• This was the 1649th Test match in cricket history.
• Fidel Edwards (right handed batsman and right-arm fast medium bowler) and Thilan Thushara Mirando (left handed batsman and left arm fast medium bowler) were making their Test debut. They became 253rd and 96th players to be capped by West Indies and Sri Lanka respectively.
• When Jerome Taylor opened the bowling with Collymore in the first innings, he became the youngest bowler to open the attack for West Indies at 19 years 5 days. The previous record was on the name of Wayne Daniel who was 20 years 96 days old when he opened the bowling against India at Kingston in 1975-76.Incidentally the youngest player to open the bowling in Test cricket is Bangladesh’s Mphammad Sharif. He was just 15 years 136 days old vs Zimbabwe at Harare in 2000-01
• Edwards (5-36) became eighth West Indian bowler to take five wickets in an innings on debut. However his figures are the third best for a West Indian debutant after Alf Valentine’s 8 for 104 vs England at Manchester in 1950 and Franklyn Rose’s 6 for 100 vs India at Kingston in 1996-97.
• Corey Collymore (7-57) returned the best figures for West Indies against Sri Lanka obliterating the previous best of 5 for 26 by Carl Hooper at St. Vincent in 1996-97.
• Collymore’s figures are also the best by any bowler at Sabina Park, surpassing the seven for 69 by Wes Hall vs England in 1959-60.
• Collymore’s match figures of 9 for 85 are the best for West Indies against Sri Lanka supplanting Curtly Ambrose’s 8 for 78 at St.John’s in 1996-97.
• Collymore has now taken 14 wickets against Sri Lanka which puts him at level with Curtly Ambrose’s tally. However Collymore needed 2 Tests as against Ambrose’s 3.
• The seventh wicket partnership of 52 runs between Sangakkara and Vaas in first innings is Sri Lanka’s best for this wicket against West Indies. This obliterated the previous record stand of 51 between Pubudu Dassanayake and Ruwan Kalpage at Moratuwa in 1993-94.
• The wicket of Brian Lara in first innings was 50th for Muttiah Muralitharan against West Indies. He became first Sri Lankan and 22nd bowler in the world to perform this feat. By taking only eight Test for his 50 wickets, Muralitharan is now the fastest among the 22 bowlers. England’s John Snow with nine matches was the previous record holder.
• Ridley Jacobs completed his 2000 runs just before he was out for 16 in first innings. He was playing his 51st Test and 88th innings. He became 28th West Indian and 221st batsman overall to achieve this milestone.
• Jacobs also became the second West Indian wicketkeeper after Jeff Dujon (3146 runs in 79 matches) and 17th wicketkeeper in the world to aggregate 2000 runs in a Test career.
• Lara by taking five catches in the match equalled the existing record of most catches by a fielder against Sri Lanka. India’s Mohammad Azharuddin at Ahmedabad in 1993-94 and Pakistan’s Wajahatullah Wasti at Dhaka in 1998-99 are the others to take five catches in a match against Sri Lanka.
• Lara has now taken 14 catches in eight matches against Sri Lanka. Only Mohammad Azharuddin (27) and Bryan Young (15) have taken more catches against Sri Lanka.
• The duck in second innings was fourth for Chris Gayle against Sri Lanka. He now holds the dubious distinction of aggregating most ducks for West Indies against Sri Lanka along with Dinanath Ramnarine.
• At the end of the series, Lara has aggregated 1125 runs in 14 innings of 8 Tests against Sri Lanka @ 86.54. No other West Indian batsman has even passed 500.Just for the record, the second highest run-aggregate for West Indies against Sri Lanka is 438 in Ramnaresh Sarwan in five Test @ 48.66.
• The win was West Indies' fifth in succession at Sabina Park since 1999. They have beaten Australia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and India in the previous years.
• West Indies have now played 399 Tests, won 146, lost 115, drawn 137,tied one. The tally vs Sri Lanka : played eight, won two, lost three, drawn three. West Indies’ record on home soil : played 180, won 71, lost 34, drawn 75.
• Sri Lanka have now played 133 Tests, won 32, lost 52,drawn 49. Their Test record abroad on tour : played 67, won eight, lost 34, drawn 25.

(Article: Copyright © 2003 Rajneesh Gupta)