Home Cricket National Cricket De Silva’s century rescues Sri Lanka on opening day in Antigua

De Silva’s century rescues Sri Lanka on opening day in Antigua

Sri Lanka tour of West Indies 2026

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Sri Lanka tour of West Indies 2026

Sri Lanka skipper Dhananjaya de Silva produced a captain’s knock with a superb century to steer his side to a competitive first-innings total on the opening day of the first Test against the West Indies at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua.

The first Test of the two-match series got underway yesterday (25th June), with West Indies captain Roston Chase winning the toss and electing to bowl first.

The hosts made an excellent start with the ball, reducing Sri Lanka to 42 for 3 as the visitors struggled against disciplined early bowling.

Experienced batter Dinesh Chandimal then joined forces with his captain to rebuild the innings. The pair added 68 runs for the fourth wicket, helping Sri Lanka recover from the early setbacks. Chandimal played a positive innings of 54 off 67 deliveries, striking eight boundaries before being dismissed after registering his half-century.

Despite losing further wickets, De Silva continued to hold the innings together with a determined display. He found valuable support from Sri Lanka’s No. 7 batter Sonal Dinusha, with the duo putting on a crucial 99-run partnership for the sixth wicket that shifted the momentum back in Sri Lanka’s favour.

Leading from the front, De Silva went on to register his 13th Test century, compiling a magnificent 120 off 168 balls, an innings decorated with 17 boundaries.

Dinusha made an impressive contribution of 43 runs, while Milan Rathnayake added a useful 27 from the lower order to ensure Sri Lanka crossed the 300-run mark. Sri Lanka were eventually bowled out for 308 in their first innings.

With only one over remaining in the day’s play, the West Indies openers safely negotiated the brief period without losing a wicket, closing Day One on 0 for no loss.

Cricket fans can catch all the action from Sri Lanka’s tour of the West Indies LIVE on ThePapare 1 & 1 HD (Dialog TV Channels 62 & 126).

Result
Sri Lanka
308/10 (71.5) & 101/10 (31.2)
West Indies
626/9 (160.5)
Batsmen R B 4s 6s SR
Pathum Nissanka c Amir Jangoo b Kemar Roach 2 6 0 0 33.33
Nishan Madushka lbw b Alzarri Joseph 23 27 3 1 85.19
Dinesh Chandimal b Shamar Joseph 54 67 8 0 80.60
Kamindu Mendis c John Campbell b Alzarri Joseph 0 1 0 0 0.00
Dhananjaya de Silva c Brandon King b Justin Greaves 120 168 17 0 71.43
Kusal Mendis c Justin Greaves b Shamar Joseph 0 4 0 0 0.00
Sonal Dinusha  lbw b Kemar Roach 43 75 6 0 57.33
Milan Rathnayake b Justin Greaves 27 52 3 0 51.92
Kasun Rajitha c Kemar Roach b Justin Greaves 8 18 1 0 44.44
Lahiru Kumara not out 12 14 0 0 85.71
Asitha Fernando c Alzarri Joseph b Jayden Seales 0 3 0 0 0.00
Extras 19 (b 4 , lb 5 , nb 4, w 6, pen 0)
Total 308/10 (71.5 Overs, RR: 4.29)
Bowling O M R W Econ
Kemar Roach 12 2 32 2 2.67
Jayden Seales 15.5 2 73 1 4.71
Alzarri Joseph 12 1 60 2 5.00
Shamar Joseph 16 1 79 2 4.94
Justin Greaves 11 1 39 3 3.55
Roston Chase 5 1 16 0 3.20
Batsmen R B 4s 6s SR
John Campbell c Nishan Madushka b Sonal Dinusha  39 64 3 2 60.94
Brandon King c Sonal Dinusha  b Milan Rathnayake 31 52 4 0 59.62
Kavem Hodge b Milan Rathnayake 16 44 3 0 36.36
Amir Jangoo c Kusal Mendis b Milan Rathnayake 233 373 19 3 62.47
Joshua Da Silva c sooriya bandara b Asitha Fernando 20 56 2 0 35.71
Justin Greaves c Kusal Mendis b Asitha Fernando 3 11 0 0 27.27
Roston Chase b Sonal Dinusha  194 324 13 2 59.88
Alzarri Joseph c Kusal Mendis b Milan Rathnayake 21 20 1 2 105.00
Shamar Joseph b 17 21 1 1 80.95
Kemar Roach lbw b Milan Rathnayake 0 3 0 0 0.00
Extras 52 (b 25 , lb 18 , nb 3, w 6, pen 0)
Total 626/9 (160.5 Overs, RR: 3.89)
Bowling O M R W Econ
Asitha Fernando 28 8 56 2 2.00
Lahiru Kumara 1 0 4 0 4.00
Kasun Rajitha 26 3 102 0 3.92
Milan Rathnayake 35.5 8 124 5 3.49
Sonal Dinusha  56 1 234 2 4.18
Dhananjaya de Silva 5 0 17 0 3.40
Kamindu Mendis 9 0 46 0 5.11

Batsmen R B 4s 6s SR
Pathum Nissanka c Joshua Da Silva b Jayden Seales 3 6 0 0 50.00
Nishan Madushka lbw b Kemar Roach 2 12 0 0 16.67
Kasun Rajitha c Kavem Hodge b Jayden Seales 4 13 1 0 30.77
Dinesh Chandimal c John Campbell b Kemar Roach 43 60 5 0 71.67
Kamindu Mendis b Shamar Joseph 9 34 1 0 26.47
Dhananjaya de Silva lbw b Shamar Joseph 0 7 0 0 0.00
Kusal Mendis b Alzarri Joseph 8 20 1 0 40.00
Sonal Dinusha  not out 12 29 3 0 41.38
Milan Rathnayake lbw b Kemar Roach 0 3 0 0 0.00
Asitha Fernando b Kemar Roach 0 2 0 0 0.00
Lahiru Kumara b Jayden Seales 9 7 2 0 128.57
Extras 11 (b 4 , lb 2 , nb 5, w 0, pen 0)
Total 101/10 (31.2 Overs, RR: 3.22)
Bowling O M R W Econ
Kemar Roach 11 0 51 4 4.64
Jayden Seales 10.2 3 14 3 1.37
Shamar Joseph 5 0 19 2 3.80
Alzarri Joseph 5 1 11 1 2.20