GALLE (Reuters)
Brian Lara won his opening duel with Sri Lanka offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan, scoring his 16th Test century to help West Indies reach 316 for 3 on the first day of the first Test.

Lara, who almost missed the tour with a long-term hamstring injury, was dropped twice but hit 12 fours to end on 117 not out from 189 balls as Muralitharan toiled away with little success.

"It's a great competition between us and I appreciate his ability to bowl offspin," Lara said about Muralitharan. "He is something special in world cricket."

Murali, so successful at the Galle International Stadium in the past, bowled 41 overs for figures of 1 for 104 today.

It was Lara's first Test hundred since his 182 against Australia at Adelaide last December. "It is nice to go out there, work on something, and eventually get the results. Hopefully, I can go on to get something bigger," Lara said. "The coach asked me what I want to do this series and I told him that I want to make plenty of runs and spend a lot of time in the middle."

Lara reached three figures in fine style, coming down the pitch to loft Muralitharan over mid-off for four. Lara had come into the test under pressure to deliver, made the most of a frustrating day for the Sri Lankans, who put him down on 31 and at 93. On both occasions the offender was wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara, with captain Sanath Jayasuriya and Muralitharan the unlucky bowlers.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd