Cricket News By TODAYLIVESCORE.INFO - Karunaratne nears ton as Sri Lanka dominate. Karunaratne was unbeaten on 89 at Tea.
Karunaratne was unbeaten on 89 at Tea.
Having gone wicketless in the opening session, West Indies finally managed to end the opening partnership but Dimuth Karunaratne and Pathum Nissanka's 139-run association gave a good platform for Sri Lanka to capitalise on. Only 61 runs came in the 27 overs bowled in the opening session but the batters were a lot more proactive after Lunch, scoring at nearly 3.5 an over to help Sri Lanka to 163/1 at Tea. Karunaratne was unbeaten on 89, having scored 11 boundaries.
The Sri Lankan openers started off with regular boundaries at the start of the second session, some of them fraught with risk. But West Indies' bowlers weren't exactly on the mark either, bowling some loose deliveries which were put away appropriately. Karunaratne wasn't always in control of his shots, edging some of them for boundaries, but he went on to register his fifth successive fifty-plus score to provide a solid base for Sri Lanka.
Although Nissanka took 133 deliveries to bring up his fifty, he was a lot more fluent with his shot-making after Lunch. But he walked back in disappointment soon after getting to his third fifty-plus score on the trot against West Indies, having gone after a wide half-volley from Shannon Gabriel which he edged to first slip.
Oshada Fernando had an early reprieve as Jomel Warrican put down a tough return catch. The No. 3 remained unbeaten along with Karunaratne to ensure another session belonged to Sri Lanka.
Earlier, the hosts chose the attritional route to wear down the West Indian bowlers after opting to bat as Karunaratne and Nissanka put on a patient half-century stand in the first session. Despite being troubled by short deliveries from Shannon Gabriel and also struggling a bit against the spinners, Nissanka grit it out to support his skipper. Karunaratne, who was dropped early in his innings by Jermaine Blackwood off Rahkeem Cornwall, played some confident shots to extend the opening stand past 50 before Lunch. West Indies, meanwhile, lost a couple of reviews.
In an unfortunate incident late in the first session, debutant Jeremy Solozano was struck hard on the grille of his helmet at short leg by a shot from Karunaratne off Roston Chase. He was stretchered off the field and taken in an ambulance to a hospital for scans.
Brief scores: Sri Lanka 163/1 (Dimuth Karunaratne 89*, Pathum Nissanka 56; Shannon Gabriel 1-27) vs West Indies.
