Sri Lanka had a nightmarish start to the first Test against England, with the top order crumbling to 6/3 on the opening day. The English bowling, in top gear, grasped control immediately and sent the visitors into a defensive mode very early in the game. The need of the hour was to launch a rescue act, which came in the form of wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Chandimal and skipper Dhananjaya de Silva.

They set about rebuilding, warily picking their way through tricky circumstances and a swinging ball. Just when Sri Lanka was getting some sort of foothold, disaster struck again.

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In the last few overs before lunch, Shoaib Bashir produced a transformation ball. Chandimal, hitherto defending very well, was trapped in front of the stumps by a ball which no one in the ground could have predicted on – not Chandimal, not the fielders, not the spectators.

Bashir strikes in only his second over 😲💥 pic.twitter.com/evWunci70P

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) August 21, 2024

The delivery, a back-of-a-length ball that pitched outside off stump, turned sharply and stayed unforgivably low. It barely got off the ground, hitting Chandimal low on his front pad. Umpire Paul Reiffel had no doubts, immediately raising his finger. Though Chandimal reviewed the decision after a brief discussion with his partner, it was more out of confusion than conviction.

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At the time of the last update, Sri Lanka was 158/7, with de Silva still fighting alone. He had worked himself up to a gritty 70* off as many balls, joined at the crease by debutant Milan Rathnayake. Every run from now on will be a bonus for the Sri Lankans, who really should be looking to get out of what has been a poor start against this relentless English attack.