Galle 21 Nov : .Sri Lanka’s unbeaten 100 by captain Dimuth Karaunaratne combined with his century-opening stand with Pathum Nissanka placed Sri Lanka in control on Day 1 of Test match against West Indies here at Galle International Stadium. Sri Lanka ended the first day on 267 runs with three wickets.Karunaratne was strong with 132 runs and Dhananjaya De Silva had 56 runs.
Umpires declared stumps at the end of 88 innings.Roston Chase was the best bowler, taking two wickets and scoring 42 runs.
Karunaratne won toss, elected to bat and was joined by Pathum Nissanka in the opening innings.The West Indies were unable to score an early victory so they turned to Rahkeem Corn, an off-spinner who kept the game tight against the left/right combination.
At the T20 World Cup, Nissanka impressed with his aggressive style.He seamlessly transitioned back to red-ball play, proving he was comfortable nullifying opposition’s new ball threat.
West Indies were on the back foot when the Sri Lankan openers started, with Karunaratne scoring 32* and Nissanka taking 25* wickets.
After lunch, West Indies had their chance.
After a good 140-ball 56, Shanon Gabriel pitched the ball full and wide.Nissanka then took the bait and edged to Rahkeem Corn at the first slip.
Oshada Fernando joined the Sri Lanka captain in the middle.Karunaratne was able to continue punishing the West Indies’ bowlers at an even faster pace.
Before the end of the second session, the skipper had reached his 50th birthday and was on track to reach the three-figure mark.Before tea, the hosts scored an additional 102 runs which brought them up to 163/1.
The story was different at the end of the last session.Roston Chase, assisted by Nkrumah Bonner, worked hard to secure Oshada Fernando’s wicket.
Nkrumah Bonner caught an amazing catch at the short leg.Jason Holder and Angelo Mathews were able to contain the batters by catching four maidens each.
Karunaratne teamed up with Dhananjaya De Silva, despite a slow period when wickets were taking longer to score.
Karunaratne kept up his fine form, smashing his third successive Test hundred in just three matches.
Dhananjaya joined the celebration with half-century, to limit further damage until the end.
Brief scores: Sri Lanka 267/3 in 88 overs (Dimuth Karunaratne batting 132, Pathum Nissanka 56, Dhananjaya de Silva batting 56; Roston Chase 2/42).
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