da lvbet： The opening day of the series may have high in tedium and low in excitement,but on day two Sri Lanka raised the tempo, cashing in on a Zimbabweanbowling attack lacking control, variation and penetration, as they piled upa mammoth first innings
Charlie Austin28-Dec-2001The opening day of the series may have high in tedium and low in excitement,but on day two Sri Lanka raised the tempo, cashing in on a Zimbabweanbowling attack lacking control, variation and penetration, as they piled upa mammoth first innings score at the Sinhalese Sports Club.Sri Lanka eventually declared on 586 for six having scored 375 in the dayafter centuries from Kumar Sangakkara (128) and Thilan Samaraweera (123 notout), plus fifties from Hashan Tillakaratne (96) and Chaminda Vaas (74 notout).Zimbabwe then faced a tricky 35-minute session before bad light stoppedplay. They were soon in trouble as left-arm pace bowler Nuwan Zoysa produceda throat-threatening bouncer that ballooned off 18-year-old opener HamiltonMasakadza’s gloves to be caught by Tillakaratne at second slip.Trevor Gripper and Stuart Carlisle survived till the close, not without theodd alarm and one very good shout for lbw. The tourists now face a gruelingthree-day fight for survival on a wearing dry wicket well suited to thewiles of Muttiah Muralitharan.Needless to say, the odds are heavily stacked in favour of Sri Lanka goingone-up in the series. However, tour captain Brian Murphy, who stepped downfor the game because of poor form, believes his side can still save thegame."The guys are pretty tired, but looking forward to the challenge ahead," hesaid. "We have some strong-willed cricketers in this squad and we can savethis game. Andy (Flower) may hold the key but the other batsmen can alsoscore hundreds."Sri Lanka, 211 for three overnight, came out in the morning in a moreaggressive frame of mind. Sangakkara singled his positive intentions byclattering 12 runs in the opening over and Russel Arnold welcomed Gary Brentwith an audacious sweep to leg.Zimbabwe couldn’t match the self-discipline they had shown on the previousday, erring in both their line and length, with only Heath Streak (3-113)providing a consistent threat. Travis Friend and Henry Olonga conceded fourruns an over, whilst Trevor Gripper was blasted for 30 runs in a three overspell.Sangakkara, who had played a supporting role on Thursday, reeled off aseries of stylish swivel-pulls and square cuts, as he scored at a run a balland raced to his third Test century.Arnold, still struggling to safeguard his place in the Test side,disappointed again. He contributed 13 runs to a 79 partnership before hebecame the first casualty of the day, as Streak caught him on the hop with acurving inswinger (249 for four).But there was no respite for Zimbabwe as Hashan Tillakaratne carried onwhere he had left off against West Indies earlier in the month when he hadscored 205 not out at the same venue.Sangakkara added 71 with his 34-year-old club captain before he wascontroversially adjudged to have been caught at first slip.The left-hander had flayed at a short ball from Brent and the ball flewquickly to the left of Craig Wishart, who parried the ball before alast-second grab on the ground. Umpire Riazruddin deferred the decision totelevision umpire Tyronne Wijewardene. Replays appeared inconclusive, as towhether the ball had bounced off the turf or his forearms, but Wijewardenepressed the red light (320 for five).Thilan Samaraweera, a crucial part of Sri Lanka’s recent success, continuedhis remarkable run with the bat since scoring a hundred on debut againstIndia, adding 130 for the sixth wicket with Tillakaratne – their fourthcentury stand in six Test matches.Unlike their previous partnerships against India and West Indies, which hadbeen dour and remorseless batting displays, both players played freely,frequently exercising the branded ball boys patrolling the boundary ropes.It didn’t all go to plan, however, as Tillakaratne just missed out on atenth Test century, and his fourth in eight Tests since making his comebackin August, when he was caught behind for 96 whilst trying to late cut a wideball from Streak.But Samaraweera carried on and on, displaying unflappable concentration andstrong self-discipline during a chanceless unbeaten 123 – which leaves hisTest average at a staggering 140.7. He scored eight fours in his firstfifty, before playing more sedately as he moved towards his second Test ton,which he celebrated reaching with a lofted extra cover drive for six and acheeky sweep off Brent.Chaminda Vaas gave him solid support, ending a poor recent run with the batwith a career best unbeaten 74 before Sanath Jayasuriya eventually called ita day on 586, which was an all-time record score between the two sides,surpassing the 469 for nine scored by Sri Lanka in Kandy in 1997/8.