Sri Lankan openers put Cardiff collapse behind them

Captain Tillakaratne Dilshan (127no) and Tharanga Paranavitana (65) put on 207, their team’s highest first-wicket partnership against England, as the tourists responded to 486 with 231-1 on day two of the second Test.

After Matt Prior (126) had completed his fifth Test century, the pressure was on Sri Lanka to put their Cardiff collapse behind them with a competitive total.

Dilshan and Paranavitana, therefore, needed to shut out the 6ft 6ins-plus pace trio of Stuart Broad, Chris Tremlett and Steven Finn – and did so admirably.

The attacking right-hand and stoic left-hand pairing complemented one another ideally, Dilshan scoring more than twice as quickly as his sheet-anchor colleague.

Dilshan carved, pulled and drove 11 fours and two sixes in his 129-ball hundred and Paranavitana unhurriedly blunted England’s best efforts at the other end.

The tall men bowled acceptably, if occasionally a little wide but clear-cut chances went begging.

Paranavitana, on 13, edged first-change Finn to third slip – where Alastair Cook put down a regulation catch slightly to his right – and Dilshan was reprieved on 80 when Prior could not hold a faint outside edge off Graeme Swann.

Dilshan was fortunate to make no contact with several ambitious swipes outside off-stump early in his innings – and also just cleared deep backward-square with a pull for six off Tremlett. Broad looked most threatening, in his second spell from the nursery end, swinging deliveries through the defences.

England were in the wars, too, Swann (wrist) and Ian Bell, who was struck flush on the arm by a full-blooded Dilshan sweep, both requiring treatment.

There was a nasty bruise inflicted on an MCC member too, when Dilshan – intent from the outset on trying to dominate Swann – hit him for a six straight into the pavilion seating, and the spectator’s chest. After attention from England team medical staff, he was passed fit.

England’s only wicket came when Paranavitana edged a drive at Finn to Andrew Strauss at slip.

Prior and Broad (54) had upped the ante on another glorious morning, turning their overnight stand of 40 into 108 in under nine overs.

England’s eventual total represented a fine outcome for a team who had been 22-3.