Gunawardene century saves Sri Lanka from freefall

Avishka Gunawardene dominated the second day of the unofficial Test Match at NCC Grounds today with a powerful century that rescued Sri Lanka A from a perilous position in the morning, allowing them to secure a first innings lead, albeit a small one.

The Sri Lankans were bowled out for 252, giving them a slender lead of 23, all of which was wiped out in an extended evening session, in which, for the second time in the match, Sri Lanka's opening bowlers failed to make use of the new ball. Pakistan finished the day on 55 without loss.

Gunawardene had set the tone for his innings the night before with four rollicking boundaries and continued in the same vein, raising the tempo with each wicket that Pakistan claimed. Sri Lanka, starting the day on 31 for one, slipped to 87 for five in the second hour of the morning and the prospect of a first innings deficit loomed large.

The ever-obdurate Thilan Samaraweera then gave Gunawardene the solid support he required in a 109 run stand for the sixth wicket that kept Sri Lanka in this match. Samaraweera scored just 20 of those, but, crucially, gave Gunawardene a chance to launch a stunning fight-back.

The burly left-hander is renowned for the power of his stroke-play. When he plays in a six-a-side tournament it is a forgone conclusion that he will walk off with the "Most Sixes" award. Unfortunately he has so far proved inconsistent in the national side and has not enamoured some with his over powering self-confidence.

There is no doubt, however, that on song, there are few more destructive players in the world. Jayasuriya can appear positively tame in comparison. He really started to rock after the fall of the fifth wicket. He launched into the impressive Danish Kaneria with a flurry of cover drives and thumping late cuts. The fast bowlers were thrashed square of the wicket and Hasan Raza, the Pakistan A captain, wasted no time before posting a deep point.

He was finally dismissed for 132 from 171 balls, having hit 19 fours and two sixes. Revealingly, 75 per cent of his runs were scored between extra cover and third man, which says much for his strengths, but also of the Pakistani bowlers, who obliged him with far too much width.

When he was finally dismissed, trapped leg-before wicket by the economical Yasir Arafat, Sri Lanka were still 34 runs short of Pakistan's first innings score of 229. Suresh Perera, another player with a point to prove, continued the entertainment with a brisk 45, full of wonderfully clean stokes of Kaneria, including four sixes.

Kaneria though had his revenge when the over eager Perera was bowled whilst charging down the wicket. The leg spinner then cleaned up the tail to finish with six for 83 from his 25 overs. A tall man with a Qadir twitch at the start of his run, he bowls at a fair pace, but still gets the ball to dip in the air. He troubled all the batsmen and fully deserved his rewards.

Sri Lanka, though delighted by securing a first innings lead, will have been desperately disappointed by the performance of an experienced batting order. Gunawardene apart, all the top order failed.

Micahel Vandort was the first to go, caught at the wicket off Najaf Shah for six; Tillakaratne Dilshan occupied the crease for 45 minutes without ever looking comfortable before miscuing to mid off; Indika de Saram wafted lamely at Yasir Arafat to be caught behind for a duck and Chamara Silva guiding a catch off Kaneria into the hands of Imran Farhat at slip.

Not too much then for the Sri Lankan selectors to cheer, though they will be delighted to have seen Suresh Perera score some runs. The likes of Indika de Saram and Tillakaratne Dilshan have to now make sure they perform in the second innings, the last of the match.

Pakistan, meanwhile, are sure to be desperately disappointed by their fielding: they dropped five catches in all today, most of which should have been snapped up with ease. The employment of a fielding coach, Julien Fountain, on this tour, a relative luxury on an A tour, is clearly justified.