Dimuth, Chandimal frustrate Windies ..

Bolstered by a third Test hundred (135 N.O) by left hander Dimuth Karunaratne along with Dinesh Chandimal ( 72 N.O) who forged a 149 run unbeaten third wicket stand saw Sri Lanka firmly placed at 250 for 2 at the end of the first day of the first Test against the West Indies at the Galle International Stadium.

Karunaratne who opened the innings with Kaushal Silva, lost his partner after putting on 56 runs for the first wicket, but shouldered the responsibility to remain unbeaten with Dinesh Chandimal to take the score from 101 for 2 when vice captain Lahiru Thirimanne fell cheaply for 16. Karunaratne spent 378 minutes facing 288 deliveries with ten fours and a six off Bishoo to reach his three figure mark, while Dinesh Chandimal who rode his luck when he was dropped by Jerome Taylor at mid-wicket when his individual score was 11 and the total 129 made the visitors had to pay dearly for the miss as the pair batted with growing confidence.

The Windies who relied heavily on their pace quartet were unable to make much of an impact on a placid pitch. They showed some aggression in the morning, as skipper Jason Holder rotated his pacemen in short spells. But with the pitch losing it’s zest, both Karunaratne and Chandimal assumed command. Even the second new ball taken at 218 for 2 was unable to provide the break through as the pair went on relentlessly till the close .

Angelo Mathews won the toss and straight away elected to bat on a pitch looked ideal for batting. Milinda Siriwardene made his Test debut . Siriwardene an utility player who could bat in any position and an useful left arm spin bowler had been knocking at the door with some good performances against Pakistan and a century against the tourists in a three day game made a strong claim for representative honours and was finally rewarded.

Mathews who knows the Galle pitch like the back of his hand s said prior to the commencement of the match that the wicket looked a typical one of Galle with lot of runs and was hoping for a revival of fortunes with a good display. Sri Lanka took the field with seven batsmen and two spinners and with the inclusion of Milinda Siriwardene the team had an additional bowler. West Indies captain expressed his views on the toss and said he too would have preferred to bat first , but expressed his confidence on his bowlers.

The Sri Lankan openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva batted cautiously amidst a steady West Indian pace attack of Jerome Taylor , Kemer Roache Jason Holder and Shannon Gabriel who gave nothing away as the openers had to fight for every run against the strong West Indian pace quartet . The first hour of the morning produced 32 runs in 13 overs without the openers being separated. Karunaratne ( 21) and Kaushal Silva (10) was consolidating the innings . In the process Silva was struck on his helmet off a nasty Shanon

Gabriel delivery . Dimuth Karunaratne at the other end was gradually working himself towards his half century with some sensible batting. The West Indians attack was mainly concentrated in their pace attack. With the score reading 56 for no loss Kemer Roach got the break- through for the visitors when Kaushal Silva who looked susceptible outside his off stump edged one for Denesh Ramdhin the wicket keeper to complete the catch.

Lahiru Thirimanne walked in at number three needing a good innings to boost his confidence and to justify his selection after a series of failures. Thirimanne after pushing a prodding for a while opened up swinging Bishoo to the mid wicket boundary ,but was soon on his way to the pavilion when he was caught at mid-wicket he faced sixty two deliveries and did not look convincing at all.. He added 45 runs with Karunaratne and flicked one to substitute fielder Chandrika .