Lankan batsmen pummel hapless Ireland bowlers

• Karunaratne, and Madushka help themselves to centuries

Nishan Madushka celebrates after scoring a century during third day of the second and final cricket Test match between Sri Lanka and Ireland at the Galle International Cricket Stadium in Galle on 26 April 2023 – AFP

Sri Lanka’s Dimuth Karunaratne celebrates after scoring a half-century (50 runs) during third day of the second and final cricket Test match between Sri Lanka and Ireland at the Galle International Cricket Stadium in Galle on 26 April 2023 - AFP

The inexperience and deficiencies of the Ireland bowlers at Test level were exposed to the hilt when Sri Lanka plundered runs at will on a rain truncated third day to finish on an imposing 357-1 in reply to Ireland’s first innings of 492 in the second cricket Test played at the Galle International Cricket Stadium yesterday.

With rain forcing an early finish to the final session for the second successive day, Sri Lanka who trail Ireland by 135 runs will be looking for options of how to get about and force a win in the remaining two days of the match with the threat of rain hanging in the air. Despite the early start by a quarter of an hour a total of 47 overs have been lost in the last two days of the Test.  

After the Ireland batsmen had dominated the first two days’ play it was all Sri Lanka on day three as they raced to the total scoring at a healthy rate of 4.63 runs an over. Had not the severe thunderstorm interrupted the day’s play, Sri Lanka would have been sitting pretty having come close to Ireland’s total or even gone past it.

The day in fact belonged to the Lankan opening pair Dimuth Karunaratne and Nishan Madushka who shared a record-breaking stand of 228 at this venue surpassing the 193 by Marvan Atapattu and Sanath Jayasuriya against South Africa in 2000. It was Sri Lanka’s fifth double-century opening partnership in Tests. The Ireland bowlers were under the pump after such a convincing start, and they simply lost their lines and lengths. How domineering the Sri Lankan batsmen were, can be gauged by the fact that there were only four maiden overs bowled in the 77 overs of the Lankan innings.

Karunaratne, the bedrock of the Lankan batting helped himself to yet another Test hundred to follow his 179 in the first Test, which by his standards was probably much quicker than the

 previous 15 he had made in his illustrious career. It was Karunaratne’s sixth century at Galle and he brought it up off 116 balls with the aid of 13 fours. He looked good enough to play another long inning, but the robust all-rounder Curtis Campher unsettled Karunaratne with a bouncer hitting him flush in front of his helmet in the last over before lunch. Two balls later Karunaratne attempted to pull another short ball and top-edged a catch to deep fine leg. Sri Lanka went to lunch in an extended first session at 228-1, adding 147 to their overnight total of 81-0 with Madushka joining his captain by scoring his maiden Test century. Madushka went to that landmark off 159 balls in style, lofting Harry Tector for six over deep midwicket to add to his 14 fours.

The Lankan batsmen continued to pile the agony on the Irish bowling after the lunch break being patient for the loose balls which were served in plenty and picking up the singles by rotating the strike. The only chance Ireland had of grabbing another wicket they botched. Madushka at 131 cut a delivery from Andy McBrine to Ireland skipper Andy Balbirnie who put it down at slip. How costly that miss could be, we should be able to see when play resumes on the fourth day at 9.45 am today.

Madushka was one run shy of 150 at stumps and a feature of his batting is that he plays the ball late, the way he uses his feet to push the ball into gaps and go down the wicket. A very solid player, very strong through the offside he deserved the opportunity that he has got having scored heavily (over 1000 runs) in domestic first-class cricket and three centuries against England Lions.

There was no respite for Ireland after taking Karunaratne’s wicket for Kusal Mendis who made 140 in the first Test continued from where he left off to remain unbeaten on 83 scored off 96 balls (7 fours, 5 sixes) by the close, stitching together an unfinished second wicket partnership of 129 off 171 balls with Madushka. Left-arm spinner Matthew Humphries making his first-class and Test debut was at the receiving end of Mendis’ broad bat when he was hit for three sixes in his eighth over.

Ireland did their best to stop the run flow, but to no avail. Sri Lanka’s dominance over the hapless Irish bowling left a lot of question marks. The Irish can pat themselves on the back after their batting performance, but not their bowling   which was way below Test standard.