West Indies, replying to Sri Lanka's first innings total of 278, reached 268-7 when bad light stopped play on the second day of the second Test on Friday. Sri Lanka's bowlers exploited the lively Queen's Park Oval pitch and heavy conditions to keep scoring at a premium, but several West Indians got starts. Vice captain Ramnaresh Sarwan led the way with 57, left-handed opener Sewnarine Chattergoon scored 46, Devon Smith labored for 47, captain Chris Gayle made 45, and Dwayne Bravo got 26. Off-spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan captured three wickets for 64 runs off 23 overs and Thilan Thushara took two for 72 from 12 overs. Gaining bounce and movement from the pitch, the Sri Lanka bowlers worked over the top-order batsmen of the West Indies. In the 40 minutes available to them before lunch, much of the attraction was the long-running battle between Sri Lanka new-ball bowler Chaminda Vaas and Gayle. Vaas has claimed Gayle's wicket seven times in his previous 10 Test innings against the Sri Lankans. He delivered a torturous opening over but the West Indies captain survived, and carried his side to 49 without loss at lunch alongside fellow left-hander Sewnarine Chattergoon. Earlier, Sri Lanka had been dismissed about 50 minutes before lunch, when Chamara Silva hooking at a short, rising ball from Dwayne Bravo was caught inside the deep fine leg boundary for the top score of 76. Scoreboard Sri Lanka (1st innings) Vandort c Ramdin b Edwards 30 Warnapura c Chattergoon b Edwards 35 Sangakkara c Ramdin b Edwards 10 Jayawardene b Taylor 26 Samaraweera c Gayle b Taylor 06 Dilshan c Ramdin b Edwards 62 Silva c Powell b Bravo 76 Vaas c Ramdin b Powell 01 Mirando run out (Sarwan) 01 Muralitharan c Bravo b Powell 08 Amerasinghe not out 00 Extras (lb8, w5, nb10) 23 Total 278 Falls: 1-62 (Warnapura, 2-72 (Sangakkara), 3-93 (Vandort), 4-112 (Samaraweera), 5-117 (Jayawardene), 6-222 (Dilshan), 7-224 (Vaas), 8-240 (Mirando), 9-255 (Muralitharan), 10-278 (Silva). Bowling: Powell 17-7-59-2 (1w), Taylor 17.2-7-74-2 (2nb), Edwards 18-4-84-4 (3nb, 3w), Gayle 2-2-0-0, D Bravo 10.3-2-53-1 (1nb, 1w). West Indies (1st innings) Gayle c Vandort b Thushara 45 Chattergoon b Vaas 46 Sarwan c Warnapura b Muralitharan 57 Samuels lbw b Muralitharan 03 Chanderpaul lbw b Thushara 18 Smith b Muralitharan 47 Bravo lbw b Amerasinghe 26 Ramdin not out 05 Taylor not out 01 Extras (lb3, w2, nb15) 20 Total (7 wickets) 268 To bat: D. Powell, F. Edwards. Falls: 1-58 (Gayle), 2-137 (Chattergoon), 3-141 (Samuels), 4-177 (Sarwan), 5-199 (Chanderpaul), 6-246 (Bravo), 7-266 (D.S. Smith). Bowling: Vaas 16.5-0-67-1 (nb8); Amerasinghe 12-1-62-1; Thushara 12-0-72-2 (nb5, w2); Muralitharan 23-3-64
