Centurion of Sri Lanka's first innings, their captain Dhananjaya de Silva couldn't make a mark and lost his wicket for a seven-ball duck to Shamar. Sri Lanka lost half the side for 48 in 17th over. Then, Alzarri knocked over Kusal Mendis. The rain interrupted play after Kusal's dismissal. At the lunch break, Sri Lanka were 81/6.

Also Read: BCCI turns down SLC's request to play T20I series in India's tour of Sri Lanka, know why

After the break, Roach struck twice in an over, dismissing Chandimal and Milan Rathnayake. In his next over, Roach knocked over Asitha Fernando. He completed 300 Test wickets, only fifth West Indies bowler to do so. Lahiru Kumara hit a couple of boundaries before Seales knocked him over to script history. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 101 in 31.2 overs. This is their lowest innings score in Tests against West Indies. The previous lowest was 150 which was registered in 2005 in Kandy.

Jangoo, Chase star with record-breaking partnership

Earlier in the Test, Dhananjaya's 120 and Chandimal's 54 helped Sri Lanka post 308 after Chase asked the visitors to bat first.

In reply, Amir Jangoo scored 233. Skipper Chase played a captain's knock, scoring 194. The humongous 401-run partnership for the sixth wicket helped West Indies post 626/9 before declaring the innings. It is the highest ever sixth-wicket partnership in the history of Test cricket.

West Indies rise

Finally, West Indies have managed to rise from the bottom of WTC 2025-27 standings. Their first Test win from nine games has helped them climb to eighth spot, above Pakistan who faced an eight-point deduction after losing the series to Bangladesh. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka have slipped to sixth position after a massive loss.