WI vs SL, 1st Test: Sri Lanka stand tall in Antigua with De Silva's gritty ton as West Indies seamers share spoils
Dhananjaya de Silva (Source: Getty Images)
Published - 26 Jun 2026, 10:23 AM• Read time - 2 mins
Day 1 of the first Test between West Indies and Sri Lanka at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua, produced a gripping contest between bat and ball. The hosts suffered a major setback before the start of play as Shai Hope was sidelined with a left shoulder strain. He suffered the injury during Windies' final training session on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka, asked to bat first on a seamer-friendly surface, were rocked early. Veteran quick Kemar Roach struck in the opening exchanges, trapping Pathum Nissanka with a sharp catch at short leg by Amir Jangoo, who showed brilliant reflexes on his Test return. Soon after, Alzarri Joseph dismissed Nishan Madushka for 40 and removed Kamindu Mendis the very next ball, leaving Sri Lanka wobbling at 42/3.
Dinesh Chandimal and skipper Dhananjaya de Silva steadied the innings with a 68-run stand. Chandimal looked fluent, reaching his fifty with eight boundaries, but his hopes of a century were dashed when Shamar Joseph bowled him with a searing yorker. Shamar struck again in the same over, removing Kusal Mendis, and Sri Lanka were suddenly 110/5.
From there, de Silva found an ally in 25-year-old allrounder Sonal Dinusha. The pair added 99 runs for the sixth wicket, with de Silva playing elegantly despite returning to top-level red-ball cricket after a long break. Roach eventually broke the stand by dismissing Dinusha, but de Silva pressed on, adding another 64 runs with Milan Rathnayaka.
Dhananjaya de Silva led from the front with a sublime Test century 🙌
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De Silva’s innings was the highlight of the day. He compiled a tenacious 120, laced with 17 boundaries, before falling to Justin Greaves. Rathnayaka followed soon after for 27, and Sri Lanka were bowled out for 308 in 71.5 overs.
Greaves finished with 3/39, while Roach and the Josephs picked up two wickets each. Jayden Seales toiled hard for 15.5 overs and was rewarded with one wicket.
West Indies had to face just one over before stumps and negotiated it safely, ending the day at 0/0. The pitch still has enough assistance for the quicks to keep the Lankan Lions interested heading into day 2.
