Silva sparkles before quicks strike back
As the senior England side did against India, the Lions fought back when a match appeared to be drifting away from them against Sri Lanka A at Scarborough
ESPNcricinfo staff
03-Aug-2011
As the senior England side did against India, the Lions fought back when a match appeared to be drifting away from them against Sri Lanka A at Scarborough. Jade Dernbach and James Harris struck with the second new ball as five wickets fell for 33 runs after the visitors' middle order had taken them to the brink of a lead with captain Kaushal Silva making 89
Sri Lanka's openers, Malinda Warnapura and Lahiru Thirimanne, gave the team a solid start with a stand of 60 before Dernbach and Stuart Meaker claimed a wicket apiece. However, wickets then became harder to find as Sri Lanka closed in on the Lions total of 299.
Dimuth Karunaratne, who made his ODI debut against England at Old Trafford, added 72 for the third wicket with Silva, who then took control of the innings in a partnership of 147 with Bhanuka Rajapaksa. The Lions bowlers didn't let the scoring rate get away from them, but Silva and Rajapaksa (76) still collected regular boundaries.
Both batsmen had hundreds within sight when the hosts started their fightback. Dernbach removed Rajapaksa before Silva fell eleven short of his hundred as Harris, the Glamorgan pace bowler, had him caught behind. Dernbach and Harris soon had another strike each as Sri Lanka's dominance slipped away while Dernbach also played a part in the run out of Sachithra Serasinghe.
"I'm pleased with my performance today, the ball's coming out well," Harris said. "We bowled to a plan, stuck to our guns, and we brought ourselves back into it at the end of the day. If we can bowl them out quickly tomorrow and then post a good total, we'll have a very good chance of winning."
