Sri Lanka’s Roshen Silva yesterday held the fort with a stubborn 85 to secure a 46-run first-innings lead over England on the second day of the second Test.
Shortly before stumps in Kandy, the hosts, down 1-0 in the three-match series, were bowled out for 336 in reply to England’s 290, with stand-in skipper Suranga Lakmal not out on 15.
The visitors were yet to open their account after nightwatchman Jack Leach faced six balls from Dilruwan Perera in the final over of the day. Rory Burns was accompanying Leach at close of play.
Photo: AFP
Adil Rashid had struck twice after lunch to raise the tourists’ hopes of securing a crucial first-innings lead on a seemingly turning pitch.
However, Silva built crucial partnerships — including a 56-run ninth wicket-stand with Akila Dananjaya — as Sri Lanka edged past England’s total.
Perera made 15 before falling LBW to Leach, while Dananjaya frustrated England before falling to Moeen Ali, also LBW for 31. Suranga Lakmal was unbeaten on 15.
England had made inroads into Sri Lanka’s middle order through some brilliant fielding by Ben Stokes before lunch, but Silva frustrated the opposition bowlers for the rest of the day.
Dimuth Karunaratne, who made 63, put on 96 for the third wicket with Dhananjaya de Silva, who hit 59, to steady the innings after they had slipped to 31-2 early in the day.
However, Stokes, who on Wednesday had failed with the bat as England’s new No. 3, broke the partnership when he pounced to run out Karunaratne with a direct throw from gully.
The star all-rounder then took a stunning one-handed catch low to his left at first slip to dismiss Kusal Mendis for one off the slow left-arm spin of Leach.
England’s first innings total was 285, but Sri Lanka were docked five runs after the umpires deemed that Silva did not ground his bat properly while taking a run.
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photograph. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard had pulled out of the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. News outlets including Britain’s the Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa had posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks on the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week in a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one
RSS