Jayasundera and Bhanuka drive Sri Lanka Board President's XI

Sat, Oct 10, '15

Sri Lanka Board President's XI took control of the West Indians' three-day warm-up encounter at the SSC, as two young batsmen struck centuries. Udara Jayasundera remained unbeaten on 124 at stumps, by which time the hosts had whittled out a 24-run lead, with seven first-innings wickets in hand. Jayasundera had shared a 214-run stand with 20-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman Minod Bhanuka, who hit an attractive 101 from 160 balls.

The partnership was all the more impressive for the state of the scoreline at its beginning. They had come together third ball after Kemar Roach had dismissed two batsmen from the Test squad in successive deliveries; Kusal Mendis was caught at point, and Lahiru Thirimanne offered an edge to the wicketkeeper. As Sri Lanka have picked only eight batsmen in its Test squad, Thirimanne's failure is unlikely to force him out of the Test XI, but it does put further pressure on the batsman, who has had a modest home Test season so far.

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