Nishan Madushka struck a brilliant double century to give Sri Lanka A a lead of 249 runs going into day 4 of the 1st Unofficial Test against the England Lions at the Galle International cricket Stadium.
It was a day of hard toil for the Englishmen as they found no respite from the heat in Galle as Madushka set in for a long innings. Just two wickets fell during the day, that of Lakshitha Manasinghe and Nuwanidu Fernando, both of whom would be disappointed to have not gone on to get triple figures.
Manasinghe was the first to go, but not before frustrating the visitors with a fluent 73 off 107 deliveries. Fernando was the next bat in and showed some of the class we saw during the tour of India, driving the ball well before being bowled by off-spinner Jack Carson for 80 off 90.
There was no let up by the hosts, however, as skipper Nipun Dhananjaya also joined the party, he was unbeaten on 89 at stumps.
Throughout the day it was Madushka who held the innings together though. The opener batted with assurance, never really in any trouble on a flat Galle track. The 23-year-old has had an incredible run over the last season, scoring 1200+ runs, including a triple hundred, at an average of above 90. Though not keeping in this game against the Lions, Madushka is also capable of taking the gloves, making him one to look out for as Sri Lanka’s tour of New Zealand nears.
