Sri Lankan openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Nishan Madushka put on 81 unbeaten runs, bringing the deficit down to 411 runs, after Ireland were bowled out for 492 on day 2 of the 2nd Test in Galle.
The Sri Lankans finally got a hit on the flat deck in Galle, after Ireland rested for 158.3 overs across 5 sessions, and they made the most of it as Karunaratne and Madushka went at nearly 4.5 runs an over. As was with the case of Sri Lanka’s bowlers, the Irish too looked lacking in venom – the few edges they were able to draw when the ball was new, going through the slip cordon or falling short of the catchers.
Earlier in the day, Paul Stirling who had to go off the field yesterday due to cramp, was needed in the 1st over of the day, when Vishwa Fernando snuck through the defenses of Lorcan Tucker. He went on to make his maiden Test ton, thereby becoming just the 2nd Irishman and 23rd player overall to make centuries in all three formats of the game.
The only period when Stirling looked to be in a bit of discomfort was when Asitha Fernando bowled a couple of testing overs to the right-hander, hitting the deck hard with some short bowling when Stirling was nearing his ton. Stirling took a couple of blows to the shoulder and gloves before depositing the ball over cover to go to his hundred with a six but the short-ball ploy worked eventually, when he pulled one to the man at deep fine leg to give Sri Lanka a much-needed breakthrough.
Campher carried on, finding the boundary whenever the loose deliveries came his way, going to his maiden international ton in the second session. It was an exceptional innings from the Irish all-rounder, who played the 2nd fiddle to both Tucker and Stirling, before coming into his own.
It was a real struggle with the ball for Sri Lanka, who opted for the quicks on one end and Jayasuriya at the other end, reluctant to use Ramesh Mendis, after his wayward performance on day 1. The wickets eventually came, the last four falling for 18 runs.
