Sri Lankan batsmen ensure day of toil for visitors

Aug 26, 2009

Sri Lanka opted to bat after a delayed start and depended on Tillakaratne Dilshan to get them going•AFP

Kumar Sangakkara spent some valuable time in the middle •AFP

But the tourists found it hard to dislodge the in-form Mahela Jayawardene•AFP

Thilan Samaraweera gave him good support as Sri Lanka looked to take the upper hand•AFP

He scored 29 before offering a return catch to Iain O'Brien•AFP

He helped himself to a half-century, off 94 balls •AFP

It was slow going for the hosts as Jayawardene opted for the patient approach•AFP

Samaraweera reached his fifty off 92 balls•AFP

However, he lost patience two balls after reaching the milestone and holed out to deep midwicket. It was Daniel Vettori's 300th wicket•AFP

He brought up his half-century off 117 balls•AFP

The fourth-wicket partnership of 147 ensured the momentum was firmly with Sri Lanka at the end of the first day's play•Associated Press