Sri Lanka 3-361 (Kumar Sangakkara 142, Lahiru Thirimanne 74*, Tillakaratne Dilshan 54, Sohag Gazi 3-101) vs. Bangladesh

Kumar Sangakkara plundered his 31^st Test century against Bangladesh that led the home side to a commanding position on the opening day of first Test.

The Islanders amassed 361 runs for the loss of just three wickets while consuming 85.3 overs in their first innings.

The first Test of the two match series commenced on Friday, March 8, 2013, at Galle International Stadium.

Earlier, Angelo Mathews, the captain of Sri Lanka, won the toss and sent his batsmen in to start the proceedings. Dimuth Karunaratne along with Tillakaratne Dilshan opened the innings on a positive note and treated the rival bowlers on merit. They scored 42 runs from the first eight overs where Dilshan hit 5 fours and Karunaratne got one. The latter was hit on his left elbow while facing a short ball from Shahadat Hossain on the fourth ball of the next over and the batsman left the ground. Kumar Sangakkara came in next and opened his account with a four on the very first delivery he faced as Dilshan continued consolidating from the other end.

Tillakaratne Dilshan hit 2 consecutive fours in the 17^th over and completed his 22^nd Test fifty five overs later. The score was taken to 114 in 22.6 overs when he was gone after scoring 54 off 63 balls with 9 fours. Karunaratne walked in again as Sangakkara completed his half century in the 29^th over by sending the ball out of the boundary. The duo kept on creeping as Sangakkara hit 2 fours in the 35^th over and Karunaratne dispatched the first six of the innings on the last ball of the 37^th over. Dimuth Karunaratne was declared leg before wicket off Sohag Gazi for 41 as the total touched 181 runs.Lahiru Thirimanne joined in next with Sangakkara as the 200 of the innings was displayed on board in the 47^th over.

Kumar Sangakkara kept on attacking the rival bowlers at ease and smashed his 31^st Test hundred on the fourth ball of the 55^th over. His 31^st Test ton levelled him with another talented batsmen of the Islanders, Mahela Jayawardene who had already grabbed even centuries. Sangakkara was dropped at 111 by Mohammad Ashraful at mid on, off Sohag Gazi as Thirimanne was adding useful runs from his end. The master blaster, Sangakkara added 11 runs in the 72^nd over with 1 six and 1 four and was finally caught by Jahurul Islam at cover off Sohag Gazi for 142 scored from 226 deliveries comprising 3 giant sixes and 16 fours.

The third wicket went down at 305 in 73 overs when Angelo Mathews got together with Thirimanne who reached his third Test fifty in the 75^th over. The latter was the most attacking of the two and was sending the ball out of the rope constantly. The hosts marshalled to 361 in 85.3 overs when the play was called off for the day. Lahiru Thirimanne was at the crease with 74 off 127 deliveries with 8 fours and Angelo Mathews was batting at 25.

Sohag Gazi was the only successful bowler among six others, who grasped all three wickets which fell during the day.

Sri Lanka is in a strong position and they can pile up a huge first innings total which can create problems for Bangladesh.