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England stuttered in the pursuit of 164 but eventually climbed the target with six wickets in reserve to win the test series 2-0 against Sri Lanka in Galle.
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With the victory, they won 60 crucial points in the ICC World Test Championship standings and are in fourth place, just 0.5% behind Australia.
England’s march towards 164 was anything but smooth as they lost four wickets, including three to Lasith Embuldeniya, who finished with a 10-wicket game. As many as 15 wickets fell during the day, all to turn.
Dom Sibley’s restrained and patient strike of 56 * and his undefeated stand of 75 points with Jos Buttler (46 *) was the highlight of England’s second round. The duo stabilized the visitors first and then hit responsibly to see them cross the finish line.
Opener Zak Crawley failed again, managing just 13 points before heading to Embuldeniya. Sibley dropped anchor at the other end and with Jonny Bairstow made sure that visitors wouldn’t hiccup again until tea time.
The duo put up a 45-point stand for the second wicket with Bairstow falling to Embuldeniya after a 28-ball 29. The visitors stumbled further in the final session, first losing captain Joe Root for 11 as he was played by Ramesh Mendis. Three overs later, Dan Lawrence became the 10th victim of Embuldeniya’s game.
Sri Lanka would have imagined their chances of causing an upheaval with England at 89/4 but Sibley and Buttler had other plans.
Earlier in the day, England were able to add just five more points to their overnight total and were eliminated for 344. Embuldeniya finished with 7/137, becoming only Sri Lanka’s sixth bowler to win more. seven wickets in a test round. The hosts managed to secure a slim lead of 37 runs.
England inflicted the same treatment they received as their spinners wreaked havoc in Sri Lanka. Joe Root took out the spinners shortly after just four beatings and was awarded for his movement. At lunch, Jack Leach and Dom Bess captured three scalps each to leave the struggling hosts on 67/6.
The first to leave was Kusal Perera, who slipped to the side of the leg and missed and was caught in front of the middle and on the outside as Leach drew the first blood. He and Bess played in tandem, mining the wicket turn and strangling the score rate. Bess then fired Oshada Fernando, who got a thick inside edge while defending and ended up giving Crawley a short-leg hold.
With two sellers closed in 11 overs, Sri Lanka had to beat carefully but the fragile batting unit collapsed. The next three wickets fell in three successive overs. Leach grabbed Thirimanne with Crawley by pocketing another short-leg hold. Bess then threw the centurion of the first inning Angelo Mathews, the ball spinning and sliding under his bat to crash into the stump.
In the next, Leach kidnapped Captain Dinesh Chandimal as he sought to lift himself up and pass him to James Anderson, who came back from halfway to catch a single catch. Bess then caught up with Leach, sending Niroshan Dickwella (7) back into the final before the lunch break – another tame layoff with the batsman driving straight down the cover defender’s throat.
Dilruwan Perera (4) fell in second after lunch, another catch to Crawley in short leg. Ramesh Mendis missed the sweep to leave for 16. Embuldeniya then continued his form with the bat, playing some class shots. He resisted with a quick 40, counterattacking with aggressive shots. Ultimately Root was forced into the attack and fired Embuldeniya and Asitha Fernando in back-to-back deliveries as Sri Lanka fell back to 126.
England became the first team in test history to win 10 wickets with stitching in the opening rounds and 10 wickets with spinning in the second.
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