PORT-OF-SPAIN (Trinidad), April 4: West Indies openers skipper Chris Gayle and Sewnarine Chattergoon held on defiantly on the second day of the second and final Test on Friday after dismissing Sri Lanka for 278 in their first innings.

At lunch, the hosts had reached 49 without loss with Gayle on 39 and Chattergoon on four.

But Sri Lanka twice had a chance to remove Gayle. On 24, Muttiah Muralitharan did well to fly to his left to try and clutch a powerful cross-batted stroke, but dropped the West Indies captain at mid-on off Ishara Amerasinghe.

Then on 31, Amerasinghe failed to get close to another chance off Thilan Thushara when the left-handed opener swung at a short delivery.

Gayle responded to the challenge with a couple of meaty boundaries.

Earlier, Sri Lanka had been dismissed 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.

He led a rearguard action for the Sri Lankans to help them add another 61 runs before their innings closed.Fidel Edwards was the most successful West Indies bowler with four wickets for 84 from 18 overs, Daren Powell took two for 59 from 17 overs, and Jerome Taylor ended with two for 74 from 17.2 overs after he was removed from the attack for delivering a second beamer in the innings.

Silva was the recipient of the fast, full, high-pitched delivery from Taylor, after he had struck Tillakeratne Dilshan a painful blow on his right hand the previous evening with a similar delivery.

Sri Lanka had continued from their overnight total of 217 for five, and Dilshan gave them a flourishing start, when he savagely square cut a short, wide, loose delivery from Edwards over backward point for four.

But Dilshan was caught at backward square leg off the third legitimate ball of the morning from the same bowler for 62 miscuing a hook with wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin sprinting 30 yards from his position behind the stumps to complete the dismissal.

Next over, Chaminda Vaas fell in similar fashion to Powell essaying a hook and Ramdin trotting a few yards to his right to leave Sri Lanka on 224 for seven.

Silva, however, was the man leading the charge for the Sri Lankans, and he reached his 50, when he square drove Edwards through backward point for two.

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