Tharanga Paranavitana missed out on a century as the first Test between Sri Lanka and West Indies ended in a draw yesterday after rain washed out the final session on the fifth day.
The Sri Lanka opener fell for 95 as the hosts reached tea on 241 for four, a lead of 39. No play was possible after the break.
Paranavitana, dropped after he had made 53, and Mahela Jayawardene dug in with a third-wicket stand of 87 on the final day to help secure a draw after Sri Lanka had followed on.
The West Indies, thanks to career best 333 from Chris Gayle, had made 580 for nine declared in their first innings and then dismissed the home side for 378.
"We came here with a winning mindset. We did everything that we were supposed to do in this Test match," said Darren Sammy, the West Indies captain. "We had a good chance of winning by putting some pressure on them. Like you saw, our bowlers really toiled out there. The wicket was not really offering much assistance to the pacers. But I must commend the bowling unit for sticking out there and they created the opportunities. Their effort was good but unfortunately we didn't get the 10 wickets we wanted."
Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lanka captain, criticised his bowlers' line and length and his batsmen for not converting their strong starts into big scores in the first innings. "Our attitude in the first two sessions was probably wanting," he said. "The lines and lengths we bowled on this track was not good enough. Chris took a lot of advantage from that and batted magnificently.
"We've got to understand that this is a good eye-opener for us. It's an example to us the way [West Indies] were disciplined in their bowling. Everyone has got a part to play. Three or four good 50s, but no one went on to get a big one. Unfortunately, we fell about a hundred runs short," Sangakkara said of his team's batting.
Gayle was named man of the match after he became only the fourth cricketer to score two triple-hundreds in Tests, joining Australia's Don Bradman, India's Virender Sehwag and Brian Lara of the West Indies.
The second Test starts in Colombo on Tuesday.
