Dimuth Karunaratne's 13th Test ton gave Sri Lanka the honours on the opening day of the first Test in Galle on Sunday (November 21). The Sri Lankan captain, having opted to bat, was involved in a 139-run opening stand with Pathum Nissanka and an undefeated 97-run association for the fourth wicket with Dhananjaya de Silva to take Sri Lanka to 267/3. West Indies did not pick up a single wicket in the first session while half-centurion Nissanka was the only wicket to fall in the second. Although they did manage a couple of strikes in the final session, Karunaratne's continued presence (132*) did not let West Indies wrest control at any stage on the opening day.
DAY 1 REPORT
Karunaratne ton gives SL early advantage in first Test
Sri Lanka's skipper set the tone for his team © AFP
Karunaratne, playing his first international game since May, continued from where he left off against Bangladesh as he recorded a hundred in his third successive Test. De Silva approached his innings with a lot of confidence as well, getting to his ninth Test fifty and ended the day on 56 not out off 77 - which was close to 54 percent of the runs scored by Sri Lanka in the final session.
The hosts chose the attritional route to wear down the West Indian bowlers in the first session as Karunaratne and Nissanka put on a patient half-century stand. 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. Cricket West Indies later
