Lanka fights back thro’ Dilshan’s century

Sa’adi Thawfeeq reporting from India

Dilshan on his way to his first Test century in India

AHMEDABAD: Tillakaratne Dilshan extended his dream run of 2009 by scoring his first Test hundred on Indian soil to steer Sri Lanka to a comfortable position of 275-3 wickets at close on the second day of the first cricket Test played at the Sardar Patel Cricket Stadium here Tuesday.
Dilshan stroked his way to 112 and the rest of the batsmen chipped in with useful contributions as Sri Lanka replying to India’s first innings of 426 finished the day trailing by 151 runs with seven wickets in hand. Sri Lanka would have been in a much stronger position at stumps had they not surrendered two cheap wickets when two well set batsmen Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara both fell to top edges off Zaheer Khan bouncers in successive overs - Dilshan to gully and Sangakkara to fine leg. Their dismissals gave India, who was looking for options to break the second wicket partnership, a lifeline to get into the Test. Dilshan once again proved his credentials as an opener in all forms of the game with a stroke-filled century. But Sangakkara’s sudden urge to hook came as a result of his over cautiousness on a placid pitch. His 31 runs took him 85 balls compared to Dilshan’s 112 off 133 balls (12 fours) which was his ninth Test hundred overall and fifth for the 2009 calendar year, the most scored by any batsmen.

Full Story...>>