Thirimanne helps Sri Lanka cut England's lead to 130

Thirimanne’s patient knock which included six boundaries was in sharp contrast to Sri Lanka’s first innings effort when the whole team was rattled for 135 in two sessions on the first day.

Published : Jan 16, 2021 18:49 IST , Galle

Lahiru Thirimanne led Sri Lanka’s gallant fightback to cut England’s lead to 130 after captain Joe Root hit his fourth double century.
Lahiru Thirimanne led Sri Lanka’s gallant fightback to cut England’s lead to 130 after captain Joe Root hit his fourth double century.
lightbox-info

Lahiru Thirimanne led Sri Lanka’s gallant fightback to cut England’s lead to 130 after captain Joe Root hit his fourth double century.

Lahiru Thirimanne led Sri Lanka’s gallant fightback to cut England’s lead to 130 after captain Joe Root hit his fourth double century on the third day of the first Test on Saturday.

Root hit 18 fours and a six in his well-composed 228 off 321 balls before England was bowled out just before lunch.

His innings led to a strong total of 421 and a meaningful first innings lead of 286, but Thirimanne stood firm for two sessions to remain unbeaten on 76 off 189 balls and carried Sri Lanka to 156-2 at stumps.

Thirimanne’s patient knock which included six boundaries was in sharp contrast to Sri Lanka’s first innings effort when the whole team was rattled for 135 in two sessions on the first day.

READ|

England had an opportunity to remove Thirimanne soon after the left-hander had completed his half century, but Dom Sibley spilled a two-handed catch at gully.

England also wasted one of its three reviews as it unsuccessfully went for an lbw decision against Thirimanne when he was on 61.

Thirimanne and Kusal Perera started a steady fightback with their 101-run opening wicket stand as they thwarted the spin threat of Jack Leach and Bess on a turning wicket.

READ|

Perera shelved his strokemaking in scoring 62 off 109 balls and even batted with a strapped hand after he was struck by Mark Wood's short pitch delivery in the middle session.

Perera threw away his wicket early in the last session when he played a rash shot off Sam Curran’s wayward delivery and holed out in the deep.

Kusal Mendis, who had failed to score in his previous four test innings, labored for 65 deliveries in scoring 15 runs, but added 54 runs with Thirimanne to defy England's hopes of making inroads.

Leach finally struck in the penultimate over of the day when he found the thin edge of Mendis’ bat to provide England some relief.

England innings

Earlier, Dilruwan Perera ended Root’s long vigil, which began in the last session on the first day, when he had England’s skipper caught at deep mid-wicket off an extravagant shot as the offspinner finished with 4-109.

Resuming on 320-4, Root continued to dominate spinners despite Sri Lanka hitting back with three wickets in 12 balls.

Fast bowler Asitha Fernando (2-44) had the overnight batsman Jos Buttler (30) caught behind and Curran was clean bowled off the next ball before Bess, who survived the hat-trick ball, was run-out in a mix-up with Root.

But in between those quick wickets, Root raised his double hundred off 291 balls with a slog-swept boundary off Lasith Embuldeniya (3-176) and became the fourth visiting player to score a double century at the picturesque Galle International Stadium.

Chris Gayle (333) of the West Indies, India’s Virender Sehwag (201 not out) and Musfiqur Rahim (200) of Bangladesh are the other batsmen to have achieved similar feats here.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment