GALLE (AP): Sri Lanka declared on 591-6 and deepened Ireland’s distress by reducing the visitor to 117-7 after two days of the first test on Monday.
Prabath Jayasuriya ran through the Irish on a Galle pitch turning more and more by taking 5-42.
Ireland trailed by 474 runs on the first innings. Jayasuriya played four of his previous five test matches at Galle and took five wickets in an innings four times. The slow left-armer lacked bite in his early bowling but soon found form.
Ireland, recovering after seamer Vishwa Fernando took two wickets in the second over, was 74-2 when Jayasuriya tempted Harry Tector on 34 to drive a ball that dipped and turned away from the right-hander for a catch in the slips.
Two balls later, Curtis Campher’s attempted drive went to Ramesh Mendis at extra cover. Jayasuriya bowled James McCollum for 35, bagged Peter Moor for 14, and trapped George Dockrell for his fifth five-for.
At stumps, Lorcan Tucker was on 21 and Andy McBrine on 5. Sri Lanka resumed the day on 386-4 and Dinesh Chandimal and Sadeera Samarawickrama became the third and fourth batters in the innings to post centuries. Ireland removed nightwatchman Jayasuriya and Dhananjaya de Silva cheaply to leave Sri Lanka on 408-6. But Chandimal and Samarawickrama combined for an unbroken 183-run partnership in relatively quick time.
Chandimal picked up from 18 overnight to 102 not out with 12 boundaries. He reached his 14th test century and fifth in Galle from 152 balls.
Samarawickrama scored his maiden test century in his first test in more than five years. Samarawickrama was 104 not out from 114 deliveries, including 11 boundaries.
Sri Lanka declared about half an hour before tea on its highest total in two years. The foundation was provided on day one by captain Dimuth Karunaratne (170) and No. 3 Kusal Mendis (140).
“There was no threat in the pitch and we wanted to bat only once and put the opposition under pressure,” Samarawickrama said. “We have declared at the right time because as the pitch got older it started to spin.”
Ireland was beaten for pace right at the start, though. Murray Commins was stunned by a first ball by Fernando that seamed away sharply and hit the top of the stumps. In the same over, captain Andy Balbirnie gave Nishan Mudushka a sharp catch at short leg and Ireland was 4-2.
