Jayawardene Stands Tall Amidst Ruins

Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene scored an unbeaten 168 as Sri Lanka ended the first day of the first Test in at Galle against England. If it weren’t for Jaywardene’s innings Sri Lanka might have been bowled out for much less. Jaywardene batted for almost the entire day but two overs for his 168, while no other batsman scored more than 27.

Electing to bat after winning the toss, Sri Lanka got off to a bad start, losing three wickets for only 15 runs in the first four overs. While the first three wickets may be as a result of bowlers’ skills some of the wickets in the middle were a clearly batsmen’s fault. Samaraweera was runout and Chandimal played a loose shot to be caught at cover. Sangakkara fell for a third first ball duck.

England will also rue missed opportunities having dropped Jayawardene four times, twice by Monty Panesar in almost comical manner. But in spite the chances, Jayawardene’s innings had class written all over it. Playing a waiting game, Jayawardene made bowlers bowl bad balls to him. He also at times wasn’t shy to take the attack to the opposition, thrice stepping out to hit sixes. On a pitch that is already turning where England will have to bat fourth, this 30^th century of Jaywardene could prove to be a decisive factor.