Player of the Match
Player of the Match

4:30pm And that is all! What a Test series this has been and what a pleasure it was bringing it to you. A bit of everything in it and it's not too bad that it has ended in a stalemate - neither team could put the final touches with authority at any point in this series. We'll see you next week when Bangladesh come to West Indies. Bye!

Suranga Lakmal: I feel so happy. It's my first Test as captain. Very happy. I didn't expect it. I thought it was a good opportunity to lead and I took it. I'm happy with my contributions but also the three fast bowlers all did very well, along with the spinner.

Shane Dowrich: I've had good performances throughout the series. It would have been nice to win today but credit goes to SL bowlers. [This performance] gives me a lot of confidence with a series starting next week. I think we put up a good fight and our bowlers came in strongly as well, but as I said the Sri Lankan bowlers really set us back. I have a back injury, but I will get some therapy before the next series.

Shane Dowrich is the Man of the Series

Jason Holder: Not the end we were looking for. Credit to SL, we just did not have enough runs in the second innings. They fought back well last evening. It put our bowlers under pressure to come and do something special. We lost it with our batting in the second innings. Even though we gave them 140 to win, we knew could do it. But we missed some chances in the field. But it won't put us down, have a quick turn around with the series coming up next week. There were a lot of positives: Gabriel was outstanding. I must commend him. Dowrich was outstanding as well. Roach needs to be mentioned too. A few good top-order partnerships would have helped.

Jason Holder is the Man of the Match.


Praneeth: "SL is the only Asian team that win a Test Match in Bridgetown "

RUKSHAN: "Superb effort from the both Pereras and the SL Pacers to make the series even. If only we didn't waste those 2 hours in the last game protesting. We would be sipping champagne. "

Lakshitha : "What a feeling to get up early in the morning in Melbourne and load cricinfo to see a Sri Lankan victory...! Well played lads...!"

David: "I feel bad for the Windies and particularly Jason Holder, this is a series WI and him as Captain could of won. They need to work on their catches, no balls from the bowling department and their top order batting line up. (Bring back Darren Bravo could help here.) "

Caleb: "I know a player on the losing side doesn't normally get man of the match, but surely it has to be Jason Holder! Outstanding performance from him, leading from the front and almost single handedly taking his side to victory. Highest score in the match and 9/60, his batting has for a long time bailed West Indies out, but of late he is finally grown into a genuine wicket taking quick!"
,Br>

3.50pm The celebrations begin in the Sri Lanka camp. Dilruwan and Kusal hug each other in the middle. Kumara, Mendis and Lakmal then welcome back the Pereras. They wore several blows on their bodies but hung on for a 63-run partnership - the highest in the innings - to usher Sri Lanka home in a tense finish. So, Sri Lanka and West Indies will share the spoils. Stick around for the presentation, folks.

Dilruwan Perera: Really happy to finish the game like this. We thought we can bat longer, if we bat longer we can get the runs. The wicket is a bit uneven. Me and Kusal play for the same club and we know each other. The pitch was challenging and the experience helped.

Chandika Hathurusingha , SL coach: t feels really great and we have had a lot of ups and downs. To come back and level the series is a great effort. We always had hope but the way the game progressed we were under pressure. Tactically, Jason was on the mark but our bowlers responded in the second innings. Our second-innings bowling won us the game. Suranga had a chat and they rallied around. All credit to all four bowlers. Suranga led from the front. That particular 10-over spell put the Windies under pressure. For us, it's a young team. Coming here and winning here for a subcontinent team is not easy. This win will give us a lot of confidence. We had Kusal Mendis batting at three different positions but he did not say anything. He's a great talent for the future.

Jazmi: "It's 1.30 a.m here in Srilanka and I wasn't sleepy at all watching this match!! What a match this is "

40.2
4
Holder to MDK Perera, FOUR, The Pereras seal it for Sri Lanka! Pitched up and outside off, Dilruwan stretches out, gets underneath the length and hoists it stylishly over mid-off
40.1
2
Holder to MDK Perera, 2 runs, back of a length and outside off, Dilruwan rides the bounce and punches behind point

END OF OVER:
40 | 4 Runs | SL: 138/6

  • Kusal Perera28 (43b)
  • Dilruwan Perera17 (66b)
  • Devendra Bishoo1-0-4-0
  • Jason Holder14-4-35-5
39.6
0
Bishoo to MDKJ Perera, no run, stabbed to the covers
39.5
0
Bishoo to MDKJ Perera, no run, defended with the turn to short leg off the back foot
39.4
2
Bishoo to MDKJ Perera, 2 runs, keeps it short and outside off, flashed between point and the covers
39.3
2
Bishoo to MDKJ Perera, 2 runs, sliding down leg, deflected to fine leg. SL need just 8 to win
39.2
0
Bishoo to MDKJ Perera, no run, steps back and punches another short ball to the covers
39.1
0
Bishoo to MDKJ Perera, no run, Kusal backs away and chops a shortish legbreak to the covers

Alex97: "As good as WI played in this series they're still inconsistent in many areas and until they work those out i don't see them winning a series." Here's spin for the first time on fourth day: Bishoo

END OF OVER:
39 | 1 Run | SL: 134/6

  • Dilruwan Perera17 (66b)
  • Kusal Perera24 (37b)
  • Jason Holder14-4-35-5
  • Kemar Roach10-1-33-1

Time for drinks. SL 10 runs away from victory

Rakesh Sampat: "WI should throw the ball to Gabriel for one last throw of the dice with 5 slips, a gully, a FSL and hope he delivers a HAT TRICK"

38.6
0
Holder to MDK Perera, no run, lifter outside off, left alone
38.5
0
Holder to MDK Perera, no run, that's a ripper from Jason Holder. Back of a length, pitches outside off, cuts back in sharply and bounces over off stump. Unplayable stuff
38.4
1
Holder to MDKJ Perera, 1 run, jabbed to the right of cover
38.3
0
Holder to MDKJ Perera, no run, full and down leg again

Rakesh Sampat: "The WI simply do not have the luck going their way today. The ball has missed the outer edge a number of times, on any other day the swings of the bats would surely have resulted at least in a couple of edges and then there were a couple of inside edges that just whispered past the stumps and there was one that just jumped over the bails without disturbing the timber."

38.2
0
Holder to MDKJ Perera, no run, much fuller and sliding down leg past the flick
38.1
0
Holder to MDKJ Perera, no run, full and nips away to beat the outside edge

END OF OVER:
38 | 8 Runs | SL: 133/6

  • Dilruwan Perera17 (64b)
  • Kusal Perera23 (33b)
  • Kemar Roach10-1-33-1
  • Miguel Cummins6-1-17-0
37.6
4lb
Roach to MDK Perera, 4 leg byes, another leg-side ball, Dilruwan glances it fine past the keeper to raise the fifty stand. Excellent effort from the Pereras on a tough pitch
37.5
0
Roach to MDK Perera, no run, played back down the pitch

Rivlud: "As captain shouldn't Holder be bowling, been the best bowler for WI in this game and possibly the most consistent on both sides!"

37.4
0
Roach to MDK Perera, no run, stabbed to the covers

Sri Lanka 4th innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st9ML UdawatteMD Gunathilaka
2nd21MD GunathilakaDM de Silva
3rd18DM de SilvaBKG Mendis
4th2ARS SilvaBKG Mendis
5th24N DickwellaBKG Mendis
6th7MDK PereraBKG Mendis
7th63MDK PereraMDKJ Perera