Karunaratne puts Sri Lanka in strong position
DUBAI: Opener Dimuth Karunaratne compiled a brilliant century to put Sri Lanka in a commanding position at 254 for three on the opening day of the second day-night Test in Dubai on Friday.
The left-hander was unbeaten on 133, adding 118 for an unbroken fourth-wicket stand with skipper Dinesh Chandimal (49 not out) after Sri Lanka won the toss and batted on a flat Dubai Stadium pitch.
Karunaratne batted with authority and style to reach his seventh Test hundred off 197 balls, hitting Mohammad Amir for two consecutive boundaries to complete three figures.
He batted for 381 minutes, hitting 15 boundaries and a six.
Karunaratne fell seven runs short of a hundred in the first Test in Abu Dhabi where Sri Lanka won by 21 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.
Chandimal followed his 155 not out in the opening Test with another confident innings, collecting five boundaries as the Sri Lankan pair blunted Pakistan’s bowling attack. “It’s satisfying to score a hundred,” said Karunaratne, who needs just 10 more to reach 3,000 Test runs. “I missed that chance in Abu Dhabi. It was tough to bat early on, but once I had my eyes set in I batted with confidence.
“It was nice to have a good partnership with Chandimal and that has given us a good score which we need to build on tomorrow.”
Pakistan took the second new ball after 82 overs but failed to claim any further wickets, with Amir walking off the field in the middle of his 17th over with an apparent injury. Sri Lanka first innings: D Karunaratne (not out)133 K Silva c Ahmed b Shah27 S Samarawickrama c and b Amir38 K Mendis c Shafiq b Shah1 D Chandimal (not out)49 Extras: (LB-1, NB-4, W-1)6 Total: (for 3 wkts; 90 overs)254 Fall of wickets: 1-63, 2-131, 3-136. Bowling: Amir 16.3-5-59-1, Abbas 18-5-48-0, Riaz 13-5-25-0, Shah 29.3-5-90-2, Shafiq 8-1-16-0, Sohail 5-1-15-0.