Opener Dimuth Karunaratne scored his third Test century and made the West Indies bowlers toil in sweltering conditions as Sri Lanka finished on 250-2 at stumps on the opening day of the first Test yesterday
Sri Lanka's Dimuth Karunaratne celebrates his century against WI in Galle yesterday
Galle: Opener Dimuth Karunaratne scored his third Test century and made the West Indies bowlers toil in sweltering conditions as Sri Lanka finished on 250-2 at stumps on the opening day of the first Test yesterday.
Sri Lanka's Dimuth Karunaratne celebrates his century against WI in Galle yesterday. Pic/AFP
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Karunaratne was unbeaten on 135 along with Dinesh Chandimal who has so far made 72 in an unbroken stand of 149 at the Galle International Stadium.
Playing in his 22nd Test match, Karunaratne laid the foundations for a formidable first innings score for the hosts on a pitch which is expected to favour spin in the latter stages of the game.
He said his determination to stay at the crease paid off and his sessions with new coach Jerome Jayaratne had helped him to get his runs. "Usually I would have got out before a century, but this time I addressed those issues with the new coach (Jayaratne)," Karunaratne said.
"I put in a lot of effort and it paid off," he added. Karunaratne was steady throughout the day although he began to play more expansively in the closing session. He reached his century in spectacular style by lofting Devendra Bishoo over mid-wicket for his only six of the day. He has also hit 10 fours after facing a total of 288 balls.
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