Kusal Janith Perera and Asela Gunaratne produced a stunning rearguard unbroken 6th wicket stand of 198 to save Sri Lanka A from deep trouble on day 3 in their 1st unofficial Test match against Pakistan A at R. Premadasa Stadium.
Due to the overnight showers the start was delayed with wet outfield and play finally got under way around 1.30pm with the hosts resuming from their overnight score of 95 for 3 in 21 overs. Left-handed Kithruwan Vithanage was the first to be dismissed in the first over bowled by left-arm seamer Mir Hamza as he gave a thick outside edge to wicket-keeper Adnan Akmal after stroking an elegant boundary. Skipper Ashan Priyanjan added only 5 runs to his overnight score before he became the 5th wicket as hosts were looking down the barrel at 115 for 5.
Kusal Janith Perera partnered up with Asela Gunaratne and they established themselves superbly to counter-attack the Pakistani bowlers. Perera was the aggressor scoring 15 fours and 2 sixes in his unbeaten 119 in 140 balls to bring up his 10th first-class century. Right-handed Gunaratne gave a superb helping hand making a patient 138-ball 64 with 8 boundaries.
Asela is an underrated cricketer from Sri Lanka Army Sports Club and he has the ability to be a great asset for Sri Lanka Cricket in the near future with his sensible batting. Kusal marked his 3rd ton in the current tour and with this match-saving century, he has put up his name for a possible Test debut against Pakistan in June.
Both batsmen are currently not out and they will look to negotiate the early morning pressure tomorrow and take a sizeable lead but they are still 88 runs behind. The visitors will definitely want to wrap up the final 5 wickets as the match is heading for a tame draw with the final day coming up.
Chief Scores:
Pakistan A – 401 all out in 130 overs: Umar Amin 99, Khurram Manzoor 82, Fawad Alam 72, Shehahzad Azam 47*, Tharindu Kaushal 6/117, Dhananjaya De Silva 2/47.
Sri Lanka A –313/5 in 71 overs: Udara Jayasundara 31, Kithruwan Vithanage 39, Kusal Janith Perera 119*, Asela Gunaratne 64*, Mir Hamza 3/58, Zia-Ul-Haq 2/56.
