Sri Lanka 'A' gain upper hand at Moratuwa

Staff Reporter

May 23, 2002

India 'A' bowlers justified their captain Hrishikesh Kanitkar's decision to bowl first in the second 'Test' against Sri Lanka A at the De Zoysa Stadium, Moratuwa on Thursday. But, by the end of the second day, the visiting side's top-order had let the team down somewhat, ending on 55 for four.

The first day of the match being washed out, the second day saw Sri Lanka 'A', powered by hard-hitting opener Avishka Gunawardene, make a strong start. Quiet easily the dominant partner, Gunawardene ensured that his team put up 53 runs before fellow-opener Geral Daniel (12) became the first wicket to fall on the day.

Sri Lanka 'A' number three Mohamed Nawaz, who replaced Daniel, continued his good batting form. Fresh from an unbeaten 80-odd in the second innings of the first 'Test' between the two sides, Nawaz started to middle the ball with heartening confidence. Even the dismissals of Gunawardene (51 off 69 balls) and captain Tillakaratne Dilshan (7, in the space of 17 runs failed to ruffle him.

With number five Chamara Silva proving an able ally, Nawaz began to stitch together a partnership that regained the intiative for the home team. The duo put on 121 runs before Nawaz (87) offered a return catch to Rohan Gavaskar. Nawaz's innings had lasted 148 balls and contained 12 fours and one six.

Once he departed, the Sri Lankan innings fell apart. Next man Muthumudalige Pushpakumara was out soon after, for just five. Soon, Silva too followed after a measured 65 off 103 balls.

The remainder of the tail proved to be fairly brittle. Only KS Lokuarachchi provided any semblance of a resistance scoring 29 off 45 balls before falling to L Balaji. Balaji ended with four wickets for 47, the most successful of the seven bowlers used.

India 'A' lost their first wicket, that of the in-form Gautam Gambhir, with just 19 on the board. Dulip Liyanage, who scalped Gambhir, snapped up two more in quick succession, removing Sridharan Sriram and Kanitkar. Pulasthi Gunaratne too got into the act, getting rid of Gavaskar.

At the close of play, Akash Chopra at the top of the order was unbeaten on 37 off 62 balls. He was accompanied by Jai P Yadav, who had made six. India 'A' were precariously perched at 55 for four, and it will take some good batting from this pair, and the batsmen to follow, to ensure that the visitors do not lose this match.

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