KANDY, Sri Lanka, 14 December 2003 — Tillakaratne Dilshan celebrated his recall to Sri Lanka’s team with a blistering century as England faced a tough task of saving the second cricket Test here yesterday.
Middle-order batsman Dilshan, axed from the Test side more than two years ago, cracked 100 exactly to help Sri Lanka set a difficult 368-run target for the tourists.
England were 89-2 in their second innings at stumps when bad light stopped play 20 minutes before the scheduled close on the penultimate day.
Skipper Michael Vaughan sustained England’s hopes of chasing the highest fourth-innings total to win a Test in Sri Lanka with a gutsy unbeaten 50 while his predecessor as captain Nasser Hussain was on 17. England require 279 more runs on the fifth and final day today, a difficult task considering ace off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan’s four-wicket haul in the first innings on a slow turning wicket.
The tourists’ chase began on a poor note as they lost opener Marcus Trescothick (14) and Mark Butcher (six) before being steadied by Vaughan.
Trescothick chased a wide delivery from left-arm seamer Chaminda Vaas to be caught by Mahela Jayawardene in the slips, while Butcher was stumped off Muralitharan. The day belonged to Dilshan, who followed his first-innings 63 with an impressive hundred. Sri Lanka, leading by 88 runs, declared their second innings closed at 279-7 on the stroke of tea. Dilshan, who played his last Test in March 2001, smashed one six and 13 fours in his 129-ball knock for his second century in 11 matches. He added a record 153 for the fourth wicket with Jayawardene (52).
