Sri Lanka ‘A’ bowlers hit back strongly to claim 7 wickets for 93 runs in the final session to spice up the Day 1 of the 1st unofficial test between England Lions and Sri Lanka ‘A’ at Pallekelle International Cricket Stadium.
Sri Lanka ‘A’ skipper Upul Tharanga won the toss and opted to field first to gain the early morning advantage on a true batting surface. Ishan Jayaratne struck gold when he trapped Alex Lees right in front of his stumps when England Lions had put only 16 runs on the score board. After the early blow, England Lions middle order anchored the innings as Varun Chopra, James Taylor and Moeen Ali made half centuries to put the foundation to a big score. Varun Chopra made 58 runs in 68 balls with 7 elegant boundaries before he was clean bowled by Tharindu Kaushal. James Taylor was then joined by Moeen Ali for the 4th wicket and the pair put on 96 runs before the aggressive Moeen Ali made his way back to the pavilion.
Ali’s dismissal triggered the England Lions batting collapse as the final session belonged to the hard working Sri Lanka ‘A’ bowlers as they ended the day on a high taking 9 wickets. Test player Jonny Bairstow and skipper Christ Woakes was sent back packing by the experienced Dhammika Prasad. Two spinners , Tharindu Kaushal and Chathuranga De Silva shared 5 scalps between them as England Lions were 299/9 in 86 overs at close of play.
Match will resume tomorrow at 10.00am.
