ST. JOHN'S, ANTIGUA, 27 June (H.S.): Young wicketkeeper-batter Amir Jangoo produced a composed unbeaten 78 in just his second Test, while captain Roston Chase remained unbeaten on 42 as the pair stitched together an unbroken 103-run partnership to lead a spirited West Indies recovery on the second day of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Antigua on Friday.

Resuming the day with openers John Campbell and Brandon King at the crease, West Indies made a confident start. The pair frustrated the Sri Lankan bowlers throughout the opening hour and added 58 runs for the first wicket before Milan Rathnayake broke the stand by dismissing King.

Campbell then combined with Kavem Hodge to keep the innings on track, guiding West Indies to 89/1 at lunch.

Sri Lanka, however, fought back strongly in the second session. Sonal Dinusha removed Campbell before Kavem Hodge, Joshua Da Silva and Justin Greaves all failed to convert promising starts into substantial scores. The visitors claimed four wickets for 79 runs to regain control of the contest.

With West Indies under pressure, Amir Jangoo and Roston Chase steadied the innings through disciplined batting. The duo occupied the crease throughout the final session, facing 203 deliveries while adding an unbeaten 103 runs, significantly reducing Sri Lanka's first-innings advantage.

Sri Lanka also suffered a setback when fast bowler Lahiru Kumara was forced to leave the field because of a hamstring injury. Jangoo and Chase capitalised on the reduced bowling resources and guided West Indies to a strong position by stumps.

At the close of play, West Indies were 271 for 5, trailing Sri Lanka's first-innings total by just 37 runs with five wickets still in hand.

Brief Scores:

Sri Lanka: 308 all out (Dhananjaya de Silva 120, Dinesh Chandimal 54; Justin Greaves 3/39)

West Indies: 271/5 (Amir Jangoo 78 not out, Roston Chase 42 not out; Asitha Fernando 2/25)

Match Situation: Sri Lanka lead by 37 runs on the first innings with West Indies having five wickets remaining.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar