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Sri Lanka took early control of the first round in South Africa with strong mid-order performances from Dhananjaya de Silva and Dinesh Chandimal that led their team to 340-6 on stumps on the opening day of the series on Saturday.
De Silva made an excellent 79 before retiring injured with what appeared to be a left hip injury. Chandimal topped that with his 85 and goalkeeper Niroshan Dickwella contributed 49. His contributions ultimately justified Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne’s decision to hit first on a SuperSport Park field where fast players, and especially fast South African players , generally thrive.
De Silva and Chandimal’s partnership was 131 before he was cut by injury, and Chandimal and Dickwella later posted 99, lifting Sri Lanka from early problems at 54-3 before lunch to 296-5 when Dickwella departed late. pm.
Catherine Kotze / AP
Dhananjaya de Silva, pictured on the ground, had to retreat injured, but his 79 inspired Sri Lanka on the first day of the Boxing Day test in South Africa.
De Silva had previously left the course in a golf cart for doctors and had to be helped up the stairs to the locker room. He could still go back to the crease on day two to help his team further, but there are signs that the injury is more serious and he could rule it out for the rest of the test. His injury occurred while running for a fast single.
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Despite the disappointment over De Silva, Sri Lanka’s position at Centurion was far better than even their players expected.
“We were thinking about a score of over 280,” said Chandimal, who started out carefully before cutting free to hit 11 four in his innings.
Catherine Kotze / AP
Dhananjaya de Silva left the field with a hip injury.
“The first 30 balls are very important but then you have to score runs. That was my plan and I executed it well. And we as a team put a really good total on the board. “
A total of close to 400 would be a fabulous start for Sri Lankans.
Tourists played with the adventure for most of the day. It wasn’t worth it when Captain Karunaratne (22), Kusal Mendis (12) and Kusal Perera (16) fell on their way to South African bowling.
Catherine Kotze / AP
It was a frustrating first day for South African bowlers, including Lungi Ngidi.
Karunaratne slashed a shot at his own stumps, Mendis shot a straight shot up into the air and Perera threw a ball wide deflected from stump to edge at goalkeeper Quinton de Kock, South Africa’s new test captain.
Perera’s strike was the first of three wickets of the day for Wiaan Mulder, who was Proteas’ best pitcher at 3-68.
De Silva’s attacking approach paid off before his burgeoning resistance of the century with Chandimal was interrupted by his injury. He hit 11 fours and a six and his 79 came with a strike rate of 75.
Catherine Kotze / AP
Sri Lanka’s Dimuth Karunaratne ducks down to avoid a goalkeeper.
Sri Lanka scored to four runs in each session on the first day as a South African attacker who missed bomber Kagiso Rabada due to a hip injury struggled to prevail.
“I don’t think the guys are happy with today’s performance,” Mulder said. “We do not execute. We gave them a couple of gifts and they ran away from us. “
Both teams are playing their first test in nearly a year after the series was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, and Sri Lanka appeared to have found its feet first. Karunaratne’s team is surely also emboldened by the fact that they became the first Asian team to win a Test series in South Africa when they surprised everyone by taking a two-match series 2-0 in early 2019.
