Former Trinitian Ron Chandraguptha continued his good run of form with another brilliant showing, as he fell nine runs short of a well-deserved century on day two.
Chandraguptha celebrated his inclusion to the A team today with his second notable knock(91) of the game which included 14 fours, after he top scored with 48 on day one.
The England Lions resuming from their overnight score of 168/4, went on to make 279 all out in reply to the Sri Lanka Board President XI’s first innings score of 153 all out.
Tom Westley(95) and Liam Livingstone(84) made half centuries for the visitors and were involved in a crucial 136 run partnership for the 5th wicket. The top wicket-taker in the Sri Lanka Premier League tier A tournament, Malinda Pushpakumara was the most successful bowler for the hosts picking up three scalps.
Opener Hashan Dumindu fell for a duck in the second innings but Chandraguptha and Irosh Samarasuriya(42) went on a rescue mission as they got the hosts out of jail with a 114 run partnership for the second wicket. Both batsmen fell late in the day to put the game back in the balance, but soldier Leo Fransisco looked solid during his unbeaten 32 to give the hosts hope going into the last day of the game tomorrow.
The Sri Lanka Board President’s XI took an overall lead of 56 runs with six wickets of their second innings remaining when the umpires decided to draw stumps on day two.
Sri Lanka Board Presidents XI153 (53.3) Ron Chandraguptha 48, Dilan Jayalath 26, Tharindu Kaushal 18*, Tom Helm 3/18, Tom Curran 2/23, Craig Overton 2/31 & 182/4 (57) Ron Chandraguptha 91, Irosh Samarasooriya 42,Leo Fransisco 32*
vs
England Lions279 (69.1) Tom Westley 95, Liam Livingstone 84, Sam Curran 24, Malinda Pushpakumara 3/82, Vimukthi Perera 2/27, Nisala Tharaka 2/60, Tharindu Kaushal 2/59
