Sri Lanka in the box seat
Chris Dhambarage Reporting from Galle
*Murali in his last Test
*Tharanga, Sanga hit centuries
Champion off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan’s quest for 800 wickets
before retirement took a back seat as centuries from Tharanga
Paranavithana and Kumar Sangakkara marked the opening days play in the
first cricket test match against India which began at the Galle
International Stadium yesterday.
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Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara (on left) and Tharanga
Paranavithana both of whom scored centuries coming back to the
pavilion during their century stand during the tea break in the
First Test between Sri Lanka and India at the Galle
International Stadium yesterday. Picture by Susantha
Wijegunasekera |
As a result Sri Lanka finished the day in a commanding position
having piled up 256 for 2 wickets when play halted early due to bad
weather after skipper Kumar Sangakkara had won the toss and elected to
bat first.
Sangakkara himself justified his decision to bat first with an
entertaining century while opener Paranavithana grabbed the opportunity
to complete his maiden test century.
In fact Paranavithana’s century had a great amount of significance as
he was under some kind of pressure with stiff opposition from a host of
other players in the squad.
The 28-year-old stylish left hander ensured that he finally reached
the three figure mark after having failed in ten previous occasions
while batting at the same position.
The last time he missed out an opportunity was in July 2009 where he
was dismissed for 73 against Pakistan at the SSC grounds in Maitland
Place.
But this time he certainly put an extra effort and responded to his
captain’s needs as he cemented his place while compiling a magnificent
century. He of course lost his opening partner Tillekeratne Dilshan in
the 11th over of the innings after the pair had added 55 runs.
Dilshan made his intentions clear by smashing half a dozen of
boundaries to snatch the initiative from the Indians after the match was
delayed by half an hour due to overnight rain. Sangakkara joined
Paranavithana and the pair showed that they mean business by going
through the entire second session without being separated.
In fact left hander Sangakkara overtook his partner with some
beautiful strokes around the wicket and was the first to reach the three
figure mark.
The Sri Lankan captain had a dozen of boundaries during his innings
which lasted for just over three hours.
But more importantly he was able to set the pace and lay the
foundation for a formidable first innings total. He put on 181 runs for
the second wicket with Tharanga Paranavithana from 308 deliveries and
198 minutes.
SRI LANKA 1st innings
T. Paranavitana not out 110
T. Dilshanc Dhoni b Mithun 25
K. Sangakkarac Tendulkar b Sehwag 103
M. Jayawardenenot out 8
Extras: (lb6, nb4) 10
TOTAL (for two wickets, 68 overs) 256
Fall of wickets: 1-55 (Dilshan), 2-236 (Sangakkara).
Bowling: Sharma 14-3-79-0 (nb4), Mithun 13-2-41-1, Harbhajan 17-3-41-0, Ojha 17-1-66-0, Sehwag 7-0-23-1. |
