Despite early shock Sri Lanka stabilise

REUTERS – Sri Lanka overcame the loss of opener Kaushal Silva to reach 67 for one at lunch on the opening day of the first test against West Indies at Galle on Wednesday.

After home captain Angelo Mathews won the toss and opted to bat, the West Indian bowlers harassed them with short-pitched bowling but it was a fuller length delivery from Kemar Roach which earned them the breakthrough.

Silva (17) edged to wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin to depart after adding 56 runs for the opening stand.

Dimuth Karunaratne (41) was inching towards his seventh test fifty with Lahiru Thirimanne (one) at the other end.

As suggested by bowling coach Curtly Ambrose before the match, West Indies used their pace battery in short, sharp spells to keep them fresh in the hot and humid conditions at Galle.

Roach bowled three overs in his first spell before he was brought back into the attack and the 27-year-old right-arm fast bowler struck in the very first over of the second spell.

(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Peter Rutherford)