West Indies batter Amir Jangoo expressed his elation after his marathon 233 off 373 balls in the first Test against Sri Lanka at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua, on Saturday, June 27.
Jangoo was only brought into the lineup after a late injury to Shai Hope on the eve of the game. Playing just his second Test match, the 28-year-old made the most of his chance, recording the highest score for a West Indies batter since Marlon Samuels' 260 against Bangladesh in 2012, and stitching
a mammoth 401-run partnership with captain Roston Chase, the highest sixth-wicket partnership in Test cricket history.
"It was an amazing day, still words can't describe how I feel right now. But having said that, we have a Test match to win and I'm glad I could have contributed to putting the guys in a really good position along with the captain," Jangoo said, speaking after the game, as reported by Cricinfo.
Jangoo's knock was laced with 19 fours and three sixes. This was the southpaw's third first-class century, with the previous two also being double hundreds. He stated that he relied on his formula of batting time at the start of the innings, ensuring that he got a start, after which he could carry on.
"I think I have a formula in batting, especially in red-ball cricket, where I know that once I get to 20 runs that means I bat close to 40 to 50 balls. Our batting coach, Floyd Reifer, mentioned it to me as well, how starts are so important. So I think I went around with that formula, and it worked," he said.
Batting with Jangoo, Chase also scored a mammoth 194, contributing to the world-record stand. This was Chase's first 50-plus score after being appointed captain of the red-ball side in 2025, and his first Test century since an unbeaten 102 against England in February 2019. Jangoo spoke of his relationship with his skipper and revealed the team backed him despite his lean run with the bat.
"We have a pretty close relationship on and off the field as well. We all know that he wasn't having the best time of the bat, but we all know the quality player that he is and it's amazing to see that he could have come to the fore in this match," Jangoo said.
Jangoo's partnership with Chase took the Windies to a sizeable total of 626 for 9, after Sri Lanka put on 308 in the first innings. The hosts had Sri Lanka at 15 for 1 at the end of Day 3, leading by 303 runs.
