Dimuth’s timely ton spurs Lanka ‘A’
Opener Dimuth Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirimanne starred on day one for Sri Lanka ‘A’ who ended the day boasting of a score of 261 for 2 against West Indies ‘A’ in their first unofficial Test match that began at the Sooriyawewa Stadium yesterday.
Opener Dimuth Karunaratne hit an elegant knock of 139 - Pix by Amila Gamage
After skipper Upul Tharanga won the toss and elected to take first lease of the wicket Sri Lanka lost an early wicket of the skipper himself when the score read a bleak six. Tharanga who did not look comfortable against the pace of Shannon Gabriel and Sheldon Cottrell lasted for eighteen balls and scored a solitary boundary, but was caught behind by wicket keeper Chadwick Walton off paceman Gabriel for 4.
The Lankan selectors who mysteriously dropped Karunaratne and kept him out for a period of time saw the result of the confinement with the disciplined knock of the left handed opener. Karunaratne was the only other batsman to get out for the day. But prior to that he let his bat do the talking and made a solid 139 in 234 balls and hit fourteen fours.
Karunaratne and Thirimanne put on a valuable 217 run partnership for the second wicket in 74.1 overs to make sure that the home team held sway on the first day. Thirimanne remained unbeaten on 85 which had eight boundaries.
When they first joined in the middle they batted with caution. They negotiated the West Indies bowling on its merits and held on for 22 overs and added 57 runs by lunch to go in at 63 for 1.
The post lunch session turned out to be a productive one for the hosts as the pair accumulated their runs with the minimum of fuss. Karunaratne who was unbeaten on 41 during the lunch break went onto reach his half ton which came off 92 deliveries that included four boundaries.
The duo frustrated the West Indies bowlers and the 100 runs partnership was posted with Karunaratne slashing a boundary off a delivery of
Lahiru Thirimanne regained his batting form with an unbeaten 85
right arm spinner Shane Shillingford.
Thirimanne raced to his half ton with a single which came off 145 balls that comprised five boundaries. A few overs later Karunaratne reached his ton which too was achieved off a boundary of pacie Shannon Gabriel. Karunaratne’s ton took him 168 balls that comprised nine hit to the ropes.
After the departure of Karunaratne who was also caught behind by keeper Walton, Thirinanne along with Dinesh Chandimal frustrated the West Indies ‘A’ further as the pair negotiated the remaining 11 overs without a hiccup and in the process associating themselves in an unbroken 38 run stand. Chandimal cracked two sixes and a boundary in his unbeaten knock of 29.
Karunaratne speaking to the Sunday Times said “I have been successful in my previous outings and I was determined to do better. It was unfortunate that I got out to a delivery which I should have left. The West Indies bowlers at the start of the innings played some chin music, but later we were able to take control. I am grateful to Sri Lanka coach Marvan Atapattu who helped me with my stance. It helped me a lot.”
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Sri Lanka ‘A’ first innings |