Dhananjaya de Silva was dropped at first slip on 38 on Wednesday morning in Rawalpindi. By the middle of the day he had turned that reprieve into his 14th Test century, according to reports from the ground, dragging Sri Lanka back into the first Test against Pakistan.
The right-hander had been unbeaten on 87 at lunch on day three, with Sri Lanka 221 for four in reply to Pakistan’s 434 for nine declared. Reports from Sri Lanka said he went on to three figures later in the day, sharing stands with Kamindu Mendis and captain Kusal Mendis.
How Sri Lanka got into trouble
The match, the opening contest of the ICC World Test Championship series between the two sides, began on November 9. Pakistan batted first and leaned on their newcomers. Three debutants, Tayyab Arif (57), Mohammad Taha (51) and Arafat Minhas (52), all passed fifty, the Pakistan Cricket Board said in its day-two report. Saud Shakeel fell seven short of a hundred on 93.
Sri Lanka’s reply started badly. Mohammad Abbas removed Pasindu Sooriyabandara for a duck with seven on the board, and debutant fast bowler Saqib Khan had Dinesh Chandimal for one, leaving the visitors 12 for two. When bad light ended day two, they were 114 for three, with Kamindu Mendis on 40 and de Silva on 22.
Sri Lanka’s fielding and spin coach Jordan Gregory sounded calm that evening. “So far Kamindu and DDS have put on a good partnership and we would like to see that partnership progress,” he said, in remarks published by the ICC.
The morning that changed the match
The key moment came early on Wednesday. With Sri Lanka on 114 for three, de Silva drove loosely and Saud Shakeel spilled a regulation chance at first slip, a miss that would otherwise have made it 139 for four. De Silva and Kamindu Mendis took their fourth-wicket stand to 90 before Abbas found Kamindu’s edge on 58.
De Silva then added another unbroken half-century stand with Kusal Mendis, who replaced him as Test captain when Sri Lanka Cricket named its 15-man squad for the tour in October. The pair used their feet against left-arm spinner Minhas to keep the scoreboard moving.
What the numbers mean
The working is simple. Pakistan’s 434 means Sri Lanka need 235 to avoid the follow-on, under the usual 200-run rule for a five-day Test. At 221 for four at lunch, they were only 14 runs short of that mark with six wickets in hand, which is why de Silva’s stay matters so much. Each run beyond that cuts into the 213-run deficit that remained at lunch.
- Pakistan first innings: 434 for 9 declared
- Sri Lanka at stumps, day two: 114 for 3
- Sri Lanka at lunch, day three: 221 for 4 (de Silva 87 not out)
- Follow-on target: 235
Badiyaa covers more of the Test game in its Sports section, including the day Cape Town office workers ended up on the Newlands big screen during South Africa vs Australia.
The first Test is scheduled to run until November 13. The second Test, moved from Lahore to Rawalpindi because of smog, starts on November 17.
Illustrative image. Image: Neweditorpk, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
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