Lahiru Udara turned Sri Lanka’s second Test in Antigua from early repair job into scoreboard control with a maiden Test hundred that left West Indies chasing the match.
Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, but the decision looked exposed when the tourists slipped to 25-2. Udara and Kamindu Mendis then changed the day’s shape with a 215-run stand, the kind of partnership Sri Lanka badly needed after their heavy defeat in the opening Test.
Udara’s 188 was the centrepiece. The opener passed his previous Test best of 40, reached three figures from 117 balls and eventually fell late in the day after facing 248 deliveries. Kamindu’s 84 gave the innings balance, while Dhananjaya de Silva’s 33 helped Sri Lanka reach 338-5 at stumps.
Udara gives Sri Lanka a route back into the series
The innings matters because West Indies already lead the two-Test series after an innings-and-217-run win in the opener. Sri Lanka needed a response that did more than survive the new ball; Udara gave them a platform big enough to alter the pressure on Roston Chase’s attack.
The selection context sharpened the story, too. Udara came in after Pathum Nissanka’s absence, a subject ReadCricket covered in its Antigua injury update. He did not merely fill a vacancy. He gave Sri Lanka their first true grip on the series.
West Indies still have the second new ball only two overs old, with Kusal Mendis and Sonal Dinusha set to resume. The live match details confirm the Antigua setting, while the day-one report from Associated Press underlines the scale of Udara’s breakthrough.
