The first four-day Test cricket match between Sri Lanka ‘A’ team and the England Lions team ended in a draw at the Galle International Cricket Stadium yesterday evening due to rain. After the end of the 48th over of the England Lions second innings, the match could not be restarted due to the rain falling on the stadium, and by that time the England Lions team had accumulated 221 runs with the loss of 7 wickets.
Sri Lanka ‘A’ needed three wickets to win the match and England Lions needed 111 more runs to win the match. The Sri Lankan bowlers succeeded in breaking the first 4 wickets of the English Lions team who entered the field yesterday afternoon to chase a target of 333 runs for 71 runs. There, Milan Ratnayake, who took the wicket of Alex Lees as the first wicket of the England team in the third ball of his first over, also took the wicket of Tom Haynes, the century winner of the first innings, when the England scoreboard was recorded as 29 runs.
Tom Haynes scored 20 and Milan sent captain Haseeb Hameed for his third wicket to send a strong warning to the visitors. However, Jos Bohannon and Jack Haines managed to make a partnership of 84 runs for the fifth wicket for the England team. Had it not been for that connection, Sri Lanka would have even had a chance to win this match. Lasith Embuldeniya, who started the bowling against England’s second innings, bowled 19 overs, but he could not take a single wicket. Lakshita Manasinghe took 2 wickets and Amshi de Silva took one wicket.
Sri Lanka ‘A’ team, who had scored 580 runs for the loss of 3 wickets at the start of the match yesterday, suspended their second innings at 663 runs for the loss of 9 wickets. Accordingly, Sri Lanka added another 83 runs to their innings yesterday, losing six wickets. The double-Centurian Nishan Madushka was the first batsman to lose in the Sri Lankan team yesterday after scoring 241 runs. Yesterday he collected 34 runs in his innings which included two sixes.
Skipper Nipun Dhananjaya meanwhile completed his century and scored 128 runs. Nipun Dhananjaya’s 170-ball innings included 18 fours and one six. Nishan Madushka and Nipun Dhananjaya had a partnership of 215 runs for the 4th wicket, which was the second double-century partnership recorded in the Sri Lankan innings, and a partnership of 203 runs was also recorded for the first wicket between Oshadha Fernando and Nishan Madushka. When the total number of runs was recorded as 654 runs, Nishan Madushka was dismissed as the 4th wicket and after that in another 19 runs, 5 wickets fell in Sri Lanka’s innings.
Dunith Wellalage, who was dismissed for a run in the first innings, was dismissed for no runs in this innings as well. In bowling, Jack Carson took 4 wickets and Liam Patterson took 3 wickets for the England Lions team. (Divaina)
Score summary
Sri Lanka A 1st innings: 136/10
England Lions 1st innings: 467/10
Sri Lanka 2nd Innings: 663/9 in that second innings
England Lions 2nd Innings: 221/7
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