Sri Lanka v England - 2nd Test – 1st Day’s Recap
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 238/6 (90.0 ov) v England - Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat
After relishing victory in the first Test of the series, hosts Sri Lanka took on tourists England in the second Test at P Sara Oval, Colombo, Sri Lanka on Tuesday, April 03, 2012, and clobbered 238 runs at stumps for the loss of six wickets.
While Sri Lanka were gloating over their victory, England were en route to achieving glory in the second encounter as their number one status in Test cricket depends on their win in this match and even in case of a draw, they will lose their top spot to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757.
With everything at stake, it was imperative for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DPMD-Jayawardene-c1397.
The batsman even before being named as the new captain, was in superb form but since the start of his recent stint, Jayawardene seems like a man on a mission as not only is he leading his team, but also giving some of the finest performances with his bat.
Today was no different, as the batsman cracked a well crafted innings of 105 runs, while batting in the middle to avert a batting collapse and help his side end the first day with an intimidating total on the board.
This is the series where England have to prove to the world that they are a side to reckon with while playing outside http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 because where they have been unbeatable on home turf, they have failed to prosper outside England.
Earlier, after winning the toss, the Lankans chose to bat with an opening pair of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/TM-Dilshan-c2691. But instead of punishing the bowlers, the batsmen opted for a safer route by playing tentatively.
However, this strategy failed as they lost their first wicket with 21 runs on the board as Dilshan fell after scoring just 14 runs.
On the next delivery, England bowler http://www.senore.com/Cricket/KC-Sangakkara-c1779, who perished on a duck.
With Sangakkara back in the pavilion without scoring, panic struck Sri Lanka and the home team that looked confident earlier in the day, seemed nervous and under pressure.
Efforts by England paid off as they grabbed the third wicket of the day by dismissing Thirimanne, who perished after scoring eight runs.
The departure of the opener brought http://www.senore.com/Cricket/TT-Samaraweera-c2712 on the crease, and together with his skipper he forged a daunting partnership which actually saved the day for Sri Lanka.
The batsmen hammered 124 runs in the fourth-wicket partnership which wrecked England’s hopes of wrapping up the Sri Lankan innings on the opening day.
Samaraweera then found his path to the pavilion after scoring a sensational innings of 54 runs, leaving his side on a tally of 154.
Later, with the skipper gone at a time when the side were on 216 runs, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AD-Mathews-c913 took charge and stayed unbeaten at close of the day’s play on a tally of 41, alongside Suraj Randiv who was not out on five runs.
From England, James Anderson had a successful day with three Sri Lankan wickets to his name.
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