Dilshan exceeds previous test best as Sri Lanka prosper

Monday, 6 June 2011 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

(Reuters) - Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan moved serenely to his highest test score of 187 not out at lunch on the third day of the second test against England at Lord's on Sunday.

Dilshan batted throughout the morning session after Sri Lanka had resumed their first innings at 231 for one in reply to England's 486. His previous best was 168 against Bangladesh in 2005.

At the interval Sri Lanka were 344 for two after Kumar Sangakkara had been dismissed for 26 when England took the second new ball immediately after the drinks break.

Sangakkara edged Chris Tremlett's fourth delivery to Matt Prior after an unusually subdued innings. He had batted for nine minutes short of two hours and played only three scoring shots from 46 deliveries on Sunday morning.

England, however, could not trouble Dilshan, who on Saturday became the sixth Sri Lanka batsman to make a century at Lord's and also needed a precautionary scan after Tremlett hit him a painful blow on his left hand.

After Graeme Swann had speared one delivery wide of the leg stump for four byes, Dilshan took consecutive boundaries from the off-spinner to reach his 150.

The new ball held no terrors for the Sri Lankan captain who on-drove Stuart Broad to the boundary then hooked another four in the same over.

Runs continued to come freely as Andrew Strauss switched his bowlers around under heavy cloud cover, which should have assisted the pacemen after two sun-drenched days, but they proved no more accurate or penetrative than on Saturday.