Milan Ratnaike shines on his debut to take Sri Lanka to 236
August 22, 2024 2024-08-22 5:00Milan Ratnaike shines on his debut to take Sri Lanka to 236
Milan Ratnaike shines on his debut to take Sri Lanka to 236
Introduction: Milan Ratnaike
After England dominated with the ball
on the first day of the first Test at Old Trafford,
Milan Ratnayake made his debut and

guided Sri Lanka to a respectable 236.
In the morning, Sri Lanka lost their first five
and were in serious trouble. Before Captain
Dhananjaya de. Silva scored one goal in the final half-century. Dhananjaya joined Ratnayake as the duo helped Sri Lanka cross the 200-run mark.
With Sri Lanka electing to bat first, England needed just five runs in the morning. Dimuth Karunaratne was caught by Gus Atkinson’s onrushing throw, which he tried to clear, got the edge and ran. Chris Woakes took two wickets, including a big wicket of Angelo Matthews, to reduce the visitors to 6/3.
In the 11th over of the match, Ghusal Mendis hit Matthew Potts in succession. He repeated the feat in the next round of putts, which brought Mark Wood. The move worked because Wood snorted and looked at Mendez’s back. Shoaib Bashir opened his account to catch Dinesh Chandimal before the lunch break.
England’s joy continued in the afternoon
England’s joy continued in the afternoon when Woakes claimed his third wicket to deny Mendis. Dhananjaya then headed for the boundary, but when the seventh wicket fell, England felt a realistic chance of knocking Sri Lanka out on a low score. However, there was a twist when Ratnayake insisted on doing it his way. Thanayaya scored fluently and Ratanayake offered little resistance at the other end. The pair added more than 50 runs.
The resistance finally ended when Ratnayake departed on 72 and failed to gain enough height in his third six. England then quickly completed proceedings, defeating Sri Lanka by 236 runs. The poor lighting conditions continued, putting Suri in a dangerous position. Lanka should have opened with spin from both sides. England managed 22 runs from their four overs, but it was decided that the light was not good enough to continue play on the day.