Sangakkara, Samaraweera steady after early strikes

Tea Sri Lanka 81 for 3 (Sangakkara 25*, Roach 2-24) v West Indies

The West Indian seam bowlers made early inroads into the Sri Lankan line-up to leave them staggering at 34 for 3, before Kumar Sangakkara and Thilan Samaraweera combined to steady the innings, after Sangakkara won the toss and chose to bat. The duo survived a testing spell of fast bowling to take the score to 81 for 3 at tea. A damp outfield delayed the start of play by two and a half hours at the R. Premadasa Stadium, but it was the visitors, who made use of the overcast conditions and a seaming pitch, to make an impact early in this Test.

There was plenty of movement and bounce on offer for the West Indies bowlers on the freshly-laid surface at the Premadasa. Kemar Roach in particular, zipped the ball around at pace early in the afternoon and troubled all the Sri Lankan batsmen beating their tentative prods outside the off stump. The visitors looked to make the most of the seam-friendly conditions as thick clouds gathered above the stadium and Darren Sammy employed a packed slip cordon for the fast men throughout the afternoon.

Roach did not have to wait long for his first wicket of the match, dismissing Tillakaratne Dilshan for 10, as the batsman played loosely inside one that jagged away off the pitch to crash into the top of middle stump. Tharanga Paranavitana didn't hang around for long either, edging an away-swinger from Roach to Dwayne Bravo at second slip, after having flirted outside the off-stump during his agonising 45-ball stay.

Sammy, who bowled unchanged for 17 overs, too made things difficult for the Sri Lankan batsman with his steady seamers. He dismissed Mahela Jayawardene with a terrific delivery that cut back between bat and pad to take the off stump and continued to bowl a tight line for the majority of the session, getting the occasional delivery to beat the bat whenever a loose shot was offered. Bravo though, disappointed, as bowled too short to seriously trouble the Sri Lankan batsmen, who were grateful for some respite from Sammy at the other end.

Batting became easier as the session wore on, with both Sangakkara and Samaraweera beginning to look more assured after having survived some nervous moments earlier in the afternoon. Samaraweera especially, looked more at ease as the tea break drew close, hooking a Roach bouncer over square leg for six in the penultimate over of the session, before crashing Suleiman Benn through point a few deliveries later. The set Sri Lankan pair will look to build a sizeable partnership after the break, as they attempt to recover from the three early strikes

Andrew Fernando writes for The Pigeon and blogs here
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