Mahela, Dilshan prop up Lanka

Third-wicket pair puts on 118 as hosts recover from shaky start in grand style

Jayawardene hit an unbeaten 108 and Dilshan smashed 92 off 72 balls in his new role as opener as Sri Lanka, sent in to bat under an overcast sky, recovered from 16 for two  to 293 for three by stumps on a rain-curtailed opening day.

Jayawardene, who gave up the captaincy earlier this year to concentrate on his batting, compiled his 26th Test century on the easy-paced wicket at the Galle International Stadium.

Dilshan hit the fastest Test half-century by a Sri Lankan off 30 balls, upstaging former captain Arjuna Ranatunga’s 31-ball effort against India at Kanpur in 1986. Jayawardene put on 118 for the third wicket with Dilshan and 159 for the undefeated fourth with Thilan Samaraweera (82 not out) after New Zealand seamer Chris Martin struck twice in his first two overs.

Martin gave the Test a dramatic start when he had Tharanga Paranavitana, Dilshan’s fellow opener, edging the third ball of the match to wicket-keeper Brendon McCullum.
Martin then removed Kumar Sangakkara for eight, the Sri Lankan captain flicking a half-volley to the mid-wicket fielder after hitting two boundaries in the same over.

The start of the Test was delayed by 90 minutes due to early morning rain, although the pitch and outfield remained unaffected under the covers. The umpires pushed back the lunch break by an hour to make up for lost time, but just 78 of the stipulated 90 overs were sent down before bad light forced play to end early.

Dilshan, who has batted in the middle order in all of his previous 55 Tests, was promoted to open the innings in order to accommodate fit-again keeper Prasanna Jayawardene.
The right-hander, who represents Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League, hit eight fours and a six by the time he reached 51 in the 11th over in Sri Lanka’s total of 67 for two.

Score Board

SRI LANKA (I Innings):

Paranavitana c McCullum b Martin    0
Dilshan b O'Brien        92
Sangakkara c Flynn b Martin    8
Jayawardene (batting)    108
Samaraweera (batting)    82
Extras (B-1, LB-1, W-1)    3
Total (For 3 wkts, 78 overs)    293
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-16, 3-134.
Bowling: Martin 15-2-59-2, O'Brien 14-1-90-1, Oram 7-1-25-0, Vettori 24-5-48-0, Patel 15-1-60-0, Ryder 3-1-9-0.