Sir Vivian Richards Stadium North Sound pitch report and weather conditions
Test cricket returns to the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium after a long break of one and a half years as West Indies host Sri Lanka in two ICC World Test Championship matches this month.
The West Indies team has played only one home series in the ICC World Test Championship so far. It was against the Indian cricket team in August-September 2019. The Sir Vivian Richards Stadium played host to the first Test of that series, where the visitors prevailed by 318 runs.
The pitch at this venue assists the pace bowlers while scoring runs is challenging. Speaking of the previous Test played here, Jasprit Bumrah returned with figures of 5/7 in the second innings to guide his team to a memorable overseas win. Ajinkya Rahane was the lone centurion in the match, while Hanuma Vihari and Virat Kohli scored a fifty each.
Ishant Sharma and Bumrah were phenomenal with the ball. While Ishant picked up five wickets in the first innings, Bumrah ended the game with 6/62 in two innings. Even Mohammed Shami scalped four wickets.
From the West Indies team, Kemar Roach stood out in the first innings with his four-wicket haul. Roston Chase was the star of the second innings as he dismissed four Indian batsmen. None of the teams could touch the 300-run mark in the first innings, highlighting that the batsmen did not enjoy themselves much on this ground.
The Sir Vivian Richards Stadium has hosted eight Test matches so far, with India being the only visiting team to register a win. West Indies have won three Tests here, while three games did not produce a winner. The Caribbean side will head into the series against Sri Lanka as the favorites to secure a win.
The team winning the toss should look to bat first in this series because the highest successful run-chase in Tests at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium has been 102/1 only.
Sir Vivian Richards Stadium North Sound weather conditions
There could be multiple rain interruptions during the two Tests between West Indies and Sri Lanka. Play on Day 3 of the first Test could be affected by the rainfall, with even the second Test likely to be a rain-marred affair.
The overcast conditions will help the fast bowlers. Thus Jason Holder, Dushmantha Chameera, Vishwa Fernando, and Kemar Roach should be expected to wreak havoc in this 2-Test series.