Dilshan ton hands Sri Lanka the advantage
Cricinfo staff
02-Dec-2009
Tillakaratne Dilshan's 11th Test hundred took Sri Lanka to a comfortable total on a testing pitch • AFP
A classy century by Tillakaratne Dilshan took Sri Lanka to a comfortable total on a testing pitch. Together with Tharanga Paranavitana he gave Sri Lanka a brisk start. Dilshan punished Sreesanth and Zaheer Khan to keep up with the trend of frenetic first sessions in the series with 116 runs. It wasn't just fours and sixes as the Dilshan kept taking the singles, putting behind him the odd swinging delivery.
He was in the middle of a clever innings. Every time Harbhajan looked like pinning him down, Dilshan either pulled out the paddle-sweep or stole singles. By the time Sangakkara got out he had scored 34 out of his 53 runs in boundaries, the next 40 featured just three fours. He never let Ojha settle in and found he could drive Sreesanth's outswingers for singles. Every loose delivery from Harbhajan he punished, managed 38 runs off 64 deliveries the offspinner bowled to him, and kept slipping away.
His respect for Ojha showed in how he stepped out and hit a straight six in the last over before tea. That shot took him to 99, and post tea he duly made it to his 11th hundred, on the same day that he crossed 1000 runs for the year.