Fine century by Dimuth

A fine century by left hander Dimuth Karunaratne (139) and a sound unbeaten 85 by Lahiru Thirimanne helped the home team to reach a healthy 261 for 2 on the first day in their first unofficial Test match against the West Indies 'A' and Sri Lanka 'A' at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium in Hambantota yesterday.

Sri Lanka 'A' won the toss and elected to bat first, but lost opener and skipper Upul Tharanga for 6 runs. But the two Sri Lankan Test batsmen Dimuth Karunaratne in need of a substantial innings to boost himself stuck to his job well striking 139 off 235 deliveries with the aid of fourteen boundaries.

Lahiru Thirimanne who added 217 runs with Karunaratne for the second wicket remained unbeaten on 85 facing 245 deliveries with eight fours. Dinesh Chandimal was the other unbeaten batsman with 29.

Brief scores.

Sri Lanka 'A': 1st Innings 261 for 2 in 90 overs at close (Dimuth Karunaratne 139, LahiruThirimanne 85 n.o., Dinesh Chandimal 29 n.o, S.T.Gabriel 1 for 30,C.R. Brathwaite 1 for 46)