Dhananjaya de Si;va’s 120 off 168 deliveries formed the centrepiece of Sri Lanka’s fighting batting efforts on day one of the Test series against West Indies. Sri Lanka lost three wickets in the first hour, Kemar Roach breaking through in the first over of the game, before Alzarri Joseph struck twice in three balls in the 10th over.

But on a pitch with some assistance for the quicks, Sri Lanka fought back, first through a counter-punching half-century to Dinesh Chandima, before de Silva imposed himself on the match, scoring briskly through the middle and evening sessions.

The innings was largely built upon three partnerships that de Silva was part of: a 68-run stand with Chandimal, a 99-run stand with Snal Dinusha, and a 64-run seventh-wicket stand with Milan Rathnayaka.

A total of 308, however, was only a competitive first-innings total, rather than a commanding one. West Indies’ seamers were menacing in patches throughout the day, particularly Roach, Alzarri Joseph and Shamar Joseph, who tested the batters whenever they were operating. However, it was the medium pace of Justin Greaves that wreaked the most damage in the end. He dismissed de Silva midway through the final session and would claim two further tail-end wickets to finish with figures of 3 for 39. Roach, Alzarri, and Shamar all claimed two wickets apiece.

Having bowled Sri Lanka out for 308, West Indies had one over to bat before stumps, and survived it without loss. Their over rate through the day had been exceedingly slow, however. Only 72.5 overs were bowled on day one, though all six-and-a-half hours of play were utilised.

De Silva had been confident from the outset. In the morning session he had defended well, and had played some assured straight drives to get himself moving, as Sri Lanka strove to recover from 42 for 3. Chandimal was the primary aggressor in his first partnership, as he found boundaries through cover and point in particular. Chandimal hit 41 of the 68 runs they made together and, although not fluent in this particular innings, had kept Sri Lanka ticking through a difficult period. He appeared to be finding his touch as he crossed 50, but was bowled by an excellent Shamar yorker soon after.

Kusal Mendis, reaching for a full wide one, was caught at second slip later in that same Shamar over. This was the second occasion Sri Lanka lost two in an over, with Alzarri having earlier dismissed Nishan Madushka and Kamindu Mendis in the 10th over of the day.

De Silva got Sri Lanka out of that immediate danger with some sparkling shots square of the wicket, spanking one from Alzarri through point before pulling the same bowler imperiously through square leg two balls later. He had his outside edge beaten frequently, but also found singles and twos into the outfield to keep himself moving. Disdainful pulls would become a hallmark of this innings, though he also scored heavily through cover and deep third. Dinusha, who played a restrained innings, also dug deep to lift Sri Lanka out of trouble. He scored heavily through the backward point region, pouncing on the short wide deliveries whenever they were offered up. He hit 43 off 75.

Soon after tea, de Silva moved smoothly to a 13th Test hundred, off the 150th ball he faced, reaching the milestone with a sumptuous flick through midwicket. In the end, a tame length delivery from Greaves claimed his wicket, as de Silva gave a catch off the leading edge to point as he attempted to clip through midwicket. Sri Lanka were 273 for 7 at that point, and a little lower-order hitting propelled them past 300, Rathnayake scoring 27.

The first hour of the day, however, had belonged to West Indies. Pathum Nissanka was caught off Roach at short leg, when he failed to keep a leg-side flick down. Alzarri then nailed Nishan Madushka in front with a ball that nipped off the surface, and had Kamindu Mendis caught at first slip with a delivery in the channel outside off. Sri Lanka were 42 for 3 after that first double strike. Shamar would also take two wickets in an over, soon after lunch.

Scores:
West Indies 0 for 0 in 1 over  (John Campbell 0*, Brandon King 0*) trail Sri Lanka 308 in 71..5 overs (Dhananjaya de Silva  120, Dinesh Chandimal 54, Sonal Dinusha 43; Kemar Roach 2-32, Alzarri Joseph 2-60, Shamar Joseph 2-79, Justin Greaves 3-39) by 308 runs

[Cricinfo]

Sri Lanka take on Scotland in Manchester at 18:30 local time (17:30 GMT) in the Women’s T20 World Cup. Scotland, with three losses in four matches, are out of the semi-final race. With England having already booked a spot in the semi-finals, Sri Lanka’s only hope is to beat Scotland by a big margin and then hope for a few other results to go their way.

Sri Lanka are coming off a confidence-boosting win against Ireland, powered by Chamari Athapaththu’s century, while Scotland lost to New Zealand despite a spirited performance. The teams have met three times in T20Is with Sri Lanka winning all three. In their last meeting, in the 2024 T20 World Cup Qualifier in Abu Dhabi, Athapaththu made a 63 ball 102.

The price of oil has fallen to levels not seen since before the Iran war as traffic through the key Strait of Hormuz shipping route gradually resumes.

Its latest data suggests 284 vessels have made the transit from 18 June, the day after the deal was signed, although that is is still well below the pre-conflict average of some 138 crossings each day.

The ships passing through the waterway in recent days include those carrying crude oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), fertiliser and other goods, Kpler told the BBC.

The US and Iran had also formed a “communication line” to prevent misunderstandings “with the aim of safe passage for commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz”, mediators Qatar and Pakistan said in a joint statement on Monday.

There has been a “tremendous shift” with far more ships using the strait in recent days, said Dimitris Maniatis, the chief executive of Marisks, a maritime risk advisory firm working with ships stuck in the region.

A limited number of ships can cross a northern passageway with the permission of Iranian authorities, he said.

The US navy has also provided guidance for vessels to travel through a southern route that is safe from mines and other obstacles that has been laid out since the war, Maniatis said.

But the number of ships crossing the strait is still below levels seen before the war, when it was used by more than 100 ships a day.

Hundreds of ships still appear to be waiting in the Gulf.

Fuel prices at the pump rose sharply when the Iran war began, and now the focus is on how quickly they will fall.

“On the back of the lowest oil price since before the Iran war started, drivers should see the average price of petrol fall below 150p [a litre] in the next week or so,” said Simon Williams, head of policy at UK motoring group the RAC. He added the price of diesel “ought to go back under 160p.

Petrol peaked at 159.53p a litre on 28 May, according to the RAC, while diesel has fallen from a high of 191.54p on 15 April.

The average price of regular gasoline in the US has dropped to around $3.93 a gallon after reaching $4 a gallon in April, its highest since 2022, but is still well above pre-war levels.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered an investigation into major energy companies, accusing Shell, ExxonMobil and other firms of “gouging” drivers by not reducing fuel prices even as oil costs fell.

“Oil prices have come down so much and we are not seeing anything at the pump by comparison the way they should be,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

The American Petroleum Institute, which represents the oil and gas industry in the US, said fuel prices “don’t move in lockstep with crude oil”.

British energy firms have faced similar accusations of unfairly hiking petrol prices since the Iran war.

The UK competition watchdog said last month  that there was no widespread evidence of this, adding that average profit margins were “broadly unchanged” between February and March

(BBC)