Kaushal Silva and Lahiru Thirimanne stroked unbeaten centuries as Sri Lanka took the control of their tour game against Northamptonshire at stumps on day 1.
Sri Lanka was fresh from their ODI triumph against England and their real test in England started with the colour change of the ball from white to red. Sri Lanka rested Angelo Mathews for this warm-up game and included test specialists, Kaushal Silva, Dimuth Karunaratne, Chanaka Welagedara, Prasanna Jayawardene, Dilruwan Perera and Nuwan Pradeep in the playing XI. Acting Captain Lahiru Thirimanne won the toss and had no hesitation in giving his batsmen a chance to bat first on a placid track at Northampton.
Sri Lanka got off to a poor start as left handed opening batsman Dimuth Karunarathne was dismissed by seamer Steven Crook as he was caught by Kyle Coetzer for only 1 run in the 2nd over in the morning. Sangakkara walked in to the crease full of confidence as his last first class inning was fruitful as he slammed 159 representing Durham. Sangakkara’s stay in the middle was limited only for 38 balls as Kyle Coetzer dismissed the Lankan batting legend for 28 runs to restrict the visitors for 53/2.
Calm and composed Kaushal Silva built his inning around patience and elegant stroke play as the 28 year-old batted cautiously with Mahela Jayawardene till lunch to take the Lankan score to 103 for two, with opener Silva 38 not out and Jayawardene unbeaten on 35 off just 33 balls including six fours. Soon after the resumption, seemingly well set, Jayawardene was out for 46 runs as Steven Crook claimed his 2nd wicket in the 34th over of the Sri Lankan inning.
Kaushal was then joined by Thirimanne and the pair consolidated the inning in a calculated manner as both batsmen played their usual brand of cricket. Thirimanne was the more aggressive batsman as he got to his half-century in 84 balls compared to Silva’s 123 balls. Kaushal Silva’s 2nd half century came in quick succession as he reached his 30th first class century with a four off David Willey in the 186th ball of his knock. Lahiru Thirimanne joined his senior batting partner on the hundred’s column in the 80th over.
Both batsmen remained unbeaten till close of play as they executed their batting plans exceptionally well to guide their team total to 358 for the loss of 3 wickets. Kaushal Silva will face tomorrow’s first ball with his personal runs tally on 152 runs while Thirimanne is not out on 120 in 180 balls.
Chief Scores:
Sri Lanka – 358/3 in 90 overs : Kaushal Silva 152*, Lahiru Thirimanne 120*, Kumar Sangakkara 28, Mahela Jayawardene 46, Steven Crook 2/74.
Match will be continued tomorrow.
