In the first match between England vs Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to bat. Olli Pope made his captaincy debut against Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka lost 3 wickets for just 6 runs batting first. Sri Lanka lost Nishan Madushka, Dimuth Karunaratne and Angelo Mathews in their first 3 wickets.
At 6-3, Sri Lanka were in deep trouble. However, captain Dhananjaya de Silva and debutant Milan Rathnayake steadied the ship with a gritty partnership. De Silva top-scored with 74, while Rathnayake made an impressive 72 on debut to lift Sri Lanka to 236 all out.
Chris Woakes was the pick of the England bowlers, taking 3-32 in his 11 overs. Spinner Shoaib Bashir also bowled well, claiming 3-55 to help dismiss Sri Lanka.
With the light fading, England openers Ben Duckett and Dan Lawrence negotiated a tricky period to guide the hosts to 22-0 at stumps. England will be pleased with their day’s work, but Sri Lanka showed fight to recover from their early collapse.
Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva praised debutant Milan Rathnayake’s composure, saying “The captain wanted me to stay in there and support him. That’s what I did and when he got out, then I played my natural game.”
“I think it’s a good day,” said Chris Woakes. “We would have liked to get a couple more wickets at the end, but we’re in a good position.”
Before play began, there was a minute’s applause in honour of former England batsman and coach Graham Thorpe, who sadly passed away earlier this month at the age of 55.
Some cricket pundits criticized Sri Lanka for bowling spin with the new ball in fading light at the end of the day, rather than taking the new ball themselves.
The bulk of Dhananjaya de Silva’s 74 came with three different partners, showing his composure and ability to bat with the tail.
Despite Sri Lanka’s lower-order resistance, England will be pleased to have bowled the visitors out for 236 and reach stumps unscathed. The hosts are in a strong position heading into Day 2.