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Yuvraj Singh, who struck his first ODI hundred since the 2011 World Cup, savoured his emotional knock against England in Cuttack

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jan-20171:59

Yuvraj admits he had doubts about his international career

Yuvraj Singh, who spent three years out of India’s ODI side, marked his return with his career-best score – 150 off 127 balls – in his 295th ODI, against England in Cuttack. Once he reached his century – his first since the 2011 World Cup in India, where he was Man of the Tournament – Yuvraj thumped his chest and grew emotional. The 35-year-old pressed on to make 150, before edging behind in the 43rd over. His knock was instrumental in launching India from 25 for 3 to 381 for 6, and Yuvraj rated it as probably one of his best.”Probably, one of my best – my highest score in ODIs,” Yuvraj told Star Sports. “The last time I got a hundred was the 2011 World Cup; I am pretty happy that I played a good innings.”I just tried to get a partnership. They [England] bowled really well upfront and we just wanted to rotate the strike and get into the rhythm, and take our time. There was a lot of time. I just wanted to play down the ground and not take many risks.”Yuvraj saw off Chris Woakes’ threatening opening burst (5-3-14-3) and rebuilt the innings with MS Dhoni before unfurling a gallery of shots, including the lofted drive over long-off and the pick-up flick over midwicket. Yuvraj credited his touch to a prolific run in the Ranji Trophy: he scored 672 runs in eight innings at 84, including a career-best 260 for Punjab against Baroda at Feroz Shah Kotla in October last year.”I think [in] the whole domestic season I had been batting well,” Yuvraj said. “I have been hitting the ball well. I have worked hard on my fitness and my batting. Even in the last game I was hitting the ball well. I knew if it’s my day… I just told Sanjay Bangar the way I’m hitting the ball I think I am going to score big. Whatever the stage is, we try to be positive, that’s the reason why me and Mahi were able to get the rhythm going.”Yuvraj Singh wound the clock back with a stylish century•Associated Press

Yuvraj lauded his former captain Dhoni with whom he added 256 in 38.2 overs for the fourth wicket. Ahead of the series, Yuvraj had said he was looking forward to “batting fearlessly” with a freed-up Dhoni, and on Thursday he reiterated that Dhoni was still a key cog in the middle order, despite relinquishing the limited-overs captaincy.”He [Dhoni] played a great innings,” Yuvraj said. “He is the most experienced middle-order batsman in the team. He is also a sensational captain. He was more free today, the way he was batting. I have always said when Mahi is not captaining he is more free and you saw the result today.”Later, at the post-match press conference, Yuvraj elaborated on how the pair had gone about building the partnership: “We two were the most experienced players in the team. He realised that I was getting boundaries. He was just there rotating the strike and our first target was to make a 50-run partnership. After that we wanted to take our partnership further to 100 runs.”Yuvraj also admitted there was a time after his battle with cancer where he thought “whether he should continue or not”.”I came back after recovering from cancer, the first two-three years were very hard,” he said. “I had to work hard on my fitness and I was in and out of the team. I was not able to get a permanent spot. There was a time when I was wondering whether to continue or not to continue. Never giving up is my theory. I knew time will change.”I don’t think about who’s reacting to what nor do I read newspapers. I don’t watch TV too. I try to focus on my game and prove a point to myself that I’m still good enough for international cricket.”

South Africa legspinner Imran Tahir has claimed the top spot in the ODI rankings for bowlers, to go with his No. 1 rank in T20 internationals

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Feb-20170:45

Tahir tops ODI rankings for bowlers for the third time

South Africa legspinner Imran Tahir has claimed the top spot in the ODI rankings for bowlers, to go with his No. 1 rank in T20 internationals. South Africa have also overtaken Australia to become the No. 1 ranked ODI team after their 5-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka at home.Tahir passed New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult and West Indies spinner Sunil Narine in the ODI charts, after claiming ten wickets at 20 apiece against Sri Lanka. Kagiso Rabada, at No. 7, is the only other South African bowler in the top ten.South Africa batsman Faf du Plessis also achieved a career-high rank in ODIs – climbing seven places to No. 4 – after making 410 runs in five innings against Sri Lanka, at an average of 102 and strike rate of 105. His team-mates Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla are at No. 5 and 7, while AB de Villiers is at No. 2.After taking a 3-0 lead in the series against Sri Lanka, South Africa were in with a chance of taking the No. 1 spot from Australia because Aaron finch’s side lost the Chappell-Hadlee Series 0-2 in New Zealand.. AB de Villiers’s team duly went on to complete the 5-0 result.

New Zealand seamer Tim Southee has been ruled out of the third Test against South Africa in Hamilton due to a hamstring injury he sustained in the hosts’ eight wicket-loss in Wellington

Firdose Moonda in Hamilton23-Mar-20171:15

Moonda: Depleted New Zealand left with plenty of problems

New Zealand have suffered a third major injury blow in three Tests with news that vice-captain Tim Southee has been ruled out of the Hamilton match with a hamstring tear. Although only a grade one tear, Southee will not be risked in an attack that is still waiting on confirmation of whether Trent Boult, who sat out the Wellington Test with an upper leg injury, will be able to lead it. At the other end of the line-up, New Zealand are without their most experienced batsman Ross Taylor, who suffered a calf tear in the first Test and has not been able to participate in the remaining two.Southee’s absence leaves New Zealand with four other seam options: Neil Wagner, Matt Henry, who is yet to play in the series, and allrounders Colin de Grandhomme and Jimmy Neesham. It is likely New Zealand will choose between three of the quartet to feature in an attack that is set to include both specialist spinners.Jeetan Patel and Mitchell Santner are the two slower bowlers in the New Zealand squad and both played in the first Test in Dunedin, at the expense of Southee, on a slow, low surface. The Hamilton one is set to be similar, although it is also expected to take some turn. With New Zealand deciding not to add legspinner Ish Sodhi to their squad, the two tweakers will likely be in the starting XI.This is Southee’s second injury of the summer. In September, he was ruled out of the three-Test series in India after an ankle ligament strain. He went on to play the four home Tests against Pakistan and Bangladesh, against whom he picked up his 200th Test wicket, before sitting out the first Test against South Africa in Dunedin and being brought back for the second. There is no word on whether the injury will affect Southee’s participation in the IPL, which starts on April 5.Since Boult’s Test debut in December 2011, New Zealand have played only three matches without both Boult and Southee, none of which the side could win.South Africa have an injury concern of their own. Quinton de Kock suffered damage to a tendon on his right index finger and could need up to six weeks on the sidelines. A late call will be taken on de Kock’s availability on Friday afternoon.

Heather Knight, England women’s captain, has suffered a stress fracture in her left foot that is expected to rule her out for five-to-six weeks

ESPNcricinfo staff04-May-2017England have suffered a blow ahead of the Women’s World Cup with the news that their captain, Heather Knight, has suffered a stress fracture in her left foot and is expected to be out for five-to-six weeks.Knight should be fit to return for the tournament, which starts in seven weeks’ time on June 24 with England playing India, but the injury could hamper her preparations. She will wear a protective boot for the first stage of her recovery, before returning to light training, with a goal of being ready for England’s World Cup warm-up match against Sri Lanka on June 19.England have been focused on this tournament since Knight was appointed as Charlotte Edwards’ replacement at the start of last summer. Speaking at the unveiling of England’s new kit on Tuesday, she was excited about the challenge of trying to win a global trophy for the first time since the 2009 Women’s World T20.”It’s been a long time coming, but it’s going to come round pretty quick now, and what a summer it’s hopefully going to be,” Knight said. “There’s nothing better than a home World Cup and being able to captain in it, so as a team we are pretty excited.”Knight and the coach, Mark Robinson, have enjoyed a successful 12 months working together, with four limited-overs series wins from four, and England will go into the Women’s World Cup ranked as the No. 2 ODI side in the world, behind reigning champions, Australia.However, England’s recent record in global tournaments has not been impressive, despite the advent of professionalism in 2014, and Robinson has suggested they still have improvements to make. The injury to Knight – whose all-round importance is emphasised by her averaging 38.75 with the bat and 19.00 with the ball as captain – is particularly unwelcome ahead of a competition she believes will be the “most scrutinised ever” for the women’s game.Heather Knight has led England to four series wins from four since being appointed captain•Getty Images

“It’s a massive opportunity for women’s cricket to put the sport out there and show how far the game’s come, and I think it’s going to be the most publicised and scrutinised World Cup ever,” she said. “As a team we are in a good place for that. It’s going to be slightly alien I think, the things we’ll come across, but we’ve worked hard in the last year to be ready for that added pressure and expectation, [and] that’s a good thing for our sport.”A positive for England in recent days has been the return to action of wicketkeeper-batsman Sarah Taylor, after almost a year away from the game, and Knight was encouraged by her progress and potential World Cup availability.”She’s done massively well to make that trip to Abu Dhabi and was involved in a lot more than we thought she would be. Seeing her back on a cricket pitch was really brilliant. She would still walk into any team in the world and we’d love to have her. She’s taking it one step at a time. The signs are positive, and we’ll see how it goes leading up to the World Cup”It’s brilliant that it is becoming easier to talk about [mental health], it’s made it a lot easier for a number of people. To see Sarah addressing those issues is good to see, it puts cricket in perspective a little bit. Mental health, and health in general, is a lot more important.”

The 36-year old former South Africa opener has relinquished captaincy of Glamorgan in four-day cricket, but will continue to lead them in T20s until his retirement

Firdose Moonda24-May-2017Former South African Test opener Jacques Rudolph will retire from all forms of cricket at the end of the 2017 English season. The 36-year old has stepped down as four-day captain for Glamorgan with immediate effect, but will continue leading the T20 side until his retirement.”The time feels right to call an end to my playing career,” Rudolph said. “I have been incredibly fortunate to have enjoyed playing the game I love for the last 20 years. But at the end of this summer it will be time to focus on a new venture away from cricket and spend more time with my young family.”Rudolph, a product of the famed Afrikaans Hoer Seunskool, made his first-class debut twenty seasons ago in the 1997-98 summer. He played 48 Tests in two stints – the first 35 came between 2003 and 2006 and the remaining 13 between 2011 and 2012 – because he had signed a Kolpak deal with Yorkshire in 2007.By scoring 1000 runs or more in his first four seasons with the county, Rudolph found his way back into the South African team. But his second coming yielded only one Test century and he was dropped in November 2012. Rudolph then turned his attention to playing franchise cricket for the Titans and eventually called time on his South Africa career after the 2015-16 season.Rudolph has been with Glamorgan since 2014 and has captained them for the last two seasons. In 2017, he scored 319 runs in five first-class matches at 35.44 and 305 runs in eight one-day matches at 38.12. The T20 competition he will lead Glamorgan in begins on July 7. While Rudolph has not detailed what life after cricket holds, he has interest in a game farm with fellow South African batsman Boeta Dippenaar.With Rudolph standing down, Glamorgan have given the Championship captaincy to their 35-year-old Australian seamer Michael Hogan until the end of the season.

Dougie Brown, the former England and Scotland allrounder, has been named coach of UAE

ESPNcricinfo staff28-May-2017Dougie Brown, the former England and Scotland allrounder, has been named coach of UAE. He will begin working with the team full-time on June 1, leading up to a limited-overs tour of the Netherlands in mid-July.Earlier this year, Brown had worked with UAE over a three-month spell as interim coach. UAE had been without a full-time coach since former Pakistan pacer Aaqib Javed resigned from the post in April 2016.Brown, who played 25 ODIs and two T20Is in an international career spanning a decade from 1997 to 2007, had also previously overseen Netherlands, during the Desert T20 tournament in the UAE in January. Before that, he had worked as English county Warwickshire’s director of cricket, and the club won the domestic one-day cup during his time in charge.Waleed Bukhatir, a member of the Emirates Cricket Board Member and UAE’s chief selector said: “Dougie’s influence with and impact on the players has been evident through their recent form and commitment, and we look forward to watching them continue this upward curve under his guidance.”Brown said he hoped to build on the strides he made during his three-month stint with the team. “We have had an outstanding three months and I continue to be impressed with both individual and team performances,” he said. “I relish the opportunity to further develop the team culture and reinforce our style of play.”

Raza also acknowledged continuity, a theory endorsed by head coach Heath Streak and chief selector Tatenda Taibu, for their recent upswing

Andrew Fidel Fernando17-Jul-2017On a track that has now begun to produce unplayable balls, Zimbabwe’s key to victory on day five will be discipline. So says Sikandar Raza, whose maiden Test century played a pivotal role in transforming the match situation.Zimbabwe are seven wickets away from history, and have 218 runs to defend. Though the overnight pair – Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews – have each produced great rearguard innings before, there isn’t much experience to follow. Niroshan Dickwella and Asela Gunaratne have played only 12 Tests between them; Gunaratne is carrying a hamstring injury in any case.”I think patience and discipline will play a huge role,” Raza said. “If we can stay disciplined and patient, I think there is enough for Sean Williams, Graeme Cremer and the other spinners as well – for balls to misbehave. You could get a jaffa that you can’t do much about. I think on a track like this, once you get the senior players out, with the way their batting is at the moment, it could open a door for us to sneak through.”As was seen with the dismissal of Dimuth Karunaratne, the pitch can also occasionally produce big-turning deliveries out of the rough. Karunaratne had in fact left a Williams delivery that pitched wide but leapt back at him to clip off stump. Williams persisted with a legside line, trying to find the same patch of rough, for many of the remainder of his overs in the day.”We discussed with Sean, and because there was a lot of turn with that dismissal,” Raza said. “The moment they try and get greedy to score, the slip could come into play, the off stump could be exposed, and we could sneak in a wicket there. We wanted to hold one end so that Cremer can attack from the other. While we are holding it, we’re still creating a few chances.”Of his knock, Raza partly credited the inspiration he derived from batting coach Lance Klusener. Zimbabwe had been 23 for 4 at lunch on day three, then 59 for 5 not long after. But by the time Raza departed, they had a lead greater than 300 and were running the match. Along the way, he had forged partnerships worth 86 with PJ Moor, and 144 with Malcolm Waller.”Yes, the heads were down for a little while during that lunch break when we were 23 for 4. Klusener had a word with us and said that it’s up to us – the guys who were still to bat – whether we go down without a fight, or we show some heart.”Zimbabwe have used the sweep shot to excellent effect throughout the tour, and Raza – in particular – combatted the spinners with a range of cross batted strokes. Almost all the batsmen have contributed at some point in the tour, and Klusener has played a role in the run-making, Raza said.”The batting plans come from us. Then we discuss and share our plans with Klusener and then he has his input. Of course he has a world of experience. If I have a plan which I think is too risky, Klusener will always advise me and say you could have a better plan – do XYZ. It’s quite a nice relationship all the batters have got with our batting coach.”If you look at the Sri Lanka tour, everyone has scored runs. In the ODI series we started with Solomon Mire, then Hamilton Masakadza. Then we had Tarisai Musakanda, who is a young guy who got into a team, batted in a difficult place, and did exceptionally. Craig Ervine, has been performing. Sean Williams had been performing.All the guys heading into the Test had runs behind them. Everyone has a different plan. Everyone has their own plan. All our plans worked around being positive. Some were around being aggressive. My plan was certainly like that.”Zimbabwe had not had the happiest year before coming to Sri Lanka, having lost a home ODI series to Afghanistan, and one ODI to Scotland as well. But in keeping the same players around since the start of the year has begun to pay dividends, Raza said.”I think since Heath Streak has become head coach and Tatenda Taibu has been chief selector, we have kept the same group of players. So, certainly it has been about six months that we’ve been together – this core of players.”We haven’t had a lot of changes in our touring 15 or playing XI either. Every time someone has got a chance in the playing XI, they’ve stepped up as well. We’ve had a very consistent squad, and I think that goes hand in hand with consistent performances as well.”

Paul Walter underlined his burgeoning reputation as an allrounder of considerable promise with starring performances from both bat and ball on the final day against the West Indians

ECB Reporters Network03-Aug-2017Roston Chase completed a productive match with another half-century•Getty Images

Paul Walter underlined his burgeoning reputation as an allrounder of considerable promise with starring performances from both bat and ball on the final day against the West Indians.He rescued Essex from outright collapse with his highest first-class score and then dismissed the first two batsmen when the West Indians batted again. They had increased that notional lead to 288 when time was called on their batting practice at with 20 overs remaining.Walter had come in at 52 for 5 in the fifth over of the day – soon to be 56 for 6 – and was still there, 68 not out, when Essex declared just before three o’clock.He faced 139 balls, hitting nine fours and a straight six off Devendra Bishoo that threatened the window of the radio commentary box and its occupants. He had fifty-run partnerships with Aron Nijjar and Matt Dixon to tame a West Indian attack in which Kemar Roach finished with 5 for 43.With a ball in his hand, Walter has eased into the key third-seamer position in the Essex attack in the absence of the injured Matt Quinn and took wickets with his sixth and seventh balls.Walter had steadied Essex after they lost two wickets in the first eight overs of the third day to leave them 56 for 6. The fifth wicket fell when an outswinger from Jason Holder found the edge of Callum Taylor’s bat and Kyle Hope dived across from third slip to take the catch.Hope took his third catch of the innings to end Nick Browne’s near two-hour stay at the crease. The left-hander faced another 24 balls during the first 35 minutes of play without advancing his overnight score of 16 before Roach found his edge.Walter was then joined in a 50-run stand for the seventh wicket by Nijar that took the Essex total past 100. Nijar raced along pleasingly at a run-a-ball before he was taken at the third attempt by a juggling Kieran Powell at second slip to give Miguel Cummins a second wicket.Walter was particularly strong through mid-off where he drove both Holder and Roston Chase for boundaries. However, he lost his third partner when Aaron Beard chopped on to give Roach wicket his fifth wicket.A deflection off Roach to third man took Walter past his previous highest score of 47. He reached his maiden fifty from 97 balls with a lofted drive that just cleared cover’s head.Matt Dixon had provided solid support in an ninth-wicket stand of 53 before he was lbw to Bishoo and the declaration followed soon after.The ubiquitous Walter made the breakthrough with the ball when he had Kraigg Brathwaite caught behind by a diving Adam Wheater in his opening over, and Kyle Hope bowled without scoring in his next. Powell was the third to go, caught behind to Taylor’s first ball, a whippy inswinger slanted across the batsman and took the edge.Some wayward bowling after tea helped fourth-wicket pair Shai Hope and Chase enjoy some easy pickings. Aaron Beard was particularly severely dealt with, going for 35 in five overs, while Chase twice in succession flicked Dixon off his legs for fours as he went for six an over. Chase had the time to reach his second fifty of the match, from 69 balls, before the players shook hands.

After winning the Auty Cup last week after 26 years, USA players and staff discuss the shift in the team’s attitude and talk of what lies ahead for the side

Peter Della Penna23-Sep-2017USA coach Pubudu Dassanayake credits the Under-19 team’s attitude in a runner-up finish to Canada at the Under-19 World Cup Qualifier in July as a key factor in reshaping the men’s unit that achieved Auty Cup success over Canada last week for the first time in 26 years.”I think it’s so important that every player who comes into this group, they have to play for the team and the team is first,” Dassanayake told ESPNcricinfo after USA’s 2-1 series victory over Canada last week. “Anybody who comes in from now on has to play for the team and it’s not about any individual. The Under-19 unit actually showed that with their limited capability.”They gave a hard time to the Canada Under-19 team and this group is also moving in the same direction. I think that sets the whole USA cricket into getting into that culture. You can be the best player in the country or have performed in the best way but the important thing is you need to fit into the group and respect the rest of the group. In the future, I hope every USA player that comes in aligns with that culture.”Dassanayake picked out the USA Under-19 side’s four-wicket win over a heavily favoured Canada in the first round of the double round-robin U-19 World Cup Qualifier in Toronto. On a helpful wicket, USA’s seamers ripped through Canada for 63 and in the process bowled 21 maidens. This after Dassanayake was regularly frustrated with the senior team in Uganda in May at Division Three for their indisciplined bowling lines that made it difficult to set any field.USA coach Pubudu Dassanayake discusses some strategies•Peter Della Penna

Despite having far less talent, the Under-19 players showed far more discipline. Their fielding was also exceptional, with a highlight-reel catch from Awais Mubarak making the rounds on the US edition of Sportscenter’s Top 10 plays. Canada Under-19 beat USA in the return match to claim the Americas region spot in the 2018 Under-19 World Cup, but Dassanayake said even in defeat his team’s battling in the second game gave him the blueprint for what he wanted from the men going forward.”The Under-19 tournament was an eye-opener for me because when I look at USA cricket and especially the national team, I thought changing this culture was a long way off,” Dassanayake said. “But suddenly when I saw this young group working together to want to win, I thought if these guys can do it, why can’t the next group do it and start the same?”It really opened my eyes to say ‘you know what, this is how we’re going to move forward with the senior cricketers as well.’ So that influenced me to force some things in the senior group and I think it’s working pretty well, especially with the captain Ibrahim Khaleel, who is in the same line with me about how we want to move forward.”After failing to gain promotion at Division Three in May, Dassanayake and the USA selection panel, headed by Ricardo Powell, enacted a series of major changes, naming Khaleel as new captain to replace Steven Taylor, whose priorities have shifted toward the West Indies. Meanwhile, Taylor’s fellow CPL-contracted players Timroy Allen and Akeem Dodson were dropped along with Alex Amsterdam, the team’s leading scorer at Division Four last year. Khaleel felt there was no doubt in the selectors’ eyes that the team sent to the Auty Cup was a first-choice USA squad in spite of the individual star-power absent.”Whatever people say, the coaches and selectors have said it’s the 14 best at this time and that’s the only reason they believed in that and gave us this team,” Khaleel said. “They know what is the best decision for this team to take, whatever players are the best to take, and most importantly we delivered it. The credit goes to the selectors and coach to give us a free hand to do whatever we’re comfortable at.”It’s a great feeling winning the Auty Cup after 26 years. I think it was a great team effort and I think we just kept it simple. We learned from the second game that we were not disciplined and I think in the third game that was the plan: to go back to the first game, how we bowled a disciplined line, just keep it tight and see where it goes from there. I really want to dedicate this tournament win to [USA high performance manager] Tom Evans, Pubudu and all the selectors who believed in this team and believed in me as captain.”Nosthush Kenjige celebrates the wicket of Akeem Dodson during his five-wicket haul at USA trials•Peter Della Penna

Both Khaleel and Dassanayake pinpointed left-arm spinner Nosthush Kenjige as a significant catalyst in the team’s changing dynamic. Making his debut on the tour of Uganda, the 26-year-old was at times inconsistent but showed flashes of his capability in taking seven wickets in six games to finish second on tour while also showcasing his electric fielding at backward point. Kenjige stepped up his bowling in the Auty Cup, leading the team with seven wickets in three games including a hat-trick in the second match.”I think Nosh, compared to [the tournament in] Uganda has improved his consistency,” Khaleel said. “He’s giving less runs and every ball he bowls looks like it will be a wicket-taking ball. I think that helped him get so many wickets at this tournament. I really liked his attitude and his approach. I think he’s one of the best left-arm spinners in the USA and I think he’s going to play for a very long time.”Though USA’s next ICC qualification tournaments are not expected to begin until midway through 2018, Dassanayake says the Auty Cup win should serve as a springboard to further success. The USA coach is working with ICC Americas caretaker staff to facilitate a tour of the UAE for November in conjunction with leading Associate sides’ participation for the final round of the WCL Championship, and is aiming to use that as another development opportunity to keep moulding a new identity for USA.”We have informed all the players even before this tournament of the direction we want to move forward with the national team,” Dassanayake said. “So we set up some standards: we had given details on how to move forward and the tournaments we are having in the next 15 months. We’re not going to wait 12 months to build the team for the next Division Three or the T20 World Cup Qualifier. We’re going to build the team from now.”So when we’re starting a new pathway to get this win, it’s a fabulous feeling. Of course, winning the Auty Cup is one thing but for a new group to come in to win, that has set the platform for us for the next 15 months.”

The opener’s seventh Test century and his unbeaten 118-run stand with captain Dinesh Chandimal laid the groundwork for Sri Lanka on the opening day of the pink-ball Test

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando06-Oct-2017Stumps
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDimuth Karunaratne was largely comfortable, both against pace and spin•Getty Images

Dimuth Karunaratne’s unbeaten 133 – an innings defined by its smoothness and control – ensured Sri Lanka’s first brush with day-night Test cricket was a success. They moved to 254 for 3 by stumps, after debutant Sadeera Samarawickrama contributed a delectable 38, and Dinesh Chandimal progressed to the verge of another cautious half-century. Earlier in the day, Kaushal Silva had hung around for 27 off 71 balls as well.Pakistan had got themselves in the match soon after the tea break, when Samarawickrama and Kusal Mendis fell in quick succession. Though they had Sri Lanka 136 for 3 at one stage, no further wickets would come in the second half of the day. Their frustrations were compounded in the last half an hour when Mohammad Amir pulled up in the middle of 88th over and left the field clutching his thigh, prompting concerns over the state of his hamstring. Sarfraz Ahmed also burned their two reviews trying to dismiss the irritating Chandimal.

Smart stats

870 – Test runs for Dimuth Karunaratne this year. He’s now third on te list behind Dean Elgar and Hashim Amla.
2 – Century partnerships for the fourth wicket for Sri Lanka in this series, both between Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal. In the home series against India they could collect only 77 runs from six fourth-wicket partnerships.
2012 – Last time a Sri Lankan opener scored three or more centuries in a year, before Karunaratne in 2017. Tillakaratne Dilshan was the last then and the last before that, in 2009.

Though the quicks gleaned good movement with the new pink balls, it was Yasir Shah who was the most menacing bowler, getting faster and faster turn off the Dubai pitch through the day. He bowled 29.3 overs and returned figures of 2 for 90. Amir was the other bowler to make a breakthrough – his first in the series.While other batsmen advanced at varying rates around him, Karunaratne was Sri Lanka’s day one metronome. Samarawickrama produced a boundary-filled cameo; Chandimal and Kaushal stonewalled, almost becoming completely inert at times. Karunaratne, however, progressed evenly, never getting pinned down, never pressing the attack for long. He struck three fours off one Mohammad Amir over just before the tea break, but that was as exciting as his day got. Otherwise, he was seen flicking balls to his favourite midwicket region, and working the spinners towards square leg. Over a hundred of his runs, and 11 of his 16 boundaries came on the legside.This seventh career hundred – his first in the first innings since 2015 – is an extension of his excellent run in 2017. Though he missed out on triple figures at Abu Dhabi, where he was run out on 93, Karunaratne has nevertheless struck three high-quality centuries this year, all against good attacks. Following two years in which he constantly tested the selectors’ patience, this has been a long-awaited harvest.Gone from his game are the impetuous flashes that frustrated him early in his career, and the tentativeness that plagued him twelve months ago. The Karunaratne that has emerged in 2017 is versatile and tempered – rarely short of scoring options for long, and often able to weather testing spells. On Friday, he saw out some early swing from Amir, and defused Yasir expertly, though the spinner was already gaining substantial turn from this surface. Even late in the day, he would make calculated trips down the track, to the spinners.Sri Lanka’s strong total had been built upon a sturdy opening stand, but it was the partnership for the second wicket that was the most watchable of the day. Samarawickrama, clearly unfazed by the occasion, showcased his considerable talent during his 35-ball stay. His battle with Yasir was particularly memorable.After the tea break, he cracked the legspinner through cover, then ran down the pitch to smoke him inside-out over the infield. Yasir occasionally beat his edge – especially with the slider – but Samarawickrama continued to attack nonetheless. After he flitted down the pitch to thump Yasir over the long off boundary, Sarfraz even took Yasir out of the attack. This, however, was no real victory for the batsman. Amir, the man who replaced Yasir, took Samarawickrama’s wicket with the first ball of his spell, leaping to his left to hold a return catch. So promising a maiden innings had it been, it was surprising how tamely it ended.The momentum that Samarawickrama had introduced to the Sri Lanka innings, however, would not last beyond his dismissal. After Mendis had also fallen, Chandimal played himself in slowly, as is his recent wont. He had one run off 21 balls before he attempted a boundary, and that sweep off Yasir may have been caught had Mohammad Abbas positioned himself better at square leg. In any case, Chandimal survived and just as he had done in the first innings at Abu Dhabi, set about making himself a nuisance. He would leave often, and defend even more, while his partner did much of the run-scoring. Toward their unbeaten stand of 118, Karunaratne contributed 68.With the pitch already turning, and an in-form Rangana Herath in their ranks, the visitors will feel confident about their position in the match. Their modest rate of scoring, however, means that Pakistan could still claim the advantage with early strikes on day two.