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| Opener's unbeaten 135 and an unbroken 149-run stand with Chandimal takes home team to 250 for 2 on opening day of first Test against West Indies |
Karunaratne was unbeaten on 135 and had Dinesh Chandimal (72 not out) for company at stumps on a hot Wednesday (October 14) at Galle International Stadium.
West Indies' pacers bowled a probing line and length early on after Angelo Mathews won the toss and opted to bat. But Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva gave Sri Lanka a steady start through a 56-run opening-wicket stand out of which Silva contributed 17. Kemar Roach broke the partnership just before lunch when a full-length ball close to off stump induced an edge from Silva and Denesh Ramdin, the wicketkeeper, held on.
Lahiru Thirimanne got a reprieve when Darren Bravo dropped him in the slips when he was on 6. But that did not prove too costly as Thirimanne fell three overs later when he mistimed a lofted shot off Devendra Bishoo, the legspinner, that was held at short mid-wicket by Rajendra Chandrika, the substitute fielder.
That brought Karunaratne and Chandimal together. Their unbroken third-wicket association has been worth 149 so far.
After the promising start, West Indies' bowlers were made to work hard in tough conditions. They frequently asked questions of Sri Lanka's batsmen but did not find much luck. Between them, Marlon Samuels and Bishoo, the spinners, bowled 40 of the overs on the day.
Source: ICC