MANCHESTER: Dhananjaya de Silva and debutant fast bowler Milan Rathnayake both scored valuable fifties as Sri Lanka bounced back from a dramatic top-order collapse on the first day of the opening Test against England at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

Sri Lanka was in deep trouble at 6-3 after captain De Silva won the toss and the team lost its first three wickets for no runs in just 10 balls. However, they managed to recover, reaching a total of 236 all out, with De Silva scoring 74 as the top-scorer and Rathnayake contributing 72, his third first-class fifty.

The duo helped steady Sri Lanka’s innings with a crucial eighth-wicket stand of 63 runs, as no other Sri Lankan batsman scored more than Kusal Mendis’ 24. “The captain wanted me to stay in and support him,” said Rathnayake, who batted at number 9, through a translator after play ended. “That’s what I did, and after he got out, I just played my natural game.

Chris Woakes took two wickets in a single over, finishing with figures of 3-32 in 11 overs. De Silva’s strong innings ended when he turned a quicker delivery from off-spinner Shoaib Bashir straight to Dan Lawrence at leg slip. Bashir, aged 20, claimed 3-55 in his 23 overs.

A Good Day’ for England

Ben Duckett and Dan Lawrence, who was recalled in place of the injured Zak Crawley, guided England to 22-0 before bad light stopped play at 5:52 pm (1652 GMT). “I think it’s been a good day,” said Woakes, who has become the leader of England’s bowling attack following James Anderson’s retirement, in an interview with Sky Sports.

“When you’re bowling on day one of a Test match on a pitch like that, to be batting at the end of the day is quite satisfying. We would have liked to bowl them out for less, but the bad light prevented us from using our quick bowlers to finish the job.”

Sri Lanka’s early collapse set the stage for a perfect start for England’s stand-in captain Ollie Pope, who was leading the team for the first time due to Ben Stokes’ absence with a torn hamstring. The Sri Lankan team entered this Test, their first in England in eight years, following just one warm-up match—a loss to the England Lions second team—and it was apparent that some of their batsmen needed more time in the middle.

Dramatic Collapse

Sri Lanka’s slump began in the sixth over when Dimuth Karunaratne top-edged a hook shot off fast bowler Gus Atkinson to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith. Woakes then struck twice in the following over. Nishan Madushka, the other opener, edged an outswinger to Joe Root at first slip and was out for four. Five balls later, Angelo Mathews was out lbw for a duck, offering no shot to a Woakes delivery that cut back sharply off the pitch.

Mendis could do little to fend off a fierce 93 mph (150 km/h) delivery from express bowler Mark Wood, which leaped up from a short length, resulting in a catch to second slip.

De Silva responded by pulling Atkinson for a confident four and reached a rapid fifty from just 56 balls. He had a reprieve on 65 when Jamie Smith missed a difficult stumping chance off Bashir but was dismissed soon after, leaving Sri Lanka at 176-8.

Despite the loss of his captain, the 28-year-old Rathnayake continued to play confidently, reaching his fifty in 96 balls with a straight six off Bashir, which also took Sri Lanka’s total past 200. Bashir, however, had his revenge when Rathnayake hit a drive to Woakes at mid-on.

Before the start of play, there was a minute’s applause to honor Graham Thorpe, the former England batsman and assistant coach. Both teams and the match officials wore black armbands in his memory. Thorpe had died earlier this month at the age of 55 after being struck by a train. His wife Amanda confirmed that he had taken his own life following a long battle with depression.