| 0.0 : Welcome to the third and final Test between Sri Lanka and England. This tour has been a mauling of sorts for the hosts. Sri Lanka have been forced to make a minimum of two changes due to the injury to Dinesh Chandimal and due to Akila Dananjaya being reported for suspect action. England have already announced their playing XI as they give a game to Johnny Bairstow and Stuart Broad. Can the islanders put up a fight and salvage some pride in the final game? |
| TOSS - England have won the toss and opted to bat first. |
| TEAM NEWS - Sri Lanka bring in Danushka Gunathilaka and Lakshan Sandakan in place of Kaushal Silva and Akila Dananjaya. England have got in Johnny Bairstow and Stuart Broad in place of Sam Curran and James Anderson. |
| PITCH REPORT - Russel Arnold says its a very hot day and there could be some rain in the evening. He also feels that the boundary sizes are bigger. Adds that the pitch looks dry and his companion, Brad Hogg feels that the wicket already looks like a Day 3 wicket and there are patches in the middle that could crack wide open. Russel then goes on to add that it's a lot more drier than the previous pitches and should spin more. Nevertheless, he also says that the batsmen can score runs if they ada |
| The players and the umpires are ready to take the field. Time for live action. Rory Burns and Keaton Jennings will open the batting for England while Suranga Lakmal will open the bowling for the Lankans. Three slips and a gully in place for Lakmal. |
| 0.1 : S Lakmal to Burns, Starts off with a slightly fuller delivery outside off. Defended coming half-ahead by Burns. |
| 0.2 : S Lakmal to Burns, Length ball on middle, Burns stays inside his crease and keeps it out. |
| 0.3 : S Lakmal to Burns, On length and on top of off stump, Burns defends with a straight bat. |
| 0.4 : S Lakmal to Burns, Good length outside off, Burns chooses to leave this one. |
| 0.5 : S Lakmal to Burns, Slightly short of a length and outside off, Burns shoulders his arm to it at the last moment. |
| 0.6 : S Lakmal to Burns, Starts off with a maiden over as Burns lets this go outside off again. |
| Dilruwan Perera to bowl from the other end. |
| 1.1 : D Perera to Jennings, Begins with a flatter and quicker one on off, Jennings cuts it to point. |
| 1.2 : D Perera to Jennings, Looped up on middle, Jennings comes ahead to defend. |
| 1.3 : D Perera to Jennings, First runs of the morning, Jennings paddles this on middle and leg towards fine leg and picks up a couple. |
| 1.4 : D Perera to K Jennings, Looped up on middle and off and takes the edge this time, but flies wide of slip towards short third man. The batsmen run one. |
| 1.5 : D Perera to Burns, Flighted but drifting onto the pads, Burns plays it to square leg. |
| 1.6 : D Perera to Burns, Flatter and darted in outside off, Burns cuts it to point but Pushpakumara misfields and the batsmen run three as the ball is stopped just inside the fence. |
| 2.1 : S Lakmal to Burns, FOUR! The first boundary of the game. An overpitched delivery at the pads, Burns flicks it away easily in front of square leg for four runs. Good chase by the fielder but the ball wins the race. |
| 2.2 : S Lakmal to Burns, Full and at the pads again, Burns flicks it away but can't find the gap this time. |
| 2.3 : S Lakmal to Burns, Length ball at the pads, Burns plays this off the back foot toward short mid-wicket. |
| 2.4 : S Lakmal to Burns, Around the wicket and angling in toward the off pole, Burns defends it toward short cover. |
| 2.5 : S Lakmal to Burns, No Ball. Lakmal oversteps. The ball is on length and outside off, defended watchfully by Burns. |
| S Lakmal to Burns, Wayward bowling here, Lakmal drifts onto the pads again. Burns plays it to Pushpakumara at fine leg. Just a single though. |
| 2.6 : S Lakmal to Jennings, Good ball on length and coming in with the angle, Jennings pushes toward mid-wicket and keeps the strike with a single. |
| 3.1 : D Perera to Jennings, Flighted ball on middle, kept out on the front foot. |
| 3.2 : D Perera to Jennings, Flatter delivery at the pads, Jennings stays back in the crease and works it behind square leg for a run. |
| 3.3 : D Perera to Burns, Short and slower outside off, spins away and Burns looks to cut away but the ball is too far away from him to get a good connection. Just able to get it away to point in the end. |
| 3.4 : D Perera to Burns, Flatter delivery on off, defended off the front foot by Burns presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 3.5 : D Perera to Burns, Shorter outside off, Burns cuts it away in the gap toward cover-point for a single. |
| 3.6 : D Perera to Jennings, Fuller and on middle, Keaton comes ahead and keeps it out. |
| 4.1 : S Lakmal to Burns,Bouncer on middle, really carried through beautifully above the batsman's head as Dickwella had to jump to catch this one. Sri Lankans go up for an appeal but Burns was nowhere close to the ball with his attempted pull. |
| 4.2 : S Lakmal to Burns, Short of a good length and on middle, Burns shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 4.3 : S Lakmal to Burns, This is a much better over from Lakmal. This ball is on a good length and Burns comes forward to push it onto the off side but the ball takes his inside edge and onto his pads. |
| 4.4 : S Lakmal to Burns, Length ball outside off, Burns takes a step ahead and defends it straight back to the bowler. |
| 4.5 : S Lakmal to Burns, Shortens the length a tad bit, Burns remains on his back foot and defends it into the ground. |
| 4.6 : S Lakmal to Burns, FOUR! Great timing and quick outfield here. This one was on a length outside off, Burns comes ahead and drives away from his body but in the gap through the covers. The ball rushes away to the fence. |
| 5.1 : D Perera to Jennings, Flatter ball on off, Jennings prods ahead to defend this one. |
| 5.2 : D Perera to Jennings, BEATEN! This one had Jennings all squared up. Lands on off and straightens a tad bit. Jennings plays the wrong line and is lucky that the ball did not take out his off stump. So close! |
| 5.3 : D Perera to Jennings, Jennings is unsure of his footwork here, comes forward and tries to flick a full one on the leg side but gets a leading edge that flies wide of slip and to the right of backward point. The batsmen run one. |
| 5.4 : D Perera to Burns, Full and on middle, Burns covers the line and defends it. |
| 5.5 : D Perera to Burns, Shorter in length and on middle, Burns goes back and jabs it toward mid on. |
| 5.6 : D Perera to R Burns, Shorter ball outside off, Burns rocks back and cuts it to deep point. Picks up a single to keep strike. |
| 6.1 : S Lakmal to Burns, Shorter on length and outside off, Burns punches it off the back foot to point but no run taken. |
| 6.2 : S Lakmal to Burns, Good length ball on off, that ball has taken the inside edge of the batsman and thudded into his pads, rolling towards cover. |
| 6.3 : S Lakmal to Burns, Fuller and on middle and off, Burns is on his front foot and drives it to mid on. |
| 6.4 : S Lakmal to Burns, This one is short of length and jags in after landing. Burns is cramped for space and gets an inside edge onto his thigh pad and the ball just goes above his stumps and behind to the keeper. |
| 6.5 : S Lakmal to Burns, Outside off and short of a good length, Burns defends away from his body toward gully. |
| 6.6 : S Lakmal to Burns, Slightly short of a length to end the over. Burns stands tall and defends it into the ground. |
| 7.1 : D Perera to Jennings, Full and flighted so much so that its almost yorker length, Jennings digs it out toward short mid-wicket. |
| 7.2 : D Perera to Jennings, Outside off, pushed to cover. |
| 7.3 : D Perera to Jennings, Flatter and darted in on middle, Jennings is on the back foot to punch it to deep point for a single. |
| 7.4 : D Perera to Burns, Looped up on middle, Burns is ahead and drives to mid on. |
| 7.5 : D Perera to Burns, OUT! Bowled 'em! Burns misses a straight one and the ball hits the off stump. Burns has looked tentative this morning with his footwork. He plays on the back foot to one that he should've probably been ahead to. The ball is flatter and skids on after landing to hit the off pole. Rory rocks back to cut it but is beaten. Sri Lanka celebrate as they draw first blood. |
| Jonny Bairstow is in at no. 3. |
| 7.6 : D Perera to Bairstow, FOUR! Off the mark straightaway and in some style. The ball was looped up outside off and Bairstow is positive as he drives on the front foot through the covers. The ball just speeds away through the grass and all the way to the boundary. What good timing! It looked like a mere push but has brought him four. |
| 8.1 : S Lakmal to Jennings, On a good length outside off, Jennings points his bat skywards and leaves it alone. |
| 8.2 : S Lakmal to Jennings, Back of a length this time, once again outside off. Jennings is not enticed to play at it. |
| 8.3 : S Lakmal to Jennings, On the hips of Keaton who tucks it away to the on side and sets off for a quick. Puts the fielder on pressure and completes the run eventually. |
| 8.4 : S Lakmal to Bairstow, Three slips and a gully to the right-hander. Starts off with a good length ball just on top of off stump, Bairstow comes ahead as he defends. |
| 8.5 : S Lakmal to Bairstow, Slightly fuller and on middle, pushed away to mid on. |
| 8.6 : S Lakmal to Bairstow, Good ball to end the over. On length and off stump, but Johnny has the line covered as he defends. |
| 9.1 : D Perera to Jennings, Looped up outside off, Jennings goes for the reverse sweep but the ball comes off the inside part of the bat and bounces before going to gully. |
| 9.2 : D Perera to Jennings, Faster and fuller this time on middle, Jennings connects the reverse sweep much better this time but straight to backward point. |
| 9.3 : D Perera to Jennings, Flatter ball outside off, Jennings pushes it in the gap towards cover-point. Good fielding there as the fielder dives to stop this one but it doesn't prevent the single. |
| 9.4 : D Perera to Bairstow, Shorter and outside off, Bairstow rocks back and punches it away in the gap to the left of cover. The ball is just stopped inside the fance, the batsmen come back for three though. |
| 9.5 : D Perera to Jennings, Another reverse sweep to a full one on middle, but straight to the fielder. |
| 9.6 : D Perera to Jennings, Slightly fuller this time, Jennings defends on the front foot. |
| Malinda Pushpakumara is the first bowling change this morning. |
| 10.1 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Flighted outside off and a bit of turn, Bairstow lets it go. |
| 10.2 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Beautiful loop and on off, Bairstow is well ahead and defends solidly. |
| 10.3 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Fuller and on off again, Bairstow drives to long off for a run. |
| 10.4 : M Pushpakumara to Jennings, FOUR! Good paddle sweep by the left-handed Jennings. The ball was flatter and on off but the batsman is down early and paddles it away fine for four. |
| 10.5 : M Pushpakumara to Jennings, OUT! What an inspired fielding change by Lakmal. Leg slip had just been placed there after the previous ball and Jennings guides it straight into his arms. The ball was on middle and Jennings looks to turn it away fine with the spin. To his dismay, there was Roshen Silva waiting for just that who takes a good low catch. Walked right into the trap there is Keaton. Jennings waits for a bit, no idea why. The umpires then ask him to keep marching towards the dressin |
| Joe Root is the new man in. |
| 10.6 : M Pushpakumara to Root, Full and on off, kept out by Root who is half-ahead. |
| Lakshan Sandakan to roll his arm. |
| 11.1 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Starts off around the wicket and flatter on the pads. Bairstow works it away on the back foot but short leg is in the way. |
| 11.2 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Good ball! This one is flighted outside off and turns in a long way. Bairstow comes ahead to defend but gets an inside edge onto his pads. No risk though as the ball just drops down away from any fielder. |
| 11.3 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Full toss on middle, swept away for a single by JB. |
| 11.4 : L Sandakan to Root, Shorter and outside off, enough time for Root to go back and punch it away to deep point for a single. |
| 11.5 : L Sandakan to J Bairstow, Fuller and outside off, driven to mid off. |
| 11.6 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Flatter ball on off, the batsman is on the back foot and punches this one back to the bowler. |
| It's time for the first Drinks break of the match. What an engrossing first hour of play! Sri Lanka will definitely be happy with the two wickets but will have to keep up the pressure and not let England off the noose. The ball is gripping and turning as expected. Batting should be tough but not impossible. Root and Bairstow will have a short term target of not losing their wickets at least till Lunch. |
| 12.1 : M Pushpakumara to Root, Loopy ball around off, hit back towards the bowler. |
| 12.2 : M Pushpakumara to Root, Arm ball on the pads of Root who stonewalls it. |
| 12.3 : M Pushpakumara to Root, Another ball given air on middle and leg. Root is happy to block it out. |
| 12.4 : M Pushpakumara to Root, FOUR! Enough is enough says Joe. Flighted ball on off, Root gets low, reaches for it and swipes it front of square, through mid-wicket for a boundary. |
| 12.5 : M Pushpakumara to Root, Smart batting this. Field change so he just nudged the ball around the corner to get off strike. |
| 12.6 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Tossed up ball around off, Bairstow is solid in his defense. |
| 13.1 : L Sandakan to Root, A bit on the shorter side on middle, Root punches it towards mid on. |
| 13.2 : L Sandakan to Root, Outside off, cut to deep backward point. They jog to complete the run. |
| 13.3 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Loopy ball on off, Jonny shuffles and milks it through mid-wicket for a run. |
| 13.4 : L Sandakan to Root, CHANCE! Stumping chance goes abegging here. Lovely loopy ball outside off. It spins back in. Root is forward to whip it away but gets beaten by the turn. The ball just spins past leg stump and Dickwella cannot collect the ball. The ball rolls towards fine leg where the batsmen take two byes. |
| 13.5 : L Sandakan to Root, Joe works it down the leg side. They pick up a single. |
| 13.6 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, A long appeal. Tossed up ball on off. Bairstow is forward to defend but misses his block. Sri Lanka appeal but do not opt for the review. Impact outside the line there. |
| 14.1 : M Pushpakumara to Root, Covers his stumps and bunts this down. |
| 14.2 : M Pushpakumara to Root, Gets behind the ball and blocks it out. |
| 14.3 : M Pushpakumara to Root, On off, kept out. |
| 14.4 : M Pushpakumara to Root, The batsman flicks it away with a wristy shot. They pick up a single. |
| Review time! Sri Lanka think they have got Bairstow caught behind. Let's see. |
| 14.5 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, NOT OUT! Waste of a review from Sri Lanka. Perhaps Lakmal was put under pressure from the close-in fielders and took it up. Loopy ball on off, Bairstow is ahead to block it out. He misses but there is a noise as Dickwella collects it. He appeals but the umpire stays put. Sri Lanka take the review. Replays shows us that there is a huge gap between bat and pad. The third umpire then does check for LBW as the spike is from the bat touching the ground and not the bo |
| 14.6 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Around off, Bairstow blocks it out. |
| 15.1 : L Sandakan to Root, Down leg, turned away to the on side for one. 50 up for the visitors. |
| 15.2 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, FOUR! Low full toss outside off, Bairstow swipes it from outside off and sweeps it with power. No fielder there and a boundary results. |
| 15.3 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, FOUR! Short ball outside off, deserved punishment. Jonny rocks back and cuts it through the vacant cover-point region for back-to-back boundaries. |
| 15.4 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Brings out the swipe again. Behind square for a brace as the fielder in deep mops it up. |
| 15.5 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Loopy ball on middle, this time Bairstow pays his respect. |
| 15.6 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Outside off, swept with disdain to deep square leg. Just one but 12 from the over. |
| 16.1 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Tossed up ball outside off, kept out to the off side. |
| 16.2 : M Pushpakumara to J Bairstow, Driven through mid off by the batsman. They pick up a single. |
| 16.3 : M Pushpakumara to Root, Another appeal from Dickwella. Darts this on leg. Root misses his flick and gets hit on the legs. The bowler straightaway says that it was going down leg. |
| 16.4 : M Pushpakumara to Root, Outside off, driven past mid off for a single. |
| 16.5 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, JB has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 16.6 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, SIX! First of the match. Sees the ball flighted, gets low and slogs it over mid-wicket for half a dozen. Bairstow now has a strike rate of above 100. |
| 17.1 : L Sandakan to Root, FOUR! Swept powerfully over mid-wicket for four runs. The ball is full and outside off, Root goes down on one knee and smashes it over mid-wicket and into the fence on one bounce. |
| 17.2 : L Sandakan to Root, Better. Makes Root goes goes his back foot by bowling it a bit quick and slightly short. Root pushes it to long on for one. |
| 17.3 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Errs down leg, Bairstow still goes to sweep it. Gets it off his glove towards the on side. |
| 17.4 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Darts this quicker in line. Jonny is solid in his defense. |
| 17.5 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Flatter ball on middle and leg, Bairstow punches the ball through mid on for one. |
| 17.6 : L Sandakan to Root, On middle and off, Root drops it just short of the short leg fielder. |
| 18.1 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Tossed up ball in line of the stumps, Bairstow taps it in front of him. |
| 18.2 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, On off, Bairstow places it near the 22 yards. |
| 18.3 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Beautifully bowled. Off spinner on middle and leg, Bairstow closes the bat face a bit early. Some extra bounce and turn and it almost kisses the outside edge of Jonny's bat. Dickwella collects it but does not appeal. |
| 18.4 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Around off, Jonny looks to drive it but gets an inside edge onto his pads. |
| 18.5 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, It's been driven superbly through the covers. They pick up a single. |
| 18.6 : M Pushpakumara to Root, Drifting back in, Root is watchful as he blocks it with a straight bat. |
| 19.1 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Loopy ball around off, Bairstow keeps it out. |
| 19.2 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Leg spinner down leg, Jonny is ahead to whip it away but cannot connect well. |
| 19.3 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Kept low. Outside off, Bairstow rocks back and somehow manages to get bat to it. Hits it past point for one. |
| 19.4 : L Sandakan to Root, Down the leg side. Root looks to help it on its way fine. It goes towards short fine leg where they cross. The umpire signals byes. |
| 19.5 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Leg spinners down leg again. Root misses his flick and Dickwella collects it. |
| 19.6 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, On off, kept out. |
| 20.1 : M Pushpakumara to Root, Full and on off stump, Root keeps it out on the front foot. |
| 20.2 : M Pushpakumara to Root, Flatter and darted in outside off, Root opens the face of his bat and runs it down to third man for a couple. |
| 20.3 : M Pushpakumara to Root, Flighted on off, Root is well ahead in defense. |
| 20.4 : M Pushpakumara to Root, Overpitched on middle, Root drives it to mid on. |
| 20.5 : M Pushpakumara to Root, Full and on off stump, Root defends it on the front foot. |
| 20.6 : M Pushpakumara to Root, Looped up just outside off, Root prods ahead and dead bats it. |
| 21.1 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Leg spinner on middle, flicked but straight to mid-wicket. |
| 21.2 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, On off, Bairstow gets an inside edge onto his pads to the off side. |
| 21.3 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Short ball, Jonny rocks back and punches it towards covers for a run. |
| Review time! Sri Lanka take a review for an LBW decision given against them. Impact looks outside off. |
| 21.4 : L Sandakan to Root, NOT OUT! Sri Lanka lose both their reviews before Lunch. Over excitement, I tell you. Flatter ball outside off, Root looks to cut it late but is struck on his pads outside off. The bowler and the keeper are not quite sure but suddenly after some chat they take it upstairs. Replays roll in and show us that the impact was indeed outside off. They also get a leg bye as the ball went past the keeper. |
| 21.5 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Full toss on middle, JB comes down early and paddles it fine and comes back for two. Good running this! |
| 21.6 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, A bit flat on off, turned to square leg. |
| 22.1 : M Pushpakumara to Root, A bit flat on off, turned to square leg. |
| 22.2 : M Pushpakumara to Root, Gets low and brings out the broom towards deep square leg for a run. |
| 22.3 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, On off, bunted down by Bairstow. |
| 22.4 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Goes deep in his crease and taps the ball towards cover-point. |
| 22.5 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Arm ball on leg, pushed to covers. |
| 22.6 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Darts this on middle and leg, played with a straight bat. |
| Dilruwan Perera to bowl. |
| 23.1 : D Perera to Root, Takes it on the full and milks it through mid-wicket to bring up the 50-run stand. They will look to go into the break without further damage. |
| 23.2 : D Perera to Bairstow, Punched off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 23.3 : D Perera to Bairstow, Brings out the swipes it through square leg. Some tag-team there in the deep to keep it to two. |
| 23.4 : D Perera to Bairstow, Flatter ball on middle, tucked towards mid-wicket. |
| 23.5 : D Perera to Bairstow, FOUR! Super shot. Gets on one knee and sweeps it with force through square leg. It won't be cut off and Jonny moves into the 40s. |
| 23.6 : D Perera to Bairstow, YJB flicks it away with a wristy shot. |
| 24.1 : M Pushpakumara to Root, FOUR! Root is no pushover. Shows Bairstow even he has it in him. Gets low and sweeps it in front of square trough mid-wicket for a boundary. |
| 24.2 : M Pushpakumara to Root, Waits for the ball and then tucks it away. |
| 24.3 : M Pushpakumara to Root, Cheeky. Paddles it fine to fine leg for a comfortable brace. England doing it all. |
| 24.4 : M Pushpakumara to Root, On off, driven to covers. |
| 24.5 : M Pushpakumara to Root, Loopy ball on off, hit back to the bowler. |
| 24.6 : M Pushpakumara to Root, Similar ball and similar shot like the previous ball. |
| 25.1 : D Perera to Bairstow, Goes down to sweep but gets it off his glove to the leg slip fielder. |
| 25.2 : D Perera to Bairstow, Down leg. Bairstow leaves it alone staying inside his crease. |
| 25.3 : D Perera to Bairstow, On off, swept to deep square leg to give Root the strike. |
| 25.4 : D Perera to Root, 100 up for England. Pushes this towards mid off and gets a run to reach the milestone. |
| 25.5 : D Perera to Bairstow, Sweeps this through square leg for one more. |
| 25.6 : D Perera to Root, Root flicks this through mid-wicket for another run. That will be Lunch on Day 1. |
| Two contrasting hours of play in one session. The first hour belonged to Sri Lanka and the second hour belonged to the Brits without a doubt. The Islanders picked up both the openers in the first hour but since the drinks break, England have gone on the positive and even though there have been a couple of chances along the way, the two Yorkshire batsmen, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow have looked pretty comfortable in the middle adding an unbeaten 66. It has mostly been all spin for the hosts, like |
| ... Day 1, Session 2 ... |
| The players are making their way out after the Lunch break under the scorching sun. Joe Root will face the first ball which will be bowled by Suranga Lakmal. |
| 26.1 : S Lakmal to Root, Starts off with a length delivery on top of off, Root stays tall and defends. |
| 26.2 : S Lakmal to Root, Fuller and outside off, Root goes for the drive and gets a thick inside edge onto the pads. |
| 26.3 : S Lakmal to Root, Fuller and drifting onto the pads, Root flicks it away to deep square leg for a single. |
| 26.4 : S Lakmal to Bairstow, Overpitched on the pads, Jonny plays it to mid on. |
| 26.5 : S Lakmal to J Bairstow, Good length ball outside off, Bairstow is ahead in defense but gets an inside edge that rolls onto the leg side for a single. |
| 26.6 : S Lakmal to Root, Full and outside off, pushed solidly on the front foot to mid off. |
| 27.1 : D Perera to Bairstow, Flatter delivery on off, Bairstow pushes it to mid-wicket. |
| 27.2 : D Perera to Bairstow, Flatter and quicker on middle, JB plays it to square leg. |
| 27.3 : D Perera to J Bairstow, Fuller and on middle, Bairstow drives it to long on for a single. |
| 27.4 : D Perera to Root, Flighted on middle, Root comes down the wicket and defends it. |
| 27.5 : D Perera to Root, Darted in on off, Root stays back and defends this one. |
| 27.6 : D Perera to Root, Flatter and aimed at the pads, Root works it behind square on the leg side, keeps strike with a run. |
| 28.1 : S Lakmal to Joe Root, Full and on middle, Root drives it straight to mid on. |
| 28.2 : S Lakmal to Joe Root, Outside off and fuller in length, Root cover drives but straight to the fielder. |
| 28.3 : S Lakmal to Joe Root, Good length ball, Root looks to push it in the gap on the off side but cover comes around and prevents the single. |
| 28.4 : S Lakmal to Joe Root, Wide outside off, Root reaches out and drives it. Dhananjaya de Silva at cover dives and makes a good stop and prevents the single again. |
| 28.5 : S Lakmal to Root, Fuller and outside off, Root finally finds the gap to the left of cover and picks up a single to sweeper cover. |
| 28.6 : S Lakmal to Bairstow, Good length ball just outside off and slightly coming in after landing. Bairstow covers the movement and defends it solidly. |
| 29.1 : D Perera to Root, Looped on middle, Root pushes it to mid-wicket. |
| 29.2 : D Perera to Root, Faster ball outside off, Root comes down the wicket and finds the gap on the leg side towards deep mid-wicket and gets a single. |
| 29.3 : D Perera to Bairstow, Flighted on middle, Bairstow gets behind the line of the ball and defends it. |
| 29.4 : D Perera to Bairstow, Flatter on middle, Bairstow is back and flicks it away on the leg side for a run. |
| 29.5 : D Perera to Root, Flatter and on off stump, Root remains in his crease and defends. |
| 29.6 : D Perera to Root, Root comes down the wicket and plays this to long on for a single. |
| 30.1 : S Lakmal to Root, Short of a length and outside off, Root drops it on the off side and sets off for a quick single. Bairstow responds early and is comfortably in as the cover fielder has a shy at the striker's end. |
| 30.2 : S Lakmal to Bairstow, Outside off and on a length, Bairstow lets it go. |
| 30.3 : S Lakmal to Bairstow, Slightly overpitched, Bairstow mistimes his drive to short cover. |
| 30.4 : S Lakmal to Bairstow, Similar delivery, Jonny covers the line and defends on his front foot. |
| 30.5 : S Lakmal to Bairstow, Bouncer on middle, Bairstow ducks under this one. |
| 30.6 : S Lakmal to Bairstow, Another effort ball from Lakmal, almost a half-tracker. Bairstow sways outside the way. |
| 31.1 : D Perera to Root, Flatter ball outside off, Root pushes it to long on off his back foot and picks up a single. |
| 31.2 : D Perera to Bairstow, Lots of turn on this occasion but the ball begins on middle and ends up way outside leg. JB looks to play it fine but doesn't get bat on it. |
| 31.3 : D Perera to Bairstow, FOUR! Short and wide outside off, Bairstow rocks back and cuts it beautifully in front of square on the off side for a boundary. |
| 31.4 : D Perera to Bairstow, Flatter delivery on middle and leg, Bairstow goes for the flick and misses the ball to be hit on his thigh pad. |
| 31.5 : D Perera to Bairstow, Flatter delivery again on middle, played toward mid wicket. |
| 31.6 : D Perera to Bairstow, 50 for Bairstow! His 20th fifty in Test cricket. It's come of just 76 balls. Seems like a solution to England's No.3 conundrum. He has looked really positive and comfortable out in the middle. Coming to this ball, it was full and on middle. He sweeps it away for a single. |
| 32.1 : S Lakmal to J Bairstow, Full and on off stump, driven to mid off. |
| 32.2 : S Lakmal to Bairstow, Good length ball outside off, Bairstow defends it onto the ground on the off side and picks up a quick single. |
| 32.3 : S Lakmal to Root, In the air but safe! Full delivery on the pads, Joe flicks it uppishly but away from the short mid-wicket fielder. Lucky. |
| 32.4 : S Lakmal to Root, Slower delivery outside off, Root reads it early and drives it but straight to short cover. |
| New bat comes in for Joe Root. |
| 32.5 : S Lakmal to Root, On a good length outside off, Root drives to mid off. |
| 32.6 : S Lakmal to Joe Root, Good length ball outside off, Root drives it again but fails to find the gap between cover and mid off. |
| 33.1 : D Perera to Bairstow, Flighted up outside off, Bairstow goes down and sweeps it away to deep fine leg for a run. |
| 33.2 : D Perera to Root, Flighted and outside off, Root comes down the wicket and drives to short mid-wicket who fumbles but there's no run conceded. |
| 33.3 : D Perera to Root, Flatter trajectory outside off, Root punches it to cover for a single. |
| 33.4 : D Perera to J Bairstow, Flatter trajectory outside off, Root punches it to cover for a single. |
| 33.5 : Perera to Root, Loud appeal but the umpire is unmoved. This one is around the wicket and lands on middle and turns in slightly and hits Root on the front pad as he misses his flick. Looked in line but Sri Lanka have no review left. |
| 33.6 : D Perera to Root, Full and on the pads, Root comes down the wicket and flicks it straight to square leg. |
| Lakshan Sandakan is into the attack now. |
| 34.1 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Outside off and flatter. Bairstow goes for the cut but misses it completely. |
| 34.2 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Fuller and on middle, Bairstow defends it on the bottom of his bat. |
| 34.3 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Similar ball and JB is well forward to defend it. |
| 34.4 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Flighted on off, Bairstow comes ahead and smothers the spin. |
| 34.5 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, FOUR! Shorter this time, Bairstow stays back in his crease and cuts it away to the point boundary. Deep backward point can't get around in time as the outfield is too quick. |
| 34.6 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Fuller and looped on off stump, Bairstow defends it back to the bowler. |
| 35.1 : D Perera to Root, Root comes down the wicket and takes this one on the full and hits it to long on for a single. |
| 35.2 : D Perera to Bairstow, In the air but safely in the gap. This one is full and on middle, Bairstow flicks it away to deep mid-wicket for a single. |
| 35.3 : D Perera to Root, Flatter and on middle, Root pushes it to mid-wicket for another run. |
| 35.4 : D Perera to Bairstow, Flatter delivery on middle, YJB is ahead in defense. |
| 35.5 : D Perera to Bairstow, LOUD APPEAL but turned down by the umpire. The ball was full and on middle. Bairstow goes for the hoick and misses the ball to get hit in front of the stumps. Umpire decides its Not out. Maybe the ball was sliding down and missing off stump. |
| 35.6 : D Perera to Bairstow, Flatter ball on off, defended by Bairstow on the back foot to the bowler. |
| 36.1 : L Sandakan to Root, Full and pushed back to the bowler by Root. |
| 36.2 : L Sandakan to Root, This one is short outside off, Root goes back in his crease and opens his bat face to the gap wide of slip for four. Well-placed by the skipper. |
| 36.3 : L Sandakan to Joe Root, Flighted outside off, Root comes ahead to defend but the ball hits the inside edge and the ball rolls onto the leg side. |
| 36.4 : L Sandakan to Root, Full ball outside off, Root brings out the reverse sweep and picks up a couple. |
| 36.5 : L Sandakan to Root, Fuller ball on middle, defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 36.6 : L Sandakan to Root, This one is slightly flatter and on middle. The captain plays it through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 37.1 : D Perera to Root, Starts with a ball on leg, it is clipped straight to the fielder. |
| 37.2 : D Perera to Root, This one is outside off and turns in, Root prods forward and defends it. |
| 37.3 : D Perera to Root, This ball is full and outside off, Root comes ahead and drives it to long off for a run. It also brings up the 100-run stand between these two. Massive partnership and batting has looked easy. |
| 37.4 : D Perera to Bairstow, Full and on middle, Bairstow has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 37.5 : D Perera to Bairstow, Flatter ball on middle, JB plays it short mid-wicket. |
| 37.6 : D Perera to Bairstow, Fuller and flighted a lot more outside off, Bairstow just dead bats it towards mid-wicket. |
| 38.1 : Sandakan to Joe Root, OUT! Wicket against the run of play and at a totally unexpected time. The ball was flighted and going the other way, Root goes for a shot above mid-wicket and top edges this one high in the air. Gunathilaka has all the time in the world to come underneath it and pouches it comfortably. Root will be fuming, misses a fifty but mainly will be sad because of the way he has been dismissed. |
| 0.0 : Ben Stokes is the new man in. |
| 38.2 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Short and way outside leg, Bairstow stays back and pulls it away to deep square leg for a single. |
| 38.3 : L Sandakan to Stokes, Full and outside off, Stokes defends it to cover. |
| 38.4 : L Sandakan to Stokes, Huge appeal! But given not out again. This ball is flatter and quicker on middle. The ball grips and turns as Stokes tries to jam it away on the leg side but misses to get hit on pads. The Lankans appeal for a long time but the umpire is unperturbed. Replays show that the ball was missing off stump. Good decision. |
| 38.5 : L Sandakan to Stokes, Flatter delivery, Stokes defends it off the back foot towards point. |
| 38.6 : L Sandakan to Stokes, Spin on this occasion but Stokes plays it with the spin off the back foot and towards cover. |
| 39.1 : D Perera to Bairstow, Played through mid-wicket by JB. |
| 39.2 : D Perera to Bairstow, Flatter ball on leg, flicked to deep square leg for one. |
| 39.3 : D Perera to Stokes, Quicker arm ball outside off, Stokes looks to cut it but misses. |
| 39.4 : D Perera to Stokes, On middle and leg, Stokes on the back foot punches it to mid-wicket. |
| 39.5 : D Perera to Stokes, Short ball over the stumps, Stokes gives it back to the bowler. |
| 39.6 : D Perera to Stokes, Covers his stumps and bunts this one down. |
| Drinks! |
| 40.1 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Loopy ball around off, Bairstow paddles it softly towards short fine leg for a single. |
| 40.2 : L Sandakan to Stokes, Loopy ball around off, Bairstow paddles it softly towards short fine leg for a single. |
| 40.3 : L Sandakan to Stokes, Wrong 'un outside off, Stokes looks to cut it but misses. A shaky start so far from Stokes. |
| 40.4 : L Sandakan to Stokes, On middle and leg, played with a straight bat. |
| 40.5 : L Sandakan to Stokes, Around off, Stokes bunts it down. |
| 40.6 : L Sandakan to Stokes, Loopy ball on that similar line, Stokes stonewalls it. |
| 41.1 : D Perera to Bairstow, Tossed up on middle and leg, turned to the leg side. |
| 41.2 : D Perera to Bairstow, On off, driven to extra cover for a comfortable couple. |
| 41.3 : D Perera to Bairstow, A bit short down leg, worked away towards square leg for one more. |
| 41.4 : D Perera to Stokes, Long appeal! But the umpire stays put. Stokes is caught again on the back foot. Short on off, Ben looks to play it with a straight bat but misses. Hits him on the pads. No reviews for Sri Lanka left. Now then, replays show us that the ball would have gone to hit the stumps. Stokes gets away with one. |
| 41.5 : D Perera to Stokes, Punched off the back foot by the batsman through mid-wicket. They pick up a single and Stokes is finally off the mark. |
| 41.6 : D Perera to Bairstow, On leg, turned away around he corner. |
| 42.1 : L Sandakan to Ben Stokes, FOUR! Too short down leg, Stokes rocks back, needs no second invitation and pulls it through square leg for a boundary. |
| 42.2 : L Sandakan to Stokes, Stokes read the spin and leaves this ball outside his off stump. |
| 42.3 : L Sandakan to Stokes, Full and outside off again, driven through covers for one. |
| 42.4 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, This one is down the leg side and the batsman leaves it alone. |
| 42.5 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, On off, Bairstow leans ahead and stonewalls it. |
| 42.6 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, How close was that? Wrong 'un from Sandakan outside off. Spins away. Bairstow coves his off pole and lets it go. |
| 43.1 : D Perera to Stokes, On the shorter side on middle and leg, flicked to mid-wicket. |
| 43.2 : D Perera to Stokes, Full and on off, Stokes comes down and creams it to long off for one. |
| 43.3 : D Perera to Bairstow, FOUR! Short again. Poor ball. Jonny goes back and cuts it through cover-point to bring up the 150 for the tourists. |
| 43.4 : D Perera to Bairstow, Drifts this into Bairstow who looks to block it but then his bottom hand just comes off. |
| 43.5 : D Perera to Bairstow, Comfortably gets behind the ball and blocks it out. |
| 43.6 : D Perera to Bairstow, On off, kept out. |
| 44.1 : L Sandakan to Stokes, Leg spinner around off, Stokes plays it into the ground. |
| 44.2 : L Sandakan to Stokes, On leg, milked through mid-wicket to change ends. |
| 44.3 : L Sandakan to J Bairstow, Outside off, cut very late to backward point for a brace. |
| 44.4 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Loopy ball outside off, Bairstow swipes it to deep square leg for a run. |
| 44.5 : L Sandakan to Stokes, Flighted ball down the leg side, Stokes looks to sweep it but misses. |
| 44.6 : L Sandakan to Ben Stokes, FOUR! A bit short on middle and leg, Stokes goes back and pulls this over mid-wicket for another boundary. Looks good now. |
| Dhananjaya de Silva on for a bowl now. |
| 45.1 : de Silva to J Bairstow, Off spinner on middle and off, turned away against the spin. |
| 45.2 : de Silva to Stokes, Darts this on the pads of Ben who flicks it away through mid-wicket. Another two runs taken. |
| 45.3 : de Silva to Stokes, Floated ball on off, driven back to the bowler. |
| 45.4 : de Silva to Stokes, Around off, pushed to covers. |
| 45.5 : de Silva to Stokes, Quicker ball on off, Stokes taps it to the off side with soft hands and rotates strike. |
| 45.6 : de Silva to Bairstow, On off, played to the on side. |
| 46.1 : L Sandakan to Stokes, FOUR! Effective! Outside off, Stokes reverse sweeps this with some connection past the slip fielder for a boundary. |
| 46.2 : L Sandakan to Stokes, Gives this air on off, driven to mid off. |
| 46.3 : L Sandakan to Ben Stokes, JUST SHORT! Good reaction by Dhananjaya but just short. On off, Stokes gets caught on the back foot again. Gets an edge which falls just short of the first slip fielder. |
| 46.4 : L Sandakan to Stokes, Stokes plays a sweep shot. One run added to the total. |
| 46.5 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Gets low and sweeps it towards square leg to give his partner the strike. |
| 46.6 : L Sandakan to Stokes, Wrong 'un outside off, Stokes cuts it through point to retain the strike. |
| 47.1 : de Silva to Stokes, Outside off, reverse swept towards short third man for a run. |
| 47.2 : de Silva to Bairstow, In line of the stumps, hit back to the bowler. |
| 47.3 : de Silva to Bairstow, Gives this air on off, tapped with soft hands to the off side. They cross. |
| 47.4 : de Silva to Stokes, Comes down the track and gets to the ball outside off. |
| 47.5 : de Silva to Stokes, On middle and leg, Stokes turns it to the on side. |
| 47.6 : de Silva to Stokes, Freebie missed out. Short ball on middle, Stokes rocks back to pull it but gets a bottom edge which dies down. |
| Malinda Pushpakumara to roll his arm over. |
| 48.1 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Loopy ball around off, Bairstow taps it in front of him. |
| 48.2 : M Pushpakumara to J Bairstow, DROPPED SHORT, AGAIN! Tossed up outside off, Jonny gets an edge towards de Silva at first slip. Dhananjaya gets low but the ball just bounces it front of him. |
| 48.3 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 48.4 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Around off, Bairstow covers his stumps and stonewalls this. |
| 48.5 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Jonny presents the full face of the bat and blocks another one. |
| 48.6 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Gets to the pitch of the ball and plays this in front of him. |
| 49.1 : de Silva to Stokes, Flatter and darted on off, Stokes comes ahead to defend. |
| 49.2 : de Silva to Stokes, FOUR! Smashed over mid-wicket. This one was full and outside off. Stokes goes down on one knee and lifts it over mid-wicket with brute force and picks up four runs. |
| 49.3 : de Silva to Stokes, Flatter ball on off, Stokes is on the back foot to defend. |
| 49.4 : de Silva to Stokes, Loud appeal but the umpire is unmoved. The ball hits Stokes on the full as he misses his sweep. The impact did seem outside off. Dhananjaya is not too happy with the decision and is almost pleading. |
| 49.5 : de Silva to Stokes, Flatter on middle, Stokes flicks it to mid-wicket. |
| 49.6 : de Silva to Stokes, Flatter outside off, Stokes cuts it away to sweeper cover for a single. |
| 50.1 : M Pushpakumara to Stokes, Loopy ball on middle and leg, Stokes chips it uppishly towards mid on. |
| 50.2 : M Pushpakumara to Ben Stokes, Full on off, pushed to long on for another run. |
| 50.3 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, FOUR! The sweep again. Reaches for it from outside off and sweeps through square leg for another boundary. |
| 50.4 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, On off, played into the ground. |
| 50.5 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 50.6 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, A bit of extra bounce on this. Bairstow for some reason goes on the back foot but misses his cut. |
| Slight stoppage in play as Bairstow needs some pills and also a little hydration. |
| Danushka Gunathilaka to bowl some off spin now. |
| 51.1 : D Gunathilaka to Stokes, Around off, hit to the leg side. |
| 51.2 : D Gunathilaka to Stokes, Down the leg side, turned through square leg for an easy run. |
| 51.3 : D Gunathilaka to Bairstow, A bit short on leg, turned to mid-wicket. |
| 51.4 : D Gunathilaka to Bairstow, Full this time on leg, milked to long on for a run to bring up the 50-run stand between these two. |
| 51.5 : D Gunathilaka to Stokes, Flatter ball on middle and leg, flicked to cow corner to rotate strike. |
| 51.6 : D Gunathilaka to Bairstow, Nice. Flighted ball on off, Bairstow strides forward to block it but it kisses the pads and goes in the mitts of Dickwella. |
| Dilruwan Perera is back on. |
| 52.1 : D Perera to Stokes, Length on off, taped to the off side. |
| 52.2 : D Perera to Stokes, On off, driven to covers. |
| 52.3 : D Perera to Stokes, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 52.4 : D Perera to Stokes, Full and outside off, driven to long off for an easy run. |
| 52.5 : D Perera to Bairstow, Outside off, Bairstow looks to sweep it but gets his on his body. Looks fine to continue. |
| 52.6 : D Perera to Bairstow, The ball is down the leg side but Jonny still goes after it. |
| 53.1 : D Gunathilaka to Stokes, Flatter and on off, Stokes defends off the back foot. |
| 53.2 : D Gunathilaka to Stokes, Looped up outside off, Stokes is half ahead to defend. |
| 53.3 : D Gunathilaka to Stokes, This one is drifting down the leg side, Stokes looks to work it away on the leg side and misses the ball to get hit on the pad. Not too much of an appeal though. |
| 53.4 : D Gunathilaka to Stokes, This one is flatter on the pads, Stokes flicks it away for single to deep square leg. |
| 53.5 : D Gunathilaka to Bairstow, Full and on middle, Bairstow comes ahead to defend it. |
| 53.6 : D Gunathilaka to Bairstow, Shorter in length, JB rocks back and punches it to long on and keeps the strike. |
| 54.1 : D Perera to Bairstow, Down leg, worked past square leg for an easy run. |
| 54.2 : D Perera to Stokes, Over the stumps, Stoke plays it with a straight bat. |
| 54.3 : D Perera to Stokes, Loopy ball on off, driven to covers. |
| 54.4 : Perera to Stokes, SIX! HUGE! What a hit. Loopy ball on middle and leg, Stokes uses his feet and lofts it over long on for a biggie. Playing for Tea? What's that? |
| 54.5 : D Perera to Stokes, Around off, kept out. |
| 54.6 : D Perera to Stokes, Flighted ball on off, Stokes defends it out solidly. That will be Tea on Day 1. Also, a slight drizzle out there as the covers come on. |
| England's session all the way except for a minor blip where they lost their captain. They have motored along to 197-3 without facing much trouble. Jonny Bairstow has been super solid and played his shots as well. Ben Stokes was looking a little tentative when he came in to bat but once he spent some time in the middle, he too has found it easy and started to open up. Sri Lankan bowlers have been blunt and haven't created as many chances as they would've liked to. But there were a couple of chanc |
| ... Day 1, Session 3 ... |
| It was a passing shower and the players and umpire are on the field for the last session of play. Jonny Bairstow will face the first ball after resumption from Malinda Pushpakumara. |
| 55.1 : M Pushpakumara to J Bairstow, Loopy ball in line of the stumps, Bairstow pushes it back to the bowler. |
| 55.2 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Gives this air on middle, hit once again to the bowler. |
| 55.3 : M Pushpakumara to J Bairstow, On off, a faint outside edge way past the slip cordon for two. |
| 55.4 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Tossed up ball on off, blocked to the off side. |
| 55.5 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, On middle, bunted down. |
| 55.6 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Outside off, Jonny drives it to mid off. |
| Dilruwan Perera to bowl from the other end. |
| 56.1 : D Perera to Stokes, On off, Stokes blocks it out with a straight bat. |
| 56.2 : D Perera to Stokes, On the pads of Ben who tucks it away to get one. The 200 is up for the visitors. |
| 56.3 : D Perera to Bairstow, A bit flat on leg, worked away to the on side for a single. |
| 56.4 : D Perera to Stokes, Full and down leg, hit to mid-wicket. |
| 56.5 : D Perera to Stokes, Around off, driven past point to rotate strike. |
| 56.6 : D Perera to Bairstow, Jonny goes back and tucks this ball to square leg for a single. |
| 57.1 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 57.2 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Pushed to the cover region by Bairstow. The batsmen have run through for a single. |
| 57.3 : M Pushpakumara to Stokes, Arm ball on leg, Stokes gets hit low on the pads as he misses his flicks. |
| 57.4 : M Pushpakumara to Stokes, Outside off, Stokes gets in position early and reverse sweeps it. Dhananjaya catches it but on the bounce. |
| 57.5 : M Pushpakumara to Stokes, Goes deep inside and negotiates this one. |
| 57.6 : M Pushpakumara to Stokes, Covers his stumps and blocks this one out. |
| 58.1 : D Perera to Bairstow, On off, swept through square leg to get to the other end. |
| 58.2 : D Perera to Stokes, Loopy ball on off, Stokes taps it in front of him. |
| 58.3 : D Perera to Stokes, SIX! Third of the innings. His second. Picks up the flighted ball and slogs this over cow corner for half a dozen. |
| 58.4 : D Perera to Stokes, Goes for the unconventional sweep but gives it straight to the man at point. |
| 58.5 : D Perera to Stokes, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 58.6 : D Perera to Ben Stokes, Chance! Floated ball on middle and leg, Stokes just chips it to the left of Perera. Dilruwan dives but cannot get to the ball. They cross. |
| 59.1 : M Pushpakumara to Stokes, Flatter and quicker on off, kept out by Stokes. |
| 59.2 : M Pushpakumara to Stokes, Stokes comes down the wicket to hit it huge but then doesn't connect it well enough. The ball goes to long on for a single. |
| 59.3 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Looped up at the pads, Bairstow gets his bat in front and defends. |
| 59.4 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Flatter on middle, Bairstow defends it straight back to the bowler. |
| 59.5 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Looped up on off stump, the batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 59.6 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Flat and darted at the pads, played away to mid-wicket for a single. |
| 60.1 : D Perera to Bairstow, Outside off and Bairstow moves into the 90s with a paddle toward fine leg. The batsmen come back for two. |
| 60.2 : D Perera to Bairstow, Flighted outside off, turns a lot and hits the front pad of JB. But, the ball was too high. |
| 60.3 : D Perera to Bairstow, Flatter outside off, Bairstow just drops it to the off side towards point and rotates strike. |
| 60.4 : D Perera to Stokes, Flatter outside off, Stokes plays it towards point. |
| 60.5 : D Perera to Stokes, Looped up on the pads, flicked away to deep fine leg for a couple. It brings up Ben Stokes' 16th fifty in Test cricket. He was in a bit of trouble early on but has settled beautifully. He has come ahead and not let the spin bowlers dictate terms to him. |
| 60.6 : D Perera to Stokes, Flatter ball on middle, Stokes defends it showing the full face of the bat. |
| 61.1 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Looped up on middle, Bairstow looks to defend it back to the bowler but gets the inside edge that rolls onto the leg side for a single. |
| 61.2 : M Pushpakumara to Ben Stokes, Almost yorker length, Stokes pushes it to long on for a single. |
| 61.3 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Flatter and spinning away outside off, Bairstow pushes it to sweeper cover for another run. |
| 61.4 : M Pushpakumara to Stokes, Flatter and on middle, Stokes plays it back to the bowler. |
| 61.5 : M Pushpakumara to Stokes, Full outside off, Stokes reverse sweeps it for a single. |
| 61.6 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Quicker and on middle, Bairstow plays it to short mid-wicket. |
| 62.1 : D Perera to Stokes, Loopy ball around off, driven past covers for a run. |
| 62.2 : D Perera to Bairstow, On leg, turned around the corner. |
| 62.3 : D Perera to Bairstow, Outside off, Jonny plays it with a straight bat. |
| 62.4 : D Perera to Bairstow, Arm ball down leg, Bairstow looks to tuck it away but gets it off his thigh pad to the leg slip fielder. |
| 62.5 : D Perera to Bairstow, Top edge but safe. Looks to sweep it but gets it above the keeper towards fine leg. They pick up a couple of runs. |
| 62.6 : D Perera to Bairstow, Stays inside and punches it through mid on. Bairstow will remain on strike for the next over. |
| Dhananjaya de Silva back on now. |
| 63.1 : de Silva to Bairstow, Around the wicket on the leg. Jonny taps it to the on side. |
| 63.2 : de Silva to Bairstow, Down leg, Bairstow looks to sweep it but cannot get it past the short fine leg fielder. |
| 63.3 : de Silva to Bairstow, Full on the legs, Bairstow flicks it through square leg. They run the first one hard and come back for the second. Very good running, given that it is hot and Jonny is struggling with his feet. |
| 63.4 : de Silva to Bairstow, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| Slight stoppage in play as a dog comes onto the field and seems to have lost his way. Finally goes off. |
| 63.5 : de Silva to Bairstow, Loopy ball on the leg, Bairstow plays it with soft hands to the on side to move to 99. |
| 63.6 : de Silva to Stokes, Full around off, played back to the bowler. |
| Lakshan Sandakan back into the attack. |
| 64.1 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, 100 for Jonny Bairstow. His 6th in this format. What an innings. He was ruled out of the first two games cause of an injury, comes in an unfamiliar position at no. 3. and now has scored a very key hundred. Fine, fine innings. Paddles this ball towards short fine leg and to get to the landmark. He removes his helmet and soaks in the applause and roars in delight. |
| 64.2 : L Sandakan to Stokes, FOUR! Short and pulled away for four to deep square leg. Deserved to be punished and is rightly so. |
| 64.3 : L Sandakan to Stokes, Flighted outside off, Stokes drives it but gets the outside part of the bat to point. |
| 64.4 : L Sandakan to Stokes, Full and on middle, Stokes defends it back to the bowler. |
| 64.5 : L Sandakan to Ben Stokes, OUT! The stand is broken on 99. Stokes has been drawn on to the front foot and has been caught at slip. Third good ball on the trot from Sandakan and Stokes has come ahead to drive it. Looped up outside off, Stokes just manages to get an outside edge which is gobbled up easily by Dhananjaya de Silva at slip. Stokes is disappointed and Sri Lanka have got another wicket against the run of play. |
| Jos Buttler is next to bat. |
| 64.6 : Sandakan to Buttler, Leg spinner down leg. Buttler goes back to flick it but misses to get hit on the pads outside leg. |
| Malinda Pushpakumara is in for another spell. |
| 65.1 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Kept a bit low on off, Bairstow does well to get bat on ball. |
| 65.2 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, On off, Bairstow keeps it out. |
| 65.3 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, YJB has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 65.4 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Loopy ball in line, well defended by Jonny. |
| 65.5 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, On middle and off, Jonny bunts it out. |
| 65.6 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Around off, Bairstow stonewalls it. |
| 66.1 : L Sandakan to Buttler, Looped up on off, Buttler comes ahead and defends it. |
| 66.2 : L Sandakan to Buttler, Flighted and overpitched on the pads, Buttler flicks it away for a single to deep square leg. |
| 66.3 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, What happened there? The ball was on a good length and rose a lot more than usual. Bairstow lets it go and was very close to his off pole. |
| 66.4 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Flatter outside off, Bairstow pushes it towards third man and the batsmen come back for the second. Good running as well as very lazy fielding that. |
| 66.5 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, YJB has been hit on the pads as he tried to sweep that one. The Lankans are asking the question. The Umpire isn't interested in the appeal. The impact seemed to be outside off. Replays show that it was in line and hitting the stumps as well. Unfotunate for the hosts, no reviews left. |
| 66.6 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Bairstow takes this on the full and paddles it away to fine leg for a single. |
| 67.1 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Flighted ball on middle and off, driven to extra cover for one. |
| 67.2 : M Pushpakumara to Buttler, Errs this way down leg, Buttler leaves it alone. |
| 67.3 : M Pushpakumara to Buttler, Around off, taped towards covers. Dot ball. |
| 67.4 : M Pushpakumara to Buttler, Full on middle, driven firmly through covers to change ends. |
| 67.5 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Tossed up ball on middle, blocked with a straight bat. |
| 67.6 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, FOUR! Short and wide, duly punished. Outside off, Bairstow cuts it late through backward point. The fielder in the deep runs to his left but cannot stop it. |
| 68.1 : L Sandakan to Buttler, FOUR! This outfield is really quick. Back-to-back boundaries for England. Buttler has ample of time to rock back and cut it through cover-point. The ball touches the fence. |
| 68.2 : L Sandakan to Buttler, Buttler works it down the leg side. They pick up a single. 250 up for the tourists. |
| 68.3 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Tossed up on off, hit back to the bowler. |
| 68.4 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Down leg, Bairstow looks to sweep it but gets hit on his legs. |
| 68.5 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Around off, Jonny blocks it out. |
| 68.6 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Sharp turn on off, Bairstow gets a bottom edge to this trying to cut it. |
| Dhananjaya de Silva back into the attack. |
| 69.1 : de Silva to Buttler, On off, played with a straight bat to the on side. |
| 69.2 : de Silva to Buttler, Full on off, driven to mid off. |
| 69.3 : de Silva to Buttler, Down the leg side, Jonny turns it away to change strike. |
| 69.4 : de Silva to Bairstow, Stays inside and punches this to long on to keep rotating the strike. |
| 69.5 : de Silva to Buttler, In line of the stumps, played back to the bowler. |
| 69.6 : de Silva to Buttler, Outside off, punched to covers. Dot ball. |
| 70.1 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Fuller ball around off, driven straight to covers. |
| 70.2 : L Sandakan to Bairstow, Flighted ball on off, Bairstow gets an inside edge to the on side and crosses. |
| 70.3 : L Sandakan to Buttler, The batsman has played it towards mid-wicket. They pick up a single. |
| 70.4 : Sandakan to J Bairstow, OUT! Bowled 'em! Leg spinner on off, spins back in. Bairstow gets low and looks to heave this one away. Doesn't get to the pitch of the ball, not in perfect shape, takes his eyes of the ball and finds his stumps broken. Wonder how much fatigue was in that shot? But a wonderful innings comes to an end. Out of the side and made the most of his position to almost cement his spot. Has given England the upper hand with his great 100. Finally a reward for Lakshan Sandakan |
| Moeen Ali is the next batsman in. |
| 70.5 : L Sandakan to Ali, Ali opens the face of the bat and helps it to short third man. |
| 70.6 : L Sandakan to Ali, Full and outside off, Moeen gets off the mark with a drive through the covers. |
| Dilruwan Perera is back on for another spell. |
| 71.1 : D Perera to Ali, Pushed to the cover region by the batsman. |
| 71.2 : D Perera to Ali, Moeen has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 71.3 : D Perera to Ali, Full and outside off, driven past cover-point for one. |
| 71.4 : D Perera to Buttler, Loopy ball on off, front foot defense from Jos. |
| 71.5 : D Perera to Buttler, Short ball down leg, turned away to square leg to give his partner the strike. |
| 71.6 : D Perera to Ali, On middle and off, Ali plays it into the ground. |
| 72.1 : L Sandakan to Buttler, A bit on the shorter side, Buttler looks to cut it but gets a bottom edge near him. |
| 72.2 : L Sandakan to Jos Buttler, FOUR! Very good head position to get a boundary to his name. Drives this from outside off, through covers. The ball races to the fence. |
| 72.3 : L Sandakan to Buttler, The batsman has flicked the ball off his pads. One run added to the total. |
| 72.4 : L Sandakan to Ali, DROPPED! Moeen does not read the bounce on this. Goes back to play it but gets an outside edge to Dickwella who cannot get low enough to collect it. |
| 72.5 : L Sandakan to Ali, Turn and bounce. Another appeal but Sri Lanka have no reviews left. Leg spinner outside off, goes away from Ali who is committed for the drive. He cannot connect it. Dickwella takes it and puts in a soft appeal. |
| 72.6 : L Sandakan to Ali, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| Drinks is now on the field. A couple of wickets for the Lankans has now given them a boost. They will look to get the remaining wickets cheaply, with the new ball due in 7 overs. England have two new batsmen at the crease and will look to bat through with the same till end of play today. Who will come out on top at the end of the day? |
| 73.1 : D Perera to Buttler, Short ball on middle, Buttler pushes it to mid-wicket. |
| 73.2 : D Perera to Buttler, Full and outside off, Buttler drives it hard but straight to mid off. |
| 73.3 : D Perera to Buttler, This one lands on middle and spins away down the leg side. No need to play at these. |
| 73.4 : D Perera to Buttler, Flighted on leg, Buttler wants to tuck it down on the leg side but the ball rises and hits the pad. The ball lobs up away from leg slip and the batsmen run through for a leg bye. |
| 73.5 : D Perera to Ali, Beaten outside off! Moeen Ali comes ahead to defend this full one outside off but the ball just spins enough to miss his outside edge. |
| 73.6 : D Perera to Ali, Full and outside off, Ali chooses to let it go through. |
| 74.1 : L Sandakan to Buttler, Full and at the pads, Jos works it away to fine leg for a single. |
| 74.2 : L Sandakan to Ali, Quicker and on off, Ali comes ahead to defend but gets the inside edge that falls onto the leg side. The batsmen run a quick single. |
| 74.3 : L Sandakan to Jos Buttler, Full and wide outside off, Jos drives to short cover. |
| 74.4 : Sandakan to Buttler, OUT! This ones' stuck in Sandakan's hands. The ball is a nothing one on off but holds up slightly in the pitch. Jos is early into his push shot and the ball lobs right back at the bowler. Sandakan in his follow through does well to put his left arm up and the ball gets stuck. This is his fourth wicket. Are Sri Lanka quietly making a comeback in this last session? |
| Ben Foakes is the new batsman in. |
| 74.5 : L Sandakan to Foakes, Full and on middle, Ben plays it to short mid-wicket. |
| 74.6 : L Sandakan to Foakes, Wrong 'un! This turns enough to beat Foakes' outside edge as he comes ahead to defend it. |
| 75.1 : D Perera to Ali, Flighted on off, Ali dead bats it. |
| 75.2 : D Perera to Ali, Flighted on the pads, Ali pushes it to square leg and picks up a single. |
| 75.3 : D Perera to Foakes, Over the wicket, this one is outside off and quicker. Ben defends it on the off side. |
| 75.4 : D Perera to Foakes, Full and spinning into the batsman. He plays it with the spin but straight to mid-wicket. |
| 75.5 : D Perera to Ben Foakes, Ben comes down the wicket and flicks it away to wide mid on for a single. |
| 75.6 : D Perera to Ali, Full and Ali covers the line of the delivery and defends it. |
| 76.1 : L Sandakan to Foakes, Flatter ball on middle, Foakes is behind as he defends it. |
| 76.2 : L Sandakan to Foakes, Flatter outside off, Ben guides it to the right of slip for a single. |
| 76.3 : L Sandakan to Ali, Well outside off, left alone by Ali. |
| 76.4 : L Sandakan to Ali, Well outside off again, but this time Ali cuts it away for a run to sweeper cover. |
| 76.5 : L Sandakan to Foakes, Flatter ball outside off, Ben defends it back to the bowler. |
| 76.6 : L Sandakan to Foakes, Outside off and holds its line, Foakes leaves it alone. |
| 77.1 : D Perera to Ali, Flatter outside off, Ali drives it to short cover. |
| 77.2 : D Perera to Ali, FOUR! Ali gets his first boundary. Flighted outside off, and coming in with the angle. Ali goes down on one knee and sweeps it away in front of square for four. |
| 77.3 : D Perera to Ali, Flatter outside off, Ali defends it with the full face of the bat. |
| 77.4 : D Perera to M Ali, Fuller and outside off, Ali is half ahead to this one as he defends it towards point. |
| 77.5 : D Perera to Ali, Slightly overpitched, Ali drives to long off for a run. |
| 77.6 : D Perera to Foakes, Shorter and spinning into the pads, Ben turns it fine behind square on the leg side for a single. |
| 78.1 : L Sandakan to Ben Foakes, Wrong 'un to start the over. Ben is ahead and plays his drive to long off slightly in the air but is safe. Gets to the other end. |
| 78.2 : L Sandakan to Ali, Flatter ball on off, Ali stays tall and defends. |
| 78.3 : L Sandakan to M Ali, Nothing ball on the pads, Ali pulls it away to deep square leg for a run. |
| 78.4 : L Sandakan to Foakes, Almost yorker length with the flight, Ben pushes it to cover. |
| 78.5 : L Sandakan to Foakes, Flatter ball on the pads, Ben works it away to deep square leg for a single. |
| 78.6 : L Sandakan to Ali, Full toss outside off, Ali flicks it away to deep mid-wicket for a couple. |
| Malinda Pushpakumara is back on. |
| 79.1 : M Pushpakumara to Foakes, Flighted on middle, Ben defends it cover. |
| 79.2 : M Pushpakumara to Foakes, Flatter ball on off stump, Foakes stays back to this one and plays it to point. |
| 79.3 : M Pushpakumara to Foakes, Flatter outside off, punched away to cover point where the fielder makes a diving stop to prevent the run. |
| 79.4 : M Pushpakumara to Foakes, Flatter on middle, defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 79.5 : M Pushpakumara to Foakes, This is shorter and on off, Foakes punches it straight back off the back foot. |
| 79.6 : M Pushpakumara to Foakes, Maiden over. Foakes defends this flatter one on off, off the back foot again. |
| Dilruwan Perera changes ends. The second new ball has also been taken. |
| 80.1 : D Perera to Ali, Flighted on middle, Ali drives it straight back to the bowler. |
| 80.2 : D Perera to Ali, Good drift on this ball starting on off, Ali prods ahead and defends. |
| 80.3 : D Perera to Ali, Flatter and outside off, Ali punches back to the bowler. |
| 80.4 : D Perera to Ali, FOUR! Ali comes down the wicket to this ball which was full on middle. He lifts it over mid on and fetches himself four runs. |
| 80.5 : D Perera to Ali, Good spin on this one. Grips on a good length and turns away enough to beat the outside edge of Ali who was looking to defend it. |
| 80.6 : D Perera to M Ali, Full and outside off, driven to cover. |
| 81.1 : M Pushpakumara to Foakes, Yorker length ball on middle, jammed out to cover by Ben. |
| 81.2 : M Pushpakumara to Foakes, Full on off, Foakes keeps it out on the front foot. |
| 81.3 : M Pushpakumara to Foakes, Flatter on the pads, Ben looks to work it on leg but only goes as far as short leg. |
| 81.4 : M Pushpakumara to Foakes, Full and on off, defended to short cover by Foakes. |
| 81.5 : M Pushpakumara to Foakes, FOUR! Short and pulled away behind square on the leg side for four. No fielder present there. |
| 81.6 : M Pushpakumara to Foakes, FOUR! This one is swept away and it is back to back boundaries for Foakes. It is in front of square leg this time. |
| 82.1 : D Perera to Ali, Drifting down the leg side, Ali lets it go through. |
| 82.2 : Perera to M Ali, DROPPED! Ali has been put down for the second time today. This was an easy catch but put down by Dimuth Karunaratne. Flighted outside off and the ball takes the outside edge and goes for a regulation catch to slip who grasses the chance. |
| 82.3 : D Perera to Ali, Full on off and driven to short cover. |
| 82.4 : D Perera to Ali, This one is outside off, and turns away to beat the outside edge this time. |
| 82.5 : D Perera to Ali, Ali goes for the sweep shot and the ball goes off the under edge towards fine leg for two runs. |
| Review time. Ali has been given out LBW but goes upstairs immediately. |
| 82.6 : Perera to Ali, NOT OUT! Ali survives. The ball was full and drifting down leg. Ali comes ahead to defend and gets rapped on the front pad. The umpire raises his finger but Ali goes upstairs immediately. The Ball Tracker shows us that the ball would've missed leg stump and the decision has to be reversed. Sri Lankans are disappointed. |
| 83.1 : M Pushpakumara to Foakes, OUT! Dickwella holds onto one and Foakes has to depart. A bit on the shorter side outside off, Foakes looks to cut it way. Extra bounce on this one and he gets a nick to the keeper who makes no mistake. They appeal and the umpire raises his finger. England lose their seventh wicket and some smiles for the hosts towards the end of the day. |
| 0.0 : Adil Rashid is the new batsman. |
| 83.2 : M Pushpakumara to Rashid, Flighted on off, Adil comes ahead and defends. |
| 83.3 : M Pushpakumara to Rashid, Flighted outside off, Rashid defends it towards point. |
| 83.4 : M Pushpakumara to Rashid, Full and Rashid comes down the wicket and pushes it to long off for a single. |
| 83.5 : M Pushpakumara to Ali, Flatter on off and the ball spins into Ali, he jams it out to short mid-wicket. |
| 83.6 : M Pushpakumara to Ali, Ali comes down the wicket and flicks it away towards mid-wicket for a single. |
| 84.1 : D Perera to Ali, Flatter and drifting into the pads, Moeen pushes it to deep mid-wicket and gets a single. |
| 84.2 : D Perera to Rashid, Flighted on off, Rashid comes ahead to defend. |
| 84.3 : D Perera to Rashid, Looped up on middle, Rashid tries to defend but gets the inside edge onto the pads. |
| 84.4 : D Perera to Rashid, Full and flighted on the pads, worked away by Adil to deep square leg for a run. |
| 84.5 : D Perera to Ali, Full and straightens after landing, Ali gets an inside edge as he tries to defend on the front foot. The ball runs towards square leg for a single. |
| 84.6 : D Perera to Rashid, Beaten! Adil comes forward to defend this one and plays for the spin. But the ball holds its line and beats the outside edge. Good bowling by Dilruwan. |
| 85.1 : M Pushpakumara to M Ali, 1 run. |
| 85.2 : M Pushpakumara to Rashid, No run. |
| 85.3 : M Pushpakumara to A Rashid, 2 runs. |
| 85.4 : M Pushpakumara to Rashid, 2 runs. |
| 85.5 : M Pushpakumara to Rashid, No run. |
| 85.6 : M Pushpakumara to Rashid, No run. |
| 86.1 : D Perera to Ali, Leg bye. |
| 86.2 : D Perera to Rashid, On leg, Rashid looks to block it but gets it off his glove. |
| 86.3 : D Perera to Rashid, Adil lets the ball go outside his off stump. |
| 86.4 : D Perera to Rashid, AR has played it towards the point region. They pick up a single. |
| 86.5 : D Perera to Ali, Arm ball on off, Ali goes fishing at blocks it out. |
| 86.6 : D Perera to Ali, Reads the off spinner and shoulders his arms. |
| 87.1 : S Lakmal to Rashid, Landed outside off, left alone. |
| 87.2 : S Lakmal to Rashid, Full and outside off, watchfully defended. |
| 87.3 : S Lakmal to Rashid, One more leave outside off. |
| 87.4 : S Lakmal to Rashid, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 87.5 : S Lakmal to A Rashid, FOUR! Beautiful shot. England keep getting boundaries. Full and outside off, Rashid comes forward and drives it through the covers! |
| 87.6 : S Lakmal to Rashid, Goes back and works it through the leg side for a couple. |
| 88.1 : D Perera to M Ali, MOEEN SURVIVES AN LBW REVIEW! Wow. Just wow. Just when Sri Lanka thought they could have put the pressure on England and get a wicket, it has been overturned. The arm ball, on middle, Ali looks to defend but misses and is hit on the pads. Dilruwan appeals and umpire Ravi raises his finger! As the last time, Moeen once again goes for the review. And lo behold! An inside edge is shown on the Ultra Edge! Boy o boy... Moeen Ali indeed has nine lives. |
| 0.0 : Well, the umpires are not quite happy with the light out there. They take a reading and then offer it to the batsmen. No prizes in guessing that they are off. It is beyond 5 pm local time, so that will also be STUMPS ON DAY 1! |
| A topsy-turvy day. Just as England had predicted they would play - bold cricket. They started shakily, losing their openers cheaply but then the 100-run stand between Bairstow and Root shored them up. That set the base as meaningful partnerships kept the Lankans at bay. Jonny boy went on to get to his hundred while Root and Stokes gave him good company. Not to forget, Ben Stokes was plumb LBW on 0 - but it was not given and Sri Lanka had exhausted their reviews. |
| Eventually, the Lankans have managed to pick up 7 wickets in the day as England kept going for runs. The run rate is a pretty decent one, at almost 3.5 an over. Sri Lanka started promisingly, but then could not quite get much out of the surface consistently. Lakshan Sandakan was honest and picked up 4 wickets while Pushpakumara took a couple. |
| So that is how it stands then. England still have 3 wickets left and all can bat. They will hope that the pair of Moeen and Rashid can get another 30-40 and then Leach and Broad tee off. 350 will be a minimum expectation but 400 could also be a possibility. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, will hope to dismiss the visitors under 350 and then settle down to bat long. The pitch has started to take turn but Day 3 will be the one which will make the batsmen think twice. Join us for all the action from |
| ... Day 2, Session 1 ... |
| Hello and welcome to the Second Days play of the last and final Test between Sri Lanka and England in Colombo. The Brits have already won the series and are slightly ahead in the game after the end of Day 1, batting pretty well on a difficult pitch. Jonny Bairstow, making a comeback post injury and in an unfamiliar position no. 3, scored a century and along with the support of his skipper, Joe Root and Ben Stokes have put the visitors in a strong position. The hosts, though, managed to pick up s |
| Jonny Bairstow is being interviewed. He says that he is very pleased with the way he played after not playing for the last 4 weeks and not performing so well in the ODIs. Hopes that the spinners will do the job for them now. On his celebration, he says that it's the passion of playing for his country and doing well. About the conditions in Colombo, he says that it happens in professional cricket and they have to adjust to it and it's the same for both teams. Traveling to West Indies and then com |
| The players are coming out to the middle. Moeen Ali to face the ball the first ball of the morning. Dilruwan Perera will continue his unfinished over. |
| 88.2 : D Perera to Ali, First ball of the day is flighted on middle, Ali comes down the track and plays it to long on for a single. |
| 88.3 : D Perera to Rashid, Flatter ball to Rashid. He defends it off the back foot. |
| 88.4 : D Perera to Rashid, Looped up outside off, Rashid is happy defending it. |
| 88.5 : D Perera to Rashid, Flighted on middle, Rashid defends but the ball hits the inner half of the bat. |
| 88.6 : D Perera to Rashid, FOUR! Rashid goes for the sweep and hits the full ball on his pads into the ground. The ball bounces above leg slip and runs away for four runs. |
| Suranga Lakmal to bowl from the other end. |
| 89.1 : S Lakmal to Ali, Around the wicket, outside off on a length. Ali leaves it alone. |
| 89.2 : S Lakmal to Ali, FOUR! Fuller and on off, Ali leans into this one and drives it beautifully through the covers for four runs. |
| 89.3 : S Lakmal to Ali, Short and wide outside off, Ali jabs it away behind square on the off side for a single to deep backward point. |
| 89.4 : S Lakmal to Rashid, Fuller and outside off, Rashid defends it back to the bowler. |
| 89.5 : S Lakmal to Rashid, Good length outside off, Rashid drops it on the offside and gets to the other end. |
| 89.6 : S Lakmal to M Ali, FOUR! Uppishly driven through the covers. But timing and placement is perfect from Mo. Expensive over, ten off it in the end. |
| 90.1 : D Perera to Rashid, Full and at the pads, Rashid tucks it behind towards fine leg and gets a run. |
| 90.2 : D Perera to Ali, Flatter delivery that keeps low and drifts onto the pads, Ali does well to keep it out and push it to short leg. |
| 90.3 : D Perera to Ali, Looped up on middle, Ali jogs down and defends it to the bowler. |
| 90.4 : D Perera to Ali, Flatter ball that drifts in on off, Ali punches it to short cover. |
| 90.5 : D Perera to Ali, OUT! Ali walks right into the trap set for him. Four dot balls in the over and he goes for a big one and just chips it straight to the fielder set for this exact shot. The ball is looped up generously by Perera and Ali dances down the wicket to hit it over the fence. Perhaps wanted to go over long on but in the end, just chips it straight to long off. The Sri Lankans are very happy to have got the main man this early. |
| Stuart Broad is in at no. 10. |
| 90.6 : D Perera to Broad, Flighted on middle, Broad defends it on the front foot. |
| Lakshan Sandakan comes on to bowl. |
| 91.1 : L Sandakan to A Rashid, Flighted outside off, Rashid drives away from the body to cover and gets off strike. |
| 91.2 : L Sandakan to Broad, OUT! Bowled 'em! Broad misses this one completely. The ball was looped up full on middle, Broad goes for the paddle sweep and misses the ball that goes on to hit the middle stump. 5-wicket haul for Sandakan, his second in Tests. |
| Jack Leach is the last man in. |
| 91.3 : L Sandakan to Leach, Lots of flight again, it's the wrong 'un! Leach is ahead to defend but gets the inside edge that rolls on to the leg side for a single. |
| 91.4 : L Sandakan to Rashid, Flatter delivery on off, Rashid pushes it to cover for a single. |
| 91.5 : L Sandakan to Leach, Looped on middle, another inside edge, this time in the air, but there's no leg slip and the ball rolls to fine leg for a single. |
| 91.6 : L Sandakan to Rashid, Full and outside off, Rashid comes ahead and defends it to point. |
| 92.1 : D Perera to Leach, Looped beautifully on off, turns off a crack and beats the outside edge of Leach. |
| 92.2 : D Perera to Leach, Flatter ball on off, the leftie covers the spin and defends it. |
| 92.3 : D Perera to Leach, Looped up again, Leach comes down the wicket and defends it. |
| 92.4 : D Perera to Leach, FOUR BYES! This one is on leg and the ball beats the keeper, who is blinded and rolls down to the fence. |
| 92.5 : D Perera to Leach, OUT! What a catch! Angelo Mathews has taken a stunner. Tossed up ball around off, Jack Leach comes down the pitch and looks to go big. Gets more height towards long off. Mathews there runs back, keeps his eyes on the ball and takes a stunner before tumbling over. ENGLAND ALL OUT FOR 336. |
| That was pretty quick, 25 minutes to be precise! The England innings has come to an end for 336. The visitors won't be too happy but won't be too worried either. There is a lot of help for the spinners and they would like to quickly come back on to the field and bowl at the Lankans. The mainstay of the innings was Jonny Bairstow with his century yesterday, supported by Joe Root and Ben Stokes. This morning, the visitors could add only 24 runs to their overnight total. And this was the first time |
| 0.1 : S Broad to Gunathilaka, Length ball and away movement outside off, too wide to play at. |
| 0.2 : S Broad to Gunathilaka, Full and wide outside off again, Danushka shoulders arms. |
| 0.3 : S Broad to Gunathilaka, On a length and middle this time, defended back to the bowler. |
| 0.4 : S Broad to Gunathilaka, Short and wide outside off, left alone. Good carry here with the hard, new ball. |
| 0.5 : S Broad to Gunathilaka, FOUR! Off the mark and in some style! Slightly overpitched, Danushka drives it in the air but in the gap as well. Beautiful timing. |
| 0.6 : S Broad to Gunathilaka, On top of off stump, defended on the back foot by the batsman. |
| Jack Leach to share the new ball. |
| 1.1 : J Leach to Karunaratne, Flatter ball on the pads, Dimuth tries to work it away on the leg side but the ball goes right back to the bowler off the leading edge. |
| 1.2 : J Leach to Karunaratne, Flatter on middle, defended well on the front foot. |
| 1.3 : J Leach to Karunaratne, Dimuth is off the mark as well with a single down to deep mid on. |
| 1.4 : J Leach to Gunathilaka, Flatter and at the pads, Danushka tucks it off his pads but finds short leg in the way. |
| 1.5 : J Leach to Gunathilaka, In the air but safe, Danushka goes for the sweep to this full ball on the pads but gets a top edge that falls well short of deep fine leg. The batsmen run one. |
| 1.6 : J Leach to Karunaratne, Flatter and at the pads, tucked away behind square leg for a single to retain strike. |
| 2.1 : S Broad to Karunaratne, Good length outside off, Dimuth shoulders his arms. |
| 2.2 : S Broad to Karunaratne, Good length just outside off moving away after landing, Dimuth lets it go through again. |
| 2.3 : S Broad to Karunaratne, Slightly fuller but outside off again, left alone again. |
| 2.4 : S Broad to Karunaratne, A carbon copy of the previous delivery. |
| 2.5 : S Broad to Karunaratne, This one is shorter and aimed at the hips, Dimuth is rushed by the ball and misses his flick. Gets hit on the thigh pad as he jumps to play the shot. |
| 2.6 : S Broad to Karunaratne, Outside off to finish the over, left alone. Maiden over. |
| 3.1 : J Leach to Gunathilaka, Flighted on off, Danushka defends it on the front foot. |
| 3.2 : J Leach to Gunathilaka, Flatter delivery on middle, DG goes back in his crease and defends it. |
| 3.3 : J Leach to Gunathilaka, Full and flighted on middle, the batsman defends it into the ground on the leg side. |
| 3.4 : J Leach to Gunathilaka, Flighted outside off, Danushka defends to short cover. |
| 3.5 : J Leach to Gunathilaka, Looped on off, the batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 3.6 : J Leach to Gunathilaka, Similar delivery, Danushka prods ahead and dead bats it. Another maiden. |
| 4.1 : S Broad to Karunaratne, Played and missed! This one has extra bounce as Broad is hitting the deck hard. Slightly short of a length and the ball is outside off. Dimuth tries to feel for the ball but it beats his outside edge. |
| 4.2 : S Broad to D Karunaratne, DROPPED! and FOUR runs. Jaffa from Broad, forcing Dimuth to play at this one just outside off. It takes an edge and flies to Root at first slip, who is in a very awkward position and drops the catch. The ball hits his wrist and speeds off to the boundary. Should've been taken, wasn't that difficult a take. |
| 4.3 : S Broad to Karunaratne, On the pads, defended to square leg off the back foot. |
| 4.4 : S Broad to Karunaratne, Another peach! This one beats the outside edge of Dimuth again as he tries to defend a good length ball outside off. The ball moves away slightly after landing and does just enough, not to take an edge. |
| 4.5 : S Broad to Karunaratne, Short of a good length and Dimuth is back to this one and defends it with the straight bat. |
| 4.6 : S Broad to Karunaratne, Fuller and on middle, driven down to mid on. |
| 5.1 : J Leach to Gunathilaka, Full and outside off, Gunathilaka looks to bunt it down but gets on his toe outside off. Leach is the only man appealing. |
| 5.2 : J Leach to Gunathilaka, Errs this down leg. Gunathilaka looks to leave it alone but it hits his thigh pad and rolls towards the on side. They cross but the umpire calls it a dead ball because the shot was unintentional. |
| 5.3 : J Leach to Gunathilaka, Gets behind the ball and blocks this one out. |
| 5.4 : J Leach to Gunathilaka, Tossed up ball on leg, DG drives it towards mid on for a single. |
| 5.5 : J Leach to Karunaratne, Arm ball outside off, Karunaratne looks to block it out but it hits his pad and goes to Stokes at first slip. |
| 5.6 : J Leach to Karunaratne, Wide down the leg side, the batsman leaves it alone. |
| 6.1 : S Broad to Gunathilaka, Short of a length and on middle, Danushka defends it to short mid-wicket. |
| 6.2 : S Broad to Gunathilaka, Outside off, left alone. |
| 6.3 : S Broad to Gunathilaka, Slightly short of a length and just outside off, Danushka defends it to short cover. |
| 6.4 : S Broad to Gunathilaka, Fuller and just moving away after landing, Gunathilaka comes half ahead and pushes it to cover. |
| 6.5 : S Broad to Gunathilaka, Outside off and probing at the batsman. He decides to leave it in the end. |
| 6.6 : S Broad to Gunathilaka, Around the wicket for the last ball, yes-no situation between the batsmen as the ball is just dropped onto the leg side. But in the end, nothing to worry about. |
| 7.1 : J Leach to Karunaratne, Flatter ball outside off, Dimuth pushes it to cover point and picks up a single. |
| 7.2 : J Leach to Gunathilaka, Floated up on off, Danushka defends it toward cover point and gets a run. |
| 7.3 : J Leach to Karunaratne, Full and on the middle, Dimuth plays it out to short mid-wicket. |
| 7.4 : J Leach to Karunaratne, Flatter and on off stump, Dimuth pushes it to mid-wicket again. |
| 7.5 : J Leach to Karunaratne, Flatter on middle, defended back to Leach. |
| 7.6 : J Leach to Karunaratne, Flatter and aimed at the pads, DK defends it staying low. |
| 8.1 : S Broad to Gunathilaka, Fuller and on off, Danushka plays it to mid off. |
| 8.2 : S Broad to Gunathilaka, This one is on a length and drifting onto the pads with the angle, Danushka flicks it away to fine leg for a single. |
| 8.3 : S Broad to Karunaratne, Over the wicket, outside off and on a length. Left alone by Dimuth. |
| 8.4 : S Broad to Karunaratne, Slightly short of a length outside off, left alone again. |
| 8.5 : S Broad to Karunaratne, Good ball on top of middle, Dimuth comes ahead and defends it with a straight bat. |
| 8.6 : S Broad to Karunaratne, FOUR! Quality shot! This one is full and on middle, Dimuth takes a step down and pushes his weight onto this on drive. The bat is so straight and the balance is so good. Wonderful timing! |
| 9.1 : J Leach to Gunathilaka, Flighted on off, Danushka comes down and defends. |
| 9.2 : J Leach to Gunathilaka, FOUR! Good reading of the field. This one is full and on off, Danushka reverse sweeps it for four. No fielder present there. Looked in full control of the shot. |
| 9.3 : J Leach to Gunathilaka, Flatter on off, Danushka defends it on the front foot. |
| 9.4 : J Leach to D Gunathilaka, This one is looped up on off, Danushka makes room and wants to go over cover this time. Only manages to get the inside edge to fine leg for a single. Unnecessary shot! |
| 9.5 : J Leach to Karunaratne, Full and flighted to middle, Dimuth comes down the wicket and plays it toward mid-wicket for a single. |
| 9.6 : J Leach to Gunathilaka, Flatter on the pads and Danushka plays it fine on the leg side and keeps strike. |
| Drinks break! The Sri Lankan openers have been troubled a little but the important thing is that they're still out there. Just need to focus and look to bat long. England now, might look to operate with spin from both ends. |
| Moeen Ali to roll his arm after the break. |
| 10.1 : M Ali to D Gunathilaka, Outside off, nice shape on that one. Gunathilaka gets a soft leading edge towards the off side. |
| 10.2 : M Ali to Gunathilaka, Nicely flighted around off, spins away from Gunathilaka who feels for it but misses. |
| 10.3 : M Ali to Gunathilaka, This time in line of the stumps, the batsman blocks it out. |
| 10.4 : M Ali to Gunathilaka, Low full toss on middle, turned to mid-wicket. |
| 10.5 : M Ali to Gunathilaka, Another lovely ball. Given air outside off, Gunathilaka is forward but is beaten. |
| 10.6 : M Ali to Gunathilaka, Excellent over. Maiden. Outside off, payed to point. |
| 11.1 : J Leach to Karunaratne, A bit flat on leg, worked away through square leg for one. |
| 11.2 : J Leach to Gunathilaka, Full on middle, flicked to mid-wicket. |
| 11.3 : J Leach to Gunathilaka, FOUR! Loopy ball on middle, Gunathilaka gets low to sweep it and catches it well. Hits it over square leg for boundary. |
| 11.4 : J Leach to D Gunathilaka, OUT! Keaton Jennings take a beauty, AGAIN! He has made short leg his own. Given air on middle and leg, Dimuth once again looks to go big on the on side. Uses his feet but gets it off the inner half and onto his pad. The ball goes towards Jennings at short leg. Now then, seeing Gunathilaka charging down, Keaton moves along with him. The ball hits his body and Jennings holds onto it. You can argue that he was lucky, but to be brave and stand tall in that position is |
| Dhananjaya de Silva is the next batsman in. |
| 11.5 : J Leach to de Silva, Yorker length outside off, Dhananjaya drives to short cover. |
| 11.6 : J Leach to Silva, Looped on off stump, kept out calmly by de Silva. |
| 12.1 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Around off, taped to the off side. |
| 12.2 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Gets behind the ball and blocks another one out. |
| 12.3 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Driven through mid off by Karunaratne. They pick up a single. |
| 12.4 : M Ali to Silva, Full and on off, Dhananjaya uses his feet and flicks it to mid-wicket. |
| 12.5 : M Ali to Silva, Full on off, turned to the leg side. |
| 12.6 : M Ali to de Silva, Uses his feet again. Plays it with a straight bat to long on for another run. |
| 13.1 : J Leach to Silva, In line of the stumps, played back to the bowler. |
| 13.2 : J Leach to Silva, Outside off, driven through covers to get off strike. |
| 13.3 : J Leach to Karunaratne, A bit short outside off, cut late through short third man for a brace. |
| 13.4 : J Leach to Karunaratne, Full and on middle and leg, milked past mid on for one more. |
| 13.5 : J Leach to Silva, Turn and goes outside off, de Silva plays it to the off side. |
| 13.6 : J Leach to Silva, Loopy ball on leg, Silva prods forward and defends it. |
| 14.1 : M Ali to Karunaratne, In the air... lands safe. Down leg, Karunaratne closes the bat face early looking to turn it away. The ball balloons over Moeen. They cross as the ball goes towards mid off. |
| 14.2 : M Ali to Silva, Played through mid-wicket by the batsman. |
| 14.3 : M Ali to Silva, On leg, Dhananjaya works it down the leg side. |
| 14.4 : M Ali to Silva, On middle and leg, Silva looks to block it but it hits him on his pads outside leg. |
| 14.5 : M Ali to Silva, De Silva has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 14.6 : M Ali to Silva, Gets to the pitch of the ball and turns it around the corner for a single. |
| 15.1 : J Leach to Silva, Beauty! Loopy ball outside off, de Silva goes fishing but misses. |
| 15.2 : J Leach to Silva, Some turn again. Outside off, kept out. |
| 15.3 : J Leach to Silva, Three good balls now from Dhananjaya. Forcing the outside edge. De Silva gets behind this ball from outside off and stonewalls it. |
| 15.4 : J Leach to Silva, FOUR! Uppish but over Bairstow. Tossed up ball around off, Dhananjaya uses his feet and lofts it just over Jonny at mid off. Boundary. |
| 15.5 : J Leach to Silva, The batsman fails to get bat on that one and is hit on the pad. |
| 15.6 : J Leach to Silva, Dhananjaya stays inside his crease and taps this to the off side. A good over from Leach comes to an end. |
| 16.1 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Full on middle, Karunaratne hits it back to the bowler. |
| 16.2 : M Ali to Karunaratne, On off, kept out. |
| 16.3 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Arm ball on off, Karunaratne covers his stumps and blocks another one. |
| 16.4 : M Ali to Karunaratne, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 16.5 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Around off, Dimuth is solid in his defense. |
| 16.6 : M Ali to Karunaratne, In the air again.. safe again. On middle and leg, Dimuth gets a leading edge short of Root at short mid-wicket as he looked to turn it away. |
| 17.1 : J Leach to Silva, Arm ball on middle, de Silva stays back and sees it out. |
| 17.2 : J Leach to Silva, Off spinner on off, played to the off side. |
| 17.3 : J Leach to Silva, It's been driven superbly through the covers for nothing. |
| 17.4 : J Leach to Silva, FOUR! Sits up nicely outside off, de Silva rocks back and punches this through covers for a boundary. First lose ball perhaps of the innings. |
| 17.5 : J Leach to Silva, FOUR! Inviting pressure. Short again outside off, this time de Silva cuts it square through point for back-to-back boundaries. |
| 17.6 : J Leach to Silva, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 18.1 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Full on middle and off, played back to the bowler. |
| 18.2 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Beaut! Karunaratne goes onto his back foot to block it and almost gets his outside edge. Gets beaten for turn. |
| 18.3 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Dimuth has driven it through mid off. One run added to the total. |
| 18.4 : M Ali to Silva, Lucky for de Silva. Comes down the track to play this but then almost gets beaten for spin. Gets an inside edge onto his pads. |
| 18.5 : M Ali to Silva, Past the man at mid-wicket for a easy run. |
| 18.6 : M Ali to Karunaratne, FOUR! On middle and leg, reverse swept past Stokes at slip to the third man fence for a boundary. |
| 19.1 : J Leach to Silva, Stays inside his crease and bunts this down. |
| 19.2 : J Leach to Silva, Shows the full bat face and then hits one near the 22 yards. |
| 19.3 : J Leach to Silva, Goes back and plays this with a straight bat. |
| 19.4 : J Leach to Silva, Flatter outside off, punched through covers to give his partner the strike. |
| 19.5 : J Leach to Karunaratne, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 19.6 : J Leach to Karunaratne, Sees the ball tossed up and uses his feet to milk this through mid-wicket for a brace. |
| 20.1 : M Ali to Silva, On off, punched off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 20.2 : M Ali to Silva, On the pads of de Silva who turns it away with the spin for one. |
| 20.3 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Beaten! Off spinner on middle and leg, spins square to beat the outside edge of Dimuth. |
| 20.4 : M Ali to Karunaratne, DK has driven it through mid-off. The batsmen have run through for a single. |
| 20.5 : M Ali to de Silva, FOUR! Looks like Dhananjaya has gone through his patchy spell. Makes room and drives this ball through covers for a good looking boundary. |
| 20.6 : M Ali to Silva, Deliberately done. Keeps this down the leg side ball along the turf and helps it to fine leg for a couple. |
| Adil Rashid comes on to bowl what will probably be the last over before Lunch. |
| 21.1 : A Rashid to Karunaratne, Half-tracker to start with, Karunaratne pulls it through mid-wicket for a run. |
| 21.2 : A Rashid to Silva, Short again way outside off, cut past point to rotate strike. |
| 21.3 : A Rashid to Karunaratne, The batsman has played it towards mid-wicket. One run added to the total. |
| 21.4 : A Rashid to Silva, Leg spinner on the body of de Silva. Dhananjaya looks to pull it but gets a bottom edge to it. The ball is near Foakes who picks up the ball from the surface. Replays show us that the ball hit the glove of the batsman, and if Foakes had taken that, Silva would have had to walk back. Obstructed view due to his own helmet maybe. |
| 21.5 : A Rashid to Silva, Outside off, de Silva opens the face of the bat and helps it to third man. Two runs added to the total. |
| 21.6 : A Rashid to Silva, Leg spinner outside off again, de Silva guides it to third man. One run added to the total. That will be LUNCH ON DAY 2. |
| Sri Lanka's session without doubt! For starters, they got the England tail out cheaply this morning just as they would have liked to. Coming out to bat, they have done pretty well to reach 74-1 till the break. The one wicket which has fallen, that of Danushka Gunathilaka, it must be said, was pretty much gifted to the visitors. Broad had a good opening spell but England's spinners are trying a bit too hard and bowling some rank bad balls that have been dealt with disdain. Dhananjaya de Silva and |
| ... Day 2, Session 2 ... |
| We are back for the second session here on Day 2. Should be an interesting watch. Who will gain the upper hand in the Test? Dhananjaya de Silva to face the first ball after resumption from Stuart Broad. |
| 22.1 : S Broad to de Silva, Full and outside off, driven wide of mid off for a single. |
| 22.2 : S Broad to Karunaratne, Good length and just outside off, Dimuth defends it back to the bowler. |
| 22.3 : S Broad to Karunaratne, Full and outside off, driven straight to mid off by the leftie. |
| 22.4 : S Broad to Karunaratne, Good length ball on middle, tucked away to short mid-wicket. Decides against going for the quick single wisely. |
| 22.5 : S Broad to D Karunaratne, EDGED but four! The ball was full and angling away outside off. Dimuth plays the lazy drive but gets an edge that keeps low and goes in the gap between fourth slip and gully and all the way to the fence. |
| 22.6 : S Broad to Karunaratne, Short of a length and on off, defended with a straight bat. |
| Moeen Ali to bowl from the other end. |
| 23.1 : M Ali to de Silva, FOUR! Punished. Around the wicket, tossed up on middle but the length is short. Pulled away to deep square leg for a boundary. Brings up the 50-run stand between these two. |
| 23.2 : M Ali to Silva, Full on middle, flicked to short mid-wicket. No run. |
| 23.3 : M Ali to Silva, Flighted on middle, de Silva comes down and flicks it in the air to deep mid-wicket for a run. |
| 23.4 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Full on middle, dead batted to the leg side. |
| 23.5 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Flighted on off, Dimuth plays it to short cover. |
| 23.6 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Full on off, Dimuth comes ahead and defends it into the ground. |
| 24.1 : S Broad to Silva, Short of a length outside off, Dhananjaya stays tall and defends it. |
| 24.2 : S Broad to Silva, Slightly fuller and coming in after landing, defended solidly though. |
| 24.3 : S Broad to Silva, Good length ball on middle and off, Dhananjaya defends it from within the crease. |
| 24.4 : S Broad to Silva, Wider outside off this time, de Silva drives it to the left of mid off for a single. |
| 24.5 : S Broad to Karunaratne, Good length just outside off, Dimuth drops it toward cover point and gets to the other end. |
| 24.6 : S Broad to Silva, Fuller and outside off, Dhananjaya opens the face of his bat and runs it down toward third man for a couple. |
| 25.1 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Flatter ball on off, Dimuth pushes it to short cover. |
| 25.2 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Good turn on this flatter one outside off, Dimuth rocks but and cuts to sweeper for a single. |
| 25.3 : M Ali to Silva, Flatter ball that keeps straight after landing outside off, de Silva defends it off the back foot. |
| 25.4 : M Ali to Silva, FOUR! He's looking good here! Gets to the pitch of this looped up ball outside off and pushes it to the right of mid off. No chance for the fielder there. |
| 25.5 : M Ali to Silva, Shortens the length and is quicker on the pads. Dhananjaya plays it onto the ground to the leg side. |
| 25.6 : M Ali to Silva, Fuller and on middle, Dhananjaya drives it to mid on for a single and keeps the strike. |
| 26.1 : S Broad to de Silva, DROPPED AGAIN! Stuart Broad is the unlucky bowler again. This one is on length outside off and gets Dhananjaya to prod at this without foot movement. It goes at a good height to Joe Root, who's dropped his second catch of the innings. Broad kicks the ground in disgust. |
| 26.2 : S Broad to Silva, Shorter in length, de Silva drops it onto the leg side for a single towards mid-wicket. |
| 26.3 : S Broad to Karunaratne, Full and on the pads, flicked away very fine on the leg side for a couple. Good diving stop at the boundary there. |
| 26.4 : S Broad to Karunaratne, Short of a good length on off, Dimuth stands tall and defends. |
| 26.5 : S Broad to D Karunaratne, Fuller on middle and leg, Dimuth pushes it towards short mid-wicket. |
| 26.6 : S Broad to Karunaratne, Good length ball on the offside, Dimuth drops it and sets off for the quick single. Stokes at point picks up the ball and has a shy at the striker's end. The batsman was very casual and it could've been a very close call if he had hit. Yep, the replays confirm that de Silva would have been out if he had hit. |
| Jack Leach is back into the attack. |
| 27.1 : J Leach to Karunaratne, Looped up on middle, Dimuth jams it away to square leg for a run. |
| 27.2 : J Leach to Silva, Top-edged and safe! Poor poor shot from Dhananjaya. Goes for the slog over mid-wicket to a very full one and gets the top edge but luckily for him, the ball lands in no man's land far away from the mid-wicket fielder who came running for the catch. 100 up for the hosts as the batsmen run one in the midst of everything. |
| 27.3 : J Leach to Karunaratne, Full and outside off, defended by Dimuth. |
| 27.4 : J Leach to Karunaratne, Shorter in length, played through mid-wicket by DK. The batsmen have run through for a single. |
| 27.5 : J Leach to Silva, Shorter outside off, cut to point by Dhananjaya. |
| 27.6 : J Leach to Silva, Full and on off, driven to mid off by Dhananjaya. No run. |
| 28.1 : S Broad to Karunaratne, Beaten! Broad is putting in a lot of effort here without much luck. This one is outside off and on a length. Dimuth pokes at it but misses the ball. |
| 28.2 : S Broad to Karunaratne, FOUR! On the pads and that's bread and butter for Karunaratne. Fuller in length, flicked away to the mid-wicket boundary. Superb timing! |
| 28.3 : S Broad to Karunaratne, Good length ball on off, keeps a tad bit low. Dimuth does well to bring his bat down in time. |
| 28.4 : S Broad to Karunaratne, Length ball just outside off, Dimuth defends it coming half forward. |
| 28.5 : S Broad to Karunaratne, FOUR! That's just classy! Overpitched and Dimuth shows the maker's name as he drives this straight down the ground! Lovely to watch! |
| 28.6 : S Broad to Karunaratne, On the pads and flicked away towards deep mid-wicket. The batsmen come back for two. |
| 29.1 : J Leach to Silva, Looped up outside off, de Silva drives to sweeper cover for a run. |
| 29.2 : J Leach to Karunaratne, Full and on middle, tucked away behind square leg for a single. It brings up Karunaratne's 20th fifty in Tests. It is also his 3rd in three innings. Well-compiled so far but needs to go on and make it a three-figure score. |
| 29.3 : J Leach to Silva, Flighted on middle, Dhananjaya gets an inside edge to the leg side. |
| 29.4 : J Leach to Silva, Looped up on middle, de Silva dead bats it. |
| 29.5 : J Leach to Silva, Lots of flight and on the pads, the batsman keeps it out. |
| 29.6 : J Leach to Silva, Full and on middle, Dhananjaya reaches forward and defends. |
| Joe Root has brought himself on. Time to make up for the mistakes. |
| 30.1 : Joe Root to Karunaratne, Keeps a bit low in line of the stumps, Karunaratne blocks it out. |
| 30.2 : Joe Root to Karunaratne, Outside off, kept out. |
| 30.3 : Joe Root to Karunaratne, A bit short outside off, cut towards point. One run taken. |
| 30.4 : Joe Root to Silva, Tucked away to short fine leg for one more. |
| 30.5 : Joe Root to Karunaratne, Dimuth has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 30.6 : Joe Root to Karunaratne, Full and on off, played back to the bowler. |
| 31.1 : J Leach to Silva, Flatter delivery outside off, grips and turns away. Dhananjaya decides to leave it alone at the last moment. |
| 31.2 : J Leach to Silva, Flighted on off, defended to cover. |
| 31.3 : J Leach to Silva, Looped up outside off, pushed to cover. |
| 31.4 : J Leach to Silva, Flatter ball on middle, de Silva makes room and punches back to the bowler. |
| 31.5 : J Leach to Silva, Flatter one and skid on after landing, de Silva is late on it and gets an inside edge onto his pads as he looks to jab it away off his back foot. |
| 31.6 : J Leach to Silva, Full and on middle, comes forward and dead bats it. |
| 32.1 : Joe Root to Karunaratne, Shorter and outside off, cut away by DK to sweeper for a single. |
| 32.2 : Joe Root to Silva, Full and on off, driven to mid off. |
| 32.3 : Joe Root to Silva, Flicked away in the air coming down the wicket, to the left of deep square leg for a single. |
| 32.4 : Joe Root to Karunaratne, FOUR leg-byes! This one slides onto the pads, and runs away fine on the leg side for four. |
| 32.5 : Joe Root to Karunaratne, Full and on middle, DK has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 32.6 : Joe Root to Karunaratne, Fuller outside off, driven towards mid off. |
| 33.1 : J Leach to Silva, Flatter ball outside off and turning away, pushed to sweeper cover for a single. |
| 33.2 : J Leach to Karunaratne, Full and flighted on middle, Dimuth drives to long on for a single. |
| 33.3 : J Leach to Silva, Looped up on middle, driven back to Leach by Dhananjaya. |
| 33.4 : J Leach to Silva, Full and on middle, defended by de Silva on the front foot. |
| 33.5 : J Leach to Silva, Flatter ball on off stump, pushed to long off for a run. Onto 49 now. |
| 33.6 : J Leach to Karunaratne, FOUR! Beautiful shot! Lofted this full one on middle over mid-wicket and in the gap for yet another boundary. The runs are coming easily now. Seven off this over. |
| Moeen Ali is back now. |
| 34.1 : M Ali to Silva, Generous flight outside off, Dhananjaya pushes it to sweeper cover and reaches his fifth Test fifty! A good innings, must carry on with his partner. Has been good at defense and offense today. |
| 34.2 : M Ali to D Karunaratne, Flighted outside off, driven straight to short cover. |
| 34.3 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Excatly the same as last ball, but this time Dimuth finds the gap to the left of cover and to long off for a run. |
| 34.4 : Ali to Silva, Over the wicket! This ball was on off and turns to hit the pad and lob to short leg. England appeal but to no avail. |
| 34.5 : M Ali to Silva, FOUR! Swept away to fine leg for a boundary, the ball was full and outside off and de Silva gets down on one knee and sweeps it away. Also brings up the 100-run stand between these two. Good partnership this and much needed for the hosts. |
| 34.6 : M Ali to Silva, Swept away again but this time only one run. |
| 35.1 : J Leach to Silva, Flighted outside off, de Silva is ahead to defend it. |
| 35.2 : J Leach to Silva, Flatter ball outside off, Dhananjaya pushes it to point. |
| 35.3 : J Leach to Silva, Good dip on the ball, Dhananjaya doesn't come ahead or stay back fully and in the end just lets the ball go. Good ball that! |
| 35.4 : J Leach to Silva, Flighted on middle, Dhananjaya has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 35.5 : J Leach to Silva, Full and flighted on off, de Silva prods ahead and defends. |
| 35.6 : J Leach to Silva, This one is driven down the ground for a single. Dhananjaya keeps strike. |
| 36.1 : M Ali to Silva, Full and outside off, Dhananjaya takes a huge stride ahead. The ball turns to hit his front pad but the impact is outside off so not a huge appeal. |
| 36.2 : M Ali to Silva, Full and on middle, swept away by de Silva to fine leg for a single. |
| 36.3 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Flatter ball outside off, played away off the back foot to point. |
| 36.4 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Full and outside off, driven to short cover. |
| 36.5 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Flighted on middle now, defended straight back to the bowler. |
| 36.6 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Flatter and on middle, DK comes ahead and smothers the ball into the ground. |
| Time for a Drinks break! Sri Lanka looking solid here and England bowlers haven't looked anywhere close to their best. Will we see more of the same in the next hour or will the partnership be broken? |
| 37.1 : J Leach to Silva, Looped outside off, de Silva plays it towards slip with soft hands. |
| 37.2 : J Leach to de Silva, Flighted on off, de Silva drives it in the air but in the gap towards long off and picks up a run. |
| 37.3 : J Leach to Karunaratne, Flatter on pads, Dimuth works it away to square leg for another run. |
| 37.4 : J Leach to Silva, Flighted delivery on the pads, Dhananjaya flicks it to square leg. |
| 37.5 : J Leach to Silva, Generous flight on middle, driven to long off for another single. |
| 37.6 : J Leach to Karunaratne, Looped up outside off, Dimuth comes down the wicket but plays it straight to short mid-wicket. |
| 38.1 : M Ali to Silva, Mo bowls this flatter outside off. The ball turns in but de Silva defends it into the ground on the leg side. |
| 38.2 : M Ali to Silva, A carbon copy of the previous delivery. |
| 38.3 : M Ali to Silva, FOUR! Lots of flight on this one, and lots of time for de Silva to go down and sweep this away to the left of fine leg and into the fence. |
| 38.4 : M Ali to Silva, Full and on middle, de Silva rotates the strike with a push to long on. |
| 38.5 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Reverse swept but straight to backward point. He had come around the wicket for this one. |
| 38.6 : M Ali to D Karunaratne, Yorker length almost, Dimuth digs it out and the ball falls on the 22 yards. |
| 39.1 : J Leach to Silva, Full and angling down the leg side. Dhananjaya goes to defend but misses the ball and gets hit on the pad. England appeal but the umpire isn't interested. |
| 39.2 : J Leach to Silva, Full and on middle, de Silva defends back to Leach. |
| 39.3 : J Leach to Silva, Flighted outside off, de Silva prods ahead and defends it. |
| 39.4 : J Leach to Silva, Shorter this time, Dhananjaya goes back and pushes it to cover point. |
| 39.5 : J Leach to Silva, Flatter ball on middle, de Silva has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 39.6 : J Leach to Silva, Dhananjaya keeps strike by pushing this shorter one towards point. |
| 40.1 : M Ali to Silva, Flatter on middle, flicked away to deep mid-wicket for a run by de Silva. |
| 40.2 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Flighted on off, Dimuth comes ahead to defend but gets a edge towards slip. It is all along the ground though. |
| 40.3 : M Ali to D Karunaratne, Full on off, driven to short cover. |
| 40.4 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Full and on middle, Dimuth comes ahead and defends. |
| 40.5 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Shorter and quicker outside off, cut away by DK for a single to sweeper cover. |
| 40.6 : M Ali to Silva, Flatter and quicker on off to Dhananjaya, he rocks back and defends it. |
| Finally! Adil Rashid is brought to bowl. |
| 41.1 : A Rashid to Karunaratne, Down leg, turned away with the spin to deep square leg for one. |
| 41.2 : A Rashid to de Silva, Loopy ball on off, driven to covers. |
| 41.3 : A Rashid to Silva, Slow ball yorker in line of the stumps, well blocked. |
| 41.4 : A Rashid to Silva, Leg spinner outside off, de Silva watches it carefully and leaves it alone. |
| 41.5 : A Rashid to Silva, Waits for it to turn and then cuts it late to short third man. |
| 41.6 : A Rashid to Silva, Great turn. Outside off, Dhananjaya reaches for it, cuts it to extra cover to retain the strike. 150 up for the hosts. |
| 42.1 : M Ali to Silva, Arm ball down leg, Dhananjaya leaves it alone covering his stumps. |
| 42.2 : M Ali to Silva, Loopy ball on leg, tucked away around the corner for a single. |
| 42.3 : M Ali to Karunaratne, FOUR! Not easy to play against the turn. Full and on middle and leg, Dimuth gets to the pitch of the ball and flicks it through mid-wicket for a good looking boundary. |
| 42.4 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Outside off, spins away from Karunaratne who watches it go through to the keeper. |
| 42.5 : M Ali to D Karunaratne, FOUR! Full and on off, Karunaratne with full confidence drives it in the gap through covers. Back-to-back boundaries for the southpaw. |
| 42.6 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Some cheekiness now. Stays inside the crease and cuts it late and fine towards third man. Bairstow does well to push it back in and keep it to two. |
| 43.1 : A Rashid to Silva, Sharp turn in line, kept out by Silva. |
| 43.2 : A Rashid to Silva, Gets behind the ball and defends this in front of him. |
| 43.3 : A Rashid to Silva, Sharp leg spinner outside off, Invites de Silva for the drive who gets low to do so. Cannot connect as the ball goes under his bat. |
| 43.4 : A Rashid to Silva, Dhananjaya flicks it away with a wristy shot. The batsmen have run through for a single. |
| 43.5 : A Rashid to Karunaratne, On leg, hit to the short leg fielder. |
| 43.6 : A Rashid to Karunaratne, Leg spinner down leg, Karunaratne goes for the flick but misses it. |
| Ben Stokes to bowl his first over. |
| 44.1 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Full and on off, driven to covers. |
| 44.2 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Drags it a bit back on the leg side, flicked away towards square leg for a single. |
| 44.3 : Ben Stokes to D Karunaratne, Dimuth plays a pull shot to this short delivery. The batsmen have run through for a single. |
| 44.4 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Full again outside off, driven firmly but straight to the man at covers. |
| 44.5 : Ben Stokes to de Silva, Outside off, played to cover region for the man to pick it up and give it back to the bowler. |
| 44.6 : Ben Stokes to Silva, On a good length, on middle, taped in front of him. |
| 45.1 : A Rashid to Karunaratne, Down leg, tucked away towards square leg to get off strike. |
| 45.2 : A Rashid to Silva, Leg spinner on middle and leg, played with a straight bat. |
| 45.3 : A Rashid to Silva, Loopy ball on the pads, turned away to the on side for one more. |
| 45.4 : A Rashid to Karunaratne, Full outside off, Karunaratne shuffles and flicks it to the on side to rotate strike. |
| 45.5 : A Rashid to Silva, A bit short, pulled through mid-wicket for a run. |
| 45.6 : A Rashid to D Karunaratne, Outside off, driven to mid off. |
| 46.1 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Full and outside off, de Silva comes forward and gives it to the cover region. |
| 46.2 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Stokes goes short on off, pulled by Dhananjaya through mid-wicket. One run added to the total. |
| 46.3 : Ben Stokes to Karunaratne, On a good length outside the leg stump, Dimuth flicks it away to deep square leg for one. |
| 46.4 : Stokes to Silva, Appeal but not given. Fired on a god length, comes into Dhananjaya who gets caught on his back foot as he misses he flick. Stokes appeals but the umpire stays put. Root thinks about it but then decides against it. Wouldn't have mattered as the replays show us that it was umpire's call. |
| 46.5 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Good yorker on middle, de Silva does well to get bat to ball. |
| 46.6 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Defended off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 47.1 : A Rashid to Karunaratne, Reverse sweeps this past the slip fielder towards third man for a brace. |
| 47.2 : A Rashid to D Karunaratne, Driven through mid on by the batsman. The batsmen have run through for a single. |
| 47.3 : A Rashid to Silva, OUT! Finally a wicket for England! Jennings is surely making a name for himself as a short leg fielder. And this is so much more better because of the concentration level that a player needs to keep in such conditions and during such a time in the game. Coming to the ball, it was a flatter one on middle, Dhananjaya who has been motoring along so well guides it straight to short leg. Jennings is nice and low and pouches it beautifully. The stand of 142 comes to an end. Im |
| Kusal Mendis walks out to the middle. |
| 47.4 : A Rashid to Mendis, Leg spinner on middle and leg, well blocked from Mendis. |
| 47.5 : A Rashid to Mendis, Leg spinner on middle, Mendis leaves it alone after seeing the sharp turn and bounce. |
| 47.6 : A Rashid to Mendis, On off, driven towards covers and quickly completes the run to get off strike. |
| 48.1 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, Kusal watches the bouncer go way above his head. The umpire has signalled a wide. |
| Ben Stokes to Mendis, On a good length down leg, Kusal misses his flick and gets hit on the pads. An appeal which dies down. |
| 48.2 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, Back of a length ball around off, Kusal tucks it away as his bottom hand comes off the bat. |
| 48.3 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, Some bounce for Stokes. Mendis guides it to point. |
| 48.4 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, FOUR! Deliberately done. Outside off again, Kusal nudges it well past the backwards point region for a boundary. |
| 48.5 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, On middle, hit towards the mid on region. |
| 48.6 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, Short ball over Mendis who ducks in time to evade it. |
| 49.1 : A Rashid to Karunaratne, Looped up outside off, Dimuth pushes it to mid-wicket. |
| 49.2 : A Rashid to Karunaratne, Flatter on the pads, Dimuth tucks it off the pad, and the ball goes so close to leg slip but Jennings can't get a hand on it this time. Single taken to fine leg. |
| 49.3 : A Rashid to Mendis, Flatter on middle, pushed towards mid-wicket for a single. |
| 49.4 : A Rashid to Karunaratne, Flighted on middle and leg, Dimuth pushes it away to deep square leg for a run. |
| 49.5 : A Rashid to Mendis, Lots of flight and turn on this very slow ball. Kusal leaves it alone in the end. |
| 49.6 : A Rashid to Mendis, Full and on middle, defended off the front foot toward mid off. |
| 50.1 : Ben Stokes to Karunaratne, Bouncer aimed at the head, Dimuth ducks under it. |
| 50.2 : Ben Stokes to Karunaratne, Nasty! Short ball aimed at the body of Dimuth. He hops and looks to bunt that down but gets hit on the chest. |
| The physios are out to treat him. He looks good to carry on. |
| 50.3 : Ben Stokes to D Karunaratne, Stokes goes short again. Dimuth is brave enough to pull it and not evade it. Gets it towards backward square leg for one. The two of them have a laugh about it. |
| 50.4 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, Full on middle, hit to mid on. |
| 50.5 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, Bouncer! Mendis ducks under it at the last moment. |
| 50.6 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, On a good length outside off, Mendis lays it with a straight bat. That will be Tea on Day 2. |
| Another session that belonged to the hosts, it must be said. Dhananjaya de Silva and Dimuth Karunaratne have batted beautifully to put their team in a strong position. Great platform to bat long and score big. England spinners have toiled long and hard but managed to pick up only Dhananjaya who had a minor lapse of concentration as he played one straight to short leg. The penetration that the visitors' spinners had in the first two Tests seems to be lacking here. Though, yesterday we saw most wi |
| ... Day 2, Session 3 ... |
| The players are out on the field for the last session. Dimuth Karunaratne will face the first ball to be bowled by Adil Rashid. |
| 51.1 : A Rashid to Karunaratne, Flatter on the pads, flicked away by Dimuth to square leg for a single. |
| 51.2 : A Rashid to Mendis, Flighted on off, Kusal drives to sweeper for another single. |
| 51.3 : A Rashid to Karunaratne, Flatter ball at the pads, flicked away to square leg for another run. |
| 51.4 : A Rashid to Mendis, Flighted on off, Kusal drives it wide of mid off for a single. |
| 51.5 : A Rashid to Karunaratne, Flighted on off and turning in, defended on the front foot by Dimuth. |
| 51.6 : A Rashid to Karunaratne, OUT! Third catch for Keaton Jennings. Loopy ball on off from Adil. Karunaratne prods forward to block it but gets an edge which goes straight in the hands of Keaton at short leg. For a change, this one is quite simple. Dimuth walks back after a very good knock and England strike straight after Tea. |
| Angelo Mathews is the new batsman. |
| Ben Stokes to bowl from the other end. |
| 52.1 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, FOUR! Around the wicket, short of a length and angling away. Kusal guides it away, wide of point, all the way to the fence. It was slightly in the air but in the gap. |
| 52.2 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, Short of a length, aimed at the hips. Defended back to the bowler. |
| 52.3 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, Short again, this time a tad outside off. The batsman stands tall and defends. |
| 52.4 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, Short and aimed at the ribs, Kusal jumps and plays it away towards square leg for a single. |
| 52.5 : Ben Stokes to Mathews, FOUR! Off the mark is Mathews. Short ball down leg, Angelo in full control pulls it fine through fine leg for a boundary. |
| 52.6 : Ben Stokes to Mathews, Errs down leg again, Mathews looks to flick it but doesn't get behind the ball. |
| 53.1 : A Rashid to Mendis, Leg spinner pitched outside leg, Kusal looks to play it with a straight bat but gets hit on the leg outside off. The ball rolls towards third man where they run three. Root thinks for the review but rightfully decides against it. |
| 53.2 : A Rashid to Mathews, Reads the spin and blocks this one. |
| 53.3 : A Rashid to Mathews, On off, Mathews is solid in his defense. |
| 53.4 : A Rashid to Mathews, Sharp turn, Mathews gets behind the ball and plays it in front of him. |
| 53.5 : A Rashid to Mathews, The batsman has played it towards mid-wicket. They pick up a single. |
| 53.6 : A Rashid to Mendis, Leg spinner on off, played to the off side. |
| The umpires have taken a caught behind decision up. The soft signal is out. Checking if the catch is clean. |
| 54.1 : Ben Stokes to Mathews, OUT! The catch is clean but not from Jennings. Is that allowed? Mathews has to take the long walk back and Sri Lanka lose another quick wicket post Tea. Stokes bangs it short again outside off, Mathews looks to pull it but gets it off the toe end towards the keeper. Foakes moves to his right then dives low and takes a good catch. The umpires take it up to check weather it is clean and replays do justice. Great passage of play for England. |
| 0.0 : Roshen Silva is the new man in. |
| 54.2 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Back of a length ball outside off, Roshen leaves it alone. |
| 54.3 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Fuller this time on off, Roshen's bottom hand comes off as he bumps it towards mid off. Some reverse swing there for Big Ben. |
| 54.4 : Ben Stokes to Silva, This ball is way outside the off stump, easy leave for the batsman. |
| 54.5 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Another snorter over Silva who ducks under it. |
| 54.6 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Full and on off, played back to short cover. |
| 55.1 : A Rashid to Mendis, Leg spin outside off, driven to extra cover for just one. |
| 55.2 : A Rashid to Silva, Tosses this one on middle, Roshen pushes it to off side. |
| 55.3 : A Rashid to Silva, Outside off, Roshen guides it late through third man. Broad chases it down and keeps it to two. |
| 55.4 : A Rashid to Silva, Slow ball yorker on middle, driven towards covers and sets off for the run. |
| 55.5 : A Rashid to Mendis, Outside off, cut towards cover-point to change ends. |
| 55.6 : A Rashid to R Silva, OUT! Jennings again! This is what we are talking about! Only he is allowed to take them. Another blinder. What a game he is having and just making his compilations of catches at short leg look even better. Googly from Adil on middle and leg, Silva looks to stonewall it but it goes towards Keaton. Jennings with cat-like reactions stretches his left arm out, the ball is almost behind him but he still manages to hold onto it. Great stuff. Rashid gets his third while Keato |
| Niroshan Dickwella is the new batsman in. |
| 56.1 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, Short and outside leg, Kusal goes to pull this one behind square leg and gets hit on the under part of the wrist. He seems to be in some pain. |
| 0.0 : Slight pause in the game as the medical team come out to examine Mendis' wrist. The magic spray is out. He is okay to go now. |
| 56.2 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, Short and outside off, left alone by Kusal. |
| 56.3 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, Short of a length and aimed at the hips, Mendis flicks it towards square leg for a run. |
| 56.4 : Ben Stokes to Dickwella, Full, almost yorker length but down the leg side. Dickwella misses as he tries to guide it fine. Foakes gets hurt on the finger as he tries to collect the ball that bounced just before him. |
| Foakes is hurt now. The England physio is out and checking his finger. He is going to continue keeping for now. |
| 56.5 : Ben Stokes to Dickwella, Slower ball sliding onto the pads, worked away to square leg for a single by Dickwella. |
| 56.6 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, Short and aimed at the ribs, Mendis jumps and defends it onto the ground to the left of short leg. |
| 57.1 : A Rashid to Dickwella, A slow motion shot! That ball took ages to reach Dickwella. It was slow and on leg stump, and Dickwella was ready with the reverse sweep and due to the slowness of the ball, manages to hit it in the cover region. The batsmen come back for two. |
| 57.2 : A Rashid to Dickwella, Short and outside off, dropped toward point for a single. |
| 57.3 : A Rashid to Mendis, FOUR! Great shot by Mendis! It was full and flighted on off, driven beautifully in the gap between mid off and cover and all the way to the fence. |
| 57.4 : A Rashid to Mendis, Mendis comes down the wicket and pushes it to mid on for a single. |
| 57.5 : A Rashid to Dickwella, Flatter and quicker on the pads, Dickwella misses his flick and gets hit on the pad but the ball was outside leg. |
| 57.6 : Rashid to Dickwella, There is an appeal for caught behind! Umpire isn't interested. Dickwella goes to sweep this one outside leg and misses it. The ball goes through to the keeper and the bat hits the ground at the same time as replays confirm. Good decision by England not to review it. |
| 58.1 : Ben Stokes to K Mendis, FOUR! Doesn't look too comfortable but nevertheless, it's a boundary. Short and aimed at the hips, just flicked away mid-jump by Mendis to beat fine leg to his left. |
| 58.2 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, Short of a length and on middle, Mendis jumps to defend it. |
| 58.3 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, Short again on the hips, Mendis is on his toes as he plays this to square leg for a single. |
| 58.4 : Ben Stokes to Dickwella, Full and way down the leg side. Good collection by Foakes. |
| 58.5 : Ben Stokes to Dickwella, Good length ball outside off, Dickwella raises his arms to let it go. |
| 58.6 : Ben Stokes to Dickwella, Ramp shot over the keeper's head and luckily for Dickwella, the ball lands short of the player who was placed exactly for this shot. Seemed like a trap by England, Stokes doesn't seem too happy as he asks Bairstow to come more closer. |
| 59.1 : A Rashid to Dickwella, Full and outside off, Dickwella has played the reverse sweep to backward point. |
| 59.2 : A Rashid to Dickwella, Loud appeal for LBW but the ball seems to be going down leg and Rashid suggests the same. The ball was full on middle and leg and spun too much as Ball Tracker suggests. |
| 59.3 : A Rashid to Dickwella, Googly on off, defended off the back foot. |
| 59.4 : A Rashid to Dickwella, Dickwella tries to sweep this full one but doesn't get a good connection. Jennings at backward short leg stops it. |
| 59.5 : A Rashid to Dickwella, Full and outside off, driven to mid off by the left-hander. |
| 59.6 : A Rashid to Dickwella, Shorter in length, Dickwella remains in the crease and defends it. |
| 60.1 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, Short and outside off, Mendis upper cuts it away to third man for a single. |
| 60.2 : Ben Stokes to Dickwella, OUT! A very soft dismissal. This one is short and going down leg. Dickwella tries to guide it down to fine leg but gets the slightest feather off the bat and the ball carries to Foakes who takes a good low catch. Sri Lanka have lost wickets and undone all of Dhananjaya and Dimuth's good work. England will be looking to go for the kill now. |
| Dilruwan Perera is next to bat. |
| 60.3 : Ben Stokes to Perera, Nasty bouncer to welcome Perera. This one is aimed at his head, the batsman gets his bat above and the ball lobs off the top of the bat. No one close to the ball though. |
| 60.4 : Ben Stokes to Perera, Short and on middle, Perera defends from within his crease. |
| 60.5 : Ben Stokes to Perera, This one is short and way down leg, Perera sways his body to keep out of the way of the ball. |
| 60.6 : Ben Stokes to Perera, Barrage of bouncers! This one is fended off by Dilruwan, not entirely in control but drops it short of short leg. Would've been out if Keaton had been a bit ahead. |
| 61.1 : A Rashid to K Mendis, OUT! Catching practice being given here. The ball was short and turning away outside off. Kusal looks to guide it down to third man very late but guides it straight into Stokes' hand at slip. Rashid is spinning this game back into England's favor here! That's his fourth. |
| 0.0 : Suranga Lakmal is the next batsman. |
| 61.2 : A Rashid to Lakmal, Googly first up, outside off and flighted. The ball is defended on the front foot by the skipper. |
| 61.3 : A Rashid to Lakmal, The stock delivery now and turns a mile. Suranga who goes for a huge swipe, fails to connect. |
| 61.4 : A Rashid to Lakmal, Flatter and quicker on leg, this one turns even more. Lakmal has no clue. |
| 61.5 : A Rashid to Lakmal, Beaten outside off! Lakmal comes ahead to defend this but the spin is so much that it beats his outside edge. |
| 61.6 : A Rashid to Lakmal, Straighter one this time, Lakmal cuts it to point. |
| 62.1 : Ben Stokes to Perera, OUT! Another one for Big Ben! His third of the innings. Short ball from around the wicket and Perera wants to keep it down but the ball goes off his glove and to Foakes who takes a good diving catch to his right. This ploy of bouncing batsmen out from around the wicket has worked like magic. Sri Lanka eight down and once again, England have somehow clawed their way to a position of strength. |
| 0.0 : Drinks has been called for. Also, Lakshan Sandakan has joined his skipper out in the middle. |
| 62.2 : Ben Stokes to Sandakan, Back of a length ball down the leg side, Sandakan tucks it away to the on side. |
| 62.3 : Ben Stokes to Sandakan, This one is down the leg side and the batsman leaves it alone. |
| 62.4 : Ben Stokes to Sandakan, Short ball outside off, cut past backward point for a brace. |
| 62.5 : Ben Stokes to Sandakan, OUT! Comedy of errors by the Lankan tail enders here. Just finding different ways to get out it must be said. This ball is short and outside off, Sandakan drops it with soft hands onto the off side towards mid off. Rashid misfields and then the Lankan batsmen set off for a single but he hits the stumps with a direct throw from mid off. Sri Lanka have completely derailed here! |
| Malinda Pushpakumara is the last man in. |
| 62.6 : Ben Stokes to Lakmal, Full and down leg, Lakmal goes after it only to miss it. |
| 63.1 : A Rashid to Pushpakumara, On middle and leg, padded out by Malinda. |
| 63.2 : A Rashid to Pushpakumara, Leg spinner outside off, Malinda goes for the drive but fails to connect. |
| 63.3 : A Rashid to Pushpakumara, Another similar ball. Outside off, Malinda plays and misses. |
| 63.4 : A Rashid to Pushpakumara, Outside off, Pushpakumara feels for it but gets beaten. |
| 63.5 : A Rashid to Pushpakumara, FOUR! Wrong 'un gone totally wrong. Short and down leg, Pushpakumara pulls it fine through fine leg for a boundary. |
| 63.6 : A Rashid to Pushpakumara, Loopy ball pitched on midle, spins away and almost gets the outside edge of the bat. |
| Jack Leach is coming on to bowl now. |
| 64.1 : J Leach to Lakmal, Starts off by bowling a low full toss down leg, flicked away through mid-wicket for one. |
| 64.2 : J Leach to Pushpakumara, Flighted ball around off, Lakmal looks to block it but it goes past his bat. |
| 64.3 : J Leach to Pushpakumara, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| LBW review! Malinda thinks he has got bat to it and reviews it straight away. |
| 64.4 : J Leach to M Pushpakumara, Straighter ball on middle, Pushpakumara goes low to swipe but cannot make any contact. The ball hits his leg and England put in an appeal. The umpire raises his finger but Malinda takes it up. Replays show us that there was glove involved. |
| 64.5 : J Leach to Pushpakumara, FOUR! Very good shot! Outside off, Malinda rocks back and cuts it through cover-point for a boundary. |
| 64.6 : J Leach to Pushpakumara, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 65.1 : A Rashid to Lakmal, Punched off the back foot by Lakmal to the off side. They pick up a single. |
| 65.2 : A Rashid to Pushpakumara, FOUR! Full and down leg, MP gets low and sweeps it fine towards fine leg for a boundary. |
| 65.3 : A Rashid to Pushpakumara, Leg spinner outside off, punched towards covers for a run. |
| 65.4 : Rashid to S Lakmal, High but safe. Loopy ball on off, Lakmal slogs it but gets a top edge which falls between covers and point. They cross. |
| Another review! Again given out, where does it pitch though? |
| 65.5 : Rashid to Pushpakumara, OUT! Pitching in line! Three reds and Pushpakumara has to depart. Five-wicket haul for Adil Rashid and also his career best innings figures. Leg spinner on leg, Pushpakumara is back looking flick it but misses. He gets hit on his pads and the visitors appeal. The umpire raises his finger. Sri Lanka opt for the review, since they have two in the bag. Three reds and Sri Lanka are all out for 240. ENGLAND TAKE A LEAD OF 96. |
| This game has turned on its head in the last hour and a half, and how. The last 9 wickets of the Sri Lankan innings have fallen for just 67 runs and in the space of the last 111 balls. Rashid in the process has picked up his best figures in Test cricket, 5-49. Sri Lanka will be really disappointed with where they have ended. From 173-1 to 240 all out, not acceptable. There were some very good bowling and some great catching but the Lankans can only blame themselves. |
| Stokes ably supported Rashid and bowled his heart out, bouncing out three of the hosts' batsmen in the process. So yeah, innings of two halves. Dhananjaya and Dimuth played really well to give them a great platform but once they were seperated, there was no resistance of any kind. England are well ahead now, with a lead of 96 runs. There are 16 overs remaining to be bowled in the day. Can Sri Lanka get some wickets or will England pile further misery on them? The first ball of England's second i |
| 0.1 : D Perera to Burns, Looped up on off and turning away, Burns leaves it alone. |
| 0.2 : D Perera to Burns, Quicker on middle, Burns defends on the front foot. |
| 0.3 : D Perera to Burns, Shorter on off, Burns pushes it to sweeper for a single. |
| 0.4 : D Perera to Jennings, So close! Jennings chooses to leave the arm ball which misses his off pole by a whisker. |
| 0.5 : D Perera to Jennings, Flatter delivery on off, Jennings pushes it to cover. |
| 0.6 : D Perera to Jennings, Flatter ball outside off, Jennings drops it toward point. |
| Malinda Pushpakumara to share the new ball. |
| 1.1 : M Pushpakumara to Burns, Flatter ball outside off, punched back to the bowler. |
| 1.2 : M Pushpakumara to Burns, Short and outside off, Burns cuts it away to backward point for a single. |
| 1.3 : M Pushpakumara to Jennings, Flighted outside off, Jennings prods ahead and defends. |
| 1.4 : M Pushpakumara to Jennings, Slower and short outside off, Jennings pushes it towards backward point for a run. |
| 1.5 : M Pushpakumara to Burns, Fuller and on off, Burns comes forward and dead bats it. |
| 1.6 : M Pushpakumara to Burns, Flatter delivery on off, kept out towards cover. |
| 2.1 : D Perera to Jennings, Flatter and quicker on middle, Jennings is inside his crease and defends. |
| 2.2 : D Perera to Jennings, Jennings is half ahead in defense. |
| 2.3 : D Perera to Jennings, Similar ball and similarly played. |
| 2.4 : D Perera to Jennings, Full and at the pads, Jennings pushes it to short mid-wicket. |
| 2.5 : D Perera to Jennings, Full and at the pads again, Jennings brings his bat in front of his pad and defends. |
| 2.6 : D Perera to Jennings, Flatter ball outside off, let go by the batsman. Maiden over. |
| Dhananjaya de Silva replaces Malinda Pushpakumara. |
| 3.1 : de Silva to Burns, Full and outside off, Burns plays it with soft hands to point. |
| 3.2 : de Silva to Burns, Flatter ball at off, Burns is ahead to this one as he keeps it out. |
| 3.3 : de Silva to Burns, Flatter ball on middle, Burns rocks back and defends. |
| 3.4 : de Silva to Burns, Shorter ball on middle, Burns decides to keep it out off his back foot. |
| 3.5 : de Silva to Burns, Flatter ball on middle, no spin at all. Burns defends on the front foot. |
| 3.6 : de Silva to R Burns, Yorker length, Burns defends it with the bottom of his bat. Another maiden. Meanwhile the light has deteriorated and has been offered to the batsmen, they are going off! It will be STUMPS on Day 2. |
| Well! Well! What looked like being Sri Lanka's day has turned and one would say England will be happier at Stumps, despite Sri Lanka winning the first two sessions comprehensively. But England won the third session so outright that they are the side on top walking off the field at the end of the day. They have things firmly in their grasp now, with a lead of 99. The visitors are essentially 99 for no loss and will look to bat as long as possible tomorrow, give Sri Lanka a target that would be al |
| The star of today's play was definitely Rashid, who got his best Test figures of 13.5-2-49-5. Stokes bowled well and was helped by some poor batting by the hosts as well. Earlier on in the day, Dhananjaya de Silva and Dimuth Karunaratne made a massive stand of 142 runs. But that didn't prove to be enough. Moving on though, Sri Lanka have to get some rest and come out fighting as they can't let their shoulders drop. They must fight like Lions and try to make a game out of this dire situation. Eng |
| ... Day 3, Session 1 ... |
| Good morning! Welcome to Day 3. The game took a massive swing last evening as we saw Sri Lanka losing their way and concede a lead of 96 runs to England in the first innings. Dhananjaya de Silva and Dimuth Karunaratne's huge stand of 142 for the second wicket was nullified by the fact that Sri Lanka lost their last nine wickets for 67 runs. The England openers then came out and saw out the four overs that could be bowled before bad light stopped play. Today should be the match defining day as us |
| Sri Lanka on the other hand, would have had a decent night's rest and will like to put the last session of play yesterday behind them, and come roaring out on the field with all their energy. They need to be on the attack and try to win this game by limiting England to a score that they can possibly chase in the fourth innings. The key players today should again be the spinners as the cracks have widened and the pitch has become even drier. Hopefully there won't be any rain. The first ball is no |
| Keaton Jennings on an interview now, says that they bowled better after Tea and the wicket is one where its easier to bat once you are in for some time. States that the pitch is unpredictable, and there is intermittent turn. Says that the key as a bowler is to hit the stumps. Adds that the cracks opened up a lot more than on Day One and also that the patches outside the left-hander's off stump is pretty evident. Laughs when asked about him being the permanent short leg for England, says that the |
| The players are walking out into the field. Keaton Jennings will be facing the first ball. It will be bowled by Dilruwan Perera. |
| 4.1 : Perera to Jennings, OUT! Gone first ball! Sri Lanka couldn't have asked for a better start. A drifter from Perera and lands on middle. Jennings is ahead to defend and plays down the wrong line. Gets hit on the pad, and the umpire's finger goes up after a bit of thinking. Keaton considers reviewing but in the end, just continues walking. The replays show that the ball was just clipping leg stump and the decision would've stayed if he had reviewed. |
| 0.0 : Jonny Bairstow is in at no. 3. |
| 4.2 : D Perera to Bairstow, Looped on leg stump, Bairstow drops it just short of short leg. |
| 4.3 : D Perera to Bairstow, A push towards short mid-wicket. |
| 4.4 : D Perera to Bairstow, Full and on middle, defended off the middle of the bat this time. |
| 4.5 : D Perera to Bairstow, This one is quicker and at the pads, first run of the day as the ball is flicked away by JB to deep mid-wicket for a single. The lead is now 100. |
| 4.6 : D Perera to Burns, Looped on off stump, Burns comes ahead and defends it straight back. |
| Suranga Lakmal to bowl from the other end. |
| 5.1 : S Lakmal to Bairstow, Full on off, Jonny goes for the push through the off side. Just gets an edge, which goes between the slips and gully towards the fence. The batsmen pick up three till the ball comes back to the keeper. |
| 5.2 : S Lakmal to Burns, Short of a length outside off, Burns lets it go through. |
| 5.3 : S Lakmal to Burns, Good length and outside off again, Burns chooses to leave it alone. |
| 5.4 : S Lakmal to Burns, On a length and outside off, left alone again. |
| 5.5 : S Lakmal to Burns, Slightly shorter and on top of off stump, defended staying back in the crease. |
| 5.6 : S Lakmal to Burns, Good length ball just outside off, Burns defends it toward cover. |
| 6.1 : D Perera to Bairstow, Short ball outside leg, bounces a bit more and Bairstow pulls out of the shot at the last moment. Dickwella fumbles the collection. |
| 6.2 : D Perera to Bairstow, Full and at the pads, Jonny works it to square leg for a single. |
| 6.3 : D Perera to Burns, Fuller and on off, Burns comes ahead and defends this one. |
| 6.4 : D Perera to Burns, Flatter and shorter delivery outside off, cut away to sweeper for a single. |
| 6.5 : D Perera to Bairstow, This one is flatter and turns in a bit after landing on middle. Jonny plays it back to the bowler. |
| 6.6 : D Perera to Bairstow, This one is on a length and spins a lot more as it goes down the leg side and beats Dickwella and runs down fine on the leg side. The batsmen pick up three byes. |
| 7.1 : S Lakmal to Bairstow, Good length ball on off, Jonny defends it toward mid on. |
| 7.2 : S Lakmal to Bairstow, Length ball outside off, comes ahead and defensively pushes it to cover. |
| 7.3 : S Lakmal to Bairstow, Forward in defense to a fuller one outside off. |
| 7.4 : S Lakmal to J Bairstow, Beautiful sound off the bat as he drives this fuller one outside off. It goes straight to wide mid off though. |
| Just 8 overs old and the umpires are having a look at the ball. Lakmal doesn't get his wish fulfilled and will have to continue with it. |
| 7.5 : S Lakmal to Bairstow, Well outside off this time, left alone by JB. |
| 7.6 : S Lakmal to Bairstow, Shorter outside off, pushed off the back foot to short cover. |
| 8.1 : D Perera to Burns, Looped up on middle, the ball is pushed to a deepish mid on for a single. |
| 8.2 : D Perera to Bairstow, What a peach! This one holds its line and completely squares up Jonny who plays for the turn. |
| 8.3 : Perera to Bairstow, Appeal from Perera but the umpire isn't interested. The ball started outside off and spun to hit Jonny on the pads as he misses his sweep. But the bounce was a little too much and the ball might've missed the stumps. The batsmen pick up a leg bye as the ball rolls down towards short fine leg. |
| 8.4 : D Perera to Burns, Flatter ball outside off, defended to point. |
| 8.5 : D Perera to Burns, Fuller ball on off stump, Burns comes ahead and defends it. |
| 8.6 : D Perera to Burns, This one is overpitched on leg stump, the ball is swept away by Burns to deep fine leg and the batsmen come back for two. |
| 9.1 : S Lakmal to Bairstow, Full length ball outside off, Bairstow drives it to mid off. |
| 9.2 : S Lakmal to Bairstow, This one is on a good length and wide outside off. Bairstow goes after it but drives straight to cover. |
| 9.3 : S Lakmal to J Bairstow, Overpitched on off stump, JB drives it straight to mid off. |
| 9.4 : S Lakmal to Bairstow, Wide ball. Bouncer! But was too high above the head of Bairstow and signaled wide. |
| S Lakmal to J Bairstow, The drive sounded good off the bat but straight to extra cover. |
| 9.5 : S Lakmal to Bairstow, Slower ball which is taken on the full by Jonny, gets a thick outside edge to deep point for a single. |
| 9.6 : S Lakmal to Burns, No ball. Overstepping by Lakmal. The ball is short of a length and outside off, Burns defends it on the off side and picks up a quick single. |
| S Lakmal to Bairstow, Good length ball on off stump, Bairstow defends it back to the bowler. |
| 10.1 : D Perera to Burns, OUT! Plumb in front and follows suit of his opening partner. The ball is looped up on middle and Burns completely misses his flick to be rapped in front of middle. Doesn't even consider reviewing as he walks off. Second wicket for Perera. The umpire checks for the front foot and is very close but fine. |
| 0.0 : Joe Root is the new man in. |
| 10.2 : D Perera to Root, Flatter ball outside off, Root is off the mark with a single off a late cut to third man. |
| 10.3 : D Perera to Bairstow, Full toss on leg, Jonny reverse sweeps it to deep point for a run. |
| 10.4 : D Perera to Root, Flatter ball on middle, Root drops it on the off side and picks up a quick single. |
| 10.5 : D Perera to Bairstow, Conventional sweep from Root to deep square leg for another run. |
| 10.6 : D Perera to Root, Full and on middle, Root pushes it to long on and retains strike. |
| Malinda Pushpakumara is into the attack. |
| 11.1 : M Pushpakumara to Root, Flatter ball at the pads, Root pushes it to mid-wicket and sets off to pick up a couple but slips as he completes his first run. |
| 11.2 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Looped up on middle, Bairstow comes ahead and defends. |
| 11.3 : M Pushpakumara to J Bairstow, FOUR! This is such good timing from YJB! The ball is full and on middle, flicked away wide of long on for a four as he comes to the pitch of the ball. |
| 11.4 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, Driven straight down the ground to long off for a single. |
| 11.5 : M Pushpakumara to Root, Full and on middle, Root rotates strike by playing it towards mid-wicket. |
| 11.6 : M Pushpakumara to Bairstow, A single down to long off to end the over. 8 runs off this one. |
| 12.1 : D Perera to Bairstow, Flighted outside off, Bairstow pushes it on the off side with soft hands and picks up a quick single. Good running. |
| 12.2 : D Perera to Root, Too full and played with the turn to long on for another single. |
| 12.3 : D Perera to J Bairstow, OUT! Dilruwan gets his third! Shorter and on middle, Bairstow looks to flick it away but finds short leg. Kaushal Silva, the substitute fielder takes a smart catch. Jonny who got a beautiful hundred in the first innings walks out cheaply this time! Sri Lanka slowly but surely clawing their way back in the game. Need to keep up the pressure though. England effectively 131/3. |
| Ben Stokes walks out to bat. |
| 12.4 : D Perera to Stokes, Full and flighted on middle, Stokes takes a big stride ahead to defend the ball. |
| 12.5 : D Perera to Stokes, Stokes is off the mark as he drives this off the front foot to long off. |
| 12.6 : D Perera to Root, Flatter ball on middle, Root is on the back foot and defends it right into the surface. |
| 13.1 : M Pushpakumara to Stokes, Flighted on off, defended on the front foot back to the bowler. |
| 13.2 : M Pushpakumara to Stokes, Full and at middle, Stokes flicks it to short mid-wicket. |
| 13.3 : M Pushpakumara to Stokes, This is flatter and outside off, Stokes plays a push toward point and gets to the other end. |
| 13.4 : M Pushpakumara to Joe Root, Very full, almost yorker length. Root waits for the ball and pushes it to mid-wicket for a single. |
| 13.5 : M Pushpakumara to Stokes, DROPS JUST SHORT! Stokes goes for the sweep but gets the top edge and the ball goes in the air but falls just short of deep mid-wicket. Angelo Mathews comes running in but can't make it in time. Lots happening here! The batsmen pick up one. |
| 13.6 : Pushpakumara to Root, OUT! The previous ball drops short but this one carries surely! Another one bites the dust. This time, it's the skipper. A huge wicket for the hosts. The ball is on middle and straightens after landing. Root closes the face of the bat too early and the ball takes the leading edge back to the bowler. Pushpakumara dives to his left and takes a great catch. England seem to be in a hurry here. From being 99-0, they are now effectively 135-4! We seem to be having a game on |
| Jos Buttler replaces his skipper in the middle. |
| 14.1 : D Perera to Stokes, Flatter on middle, Stokes goes back and plays it with a straight bat. |
| 14.2 : D Perera to Stokes, Outside off, played to gully. |
| 14.3 : D Perera to Stokes, Full on middle and leg, flicked away to cow corner to get off strike. |
| 14.4 : D Perera to Buttler, Full and in line of the stumps, Buttler is solid in his defense. |
| 14.5 : D Perera to Buttler, Loopy ball on middle, Buttler uses his feet and turns it to the on side. |
| 14.6 : D Perera to Buttler, Outside off, Jos goes back and punches it through cover-point for an easy couple to get off the mark. |
| First Drinks break of the day! What an opening hour of play we have had. This is what Test cricket is all about. The twists and turns. Sri Lanka had to come out all guns firing and that's exactly what they have done. The pitch is also assisting them but credit must be given to the good lengths they're bowling. But they can't afford to loosen up. England, on the other hand, will be looking for a partnership. |
| 15.1 : M Pushpakumara to Stokes, Played to mid-wicket region by Ben Stokes. |
| 15.2 : M Pushpakumara to Stokes, Goes back and blocks this one out. |
| 15.3 : M Pushpakumara to Stokes, Getas behind the ball and stonewalls this one. |
| 15.4 : M Pushpakumara to Stokes, Down leg, worked away to the on side for a single. |
| 15.5 : M Pushpakumara to Buttler, Outside off, cut away late to short third man. |
| 15.6 : M Pushpakumara to Buttler, Around off, Buttler paddles it fine towards fine leg. One run taken. |
| 16.1 : D Perera to Buttler, Flatter ball down the leg side, Buttler shuffles across and turns it through mid-wicket for one. |
| 16.2 : D Perera to Stokes, Full and on middle and off, Stokes hits it towards mid on. |
| 16.3 : D Perera to Stokes, PEACH! Arm ball on a perfect length, Stokes is forward to play at it but it goes past his outside edge. |
| 16.4 : D Perera to Stokes, Stokes rocks back and punches it through covers for a single. |
| 16.5 : D Perera to Buttler, Makes Buttler go on his back foot who pushes it ahead. |
| 16.6 : D Perera to Buttler, Sees Buttler charging down so darts this wide down the leg side. Jos gets bat to it and milks it to cow corner for a run. |
| 17.1 : M Pushpakumara to Buttler, On middle, punched back to the bowler. |
| 17.2 : M Pushpakumara to Buttler, Around off, pushed to mid off. |
| 17.3 : M Pushpakumara to Buttler, Similar line, Buttler stays back and punches it to on side. |
| 17.4 : M Pushpakumara to Buttler, Played to mid-wicket region by Jos. They pick up a single. |
| 17.5 : M Pushpakumara to Stokes, Flatter ball on middle and leg, pushed towards mid on to change ends. |
| 17.6 : M Pushpakumara to Buttler, Enough time for Buttler to rock back and drill it through mid-wicket. They manage to come back for the second. |
| 18.1 : D Perera to Stokes, Loopy ball around off, Stokes pushes it through cover-point. He walks and completes the run. |
| 18.2 : D Perera to Buttler, On middle and leg, Buttler is well ahead to block it out. It hits his pads and rolls towards the off side. They cross. Sri Lanka appeal but Jos was over 3 meters ahead. Leg bye given. |
| 18.3 : D Perera to Stokes, Outside off, cut through mid off. The fielder there manages to get a hand to it and keep it to one. |
| 18.4 : D Perera to Buttler, Outside off again, cut past point for a run. |
| 18.5 : D Perera to Stokes, FOUR! SHOT! No one out there except the ball boy. Poor ball from Perera, short and on middle. Stokes goes deep and pulls it over mid-wicket to the boundary fence. |
| 18.6 : D Perera to Stokes, Flatter ball over the stumps, played back to the bowler. |
| Lakshan Sandakan is called onto bowl. |
| 19.1 : L Sandakan to Buttler, Leggie on middle, turned through mid-wicket for one. |
| 19.2 : L Sandakan to Stokes, FOUR! Very fine. Loopy ball down the leg side. Stokes sweeps it very fine past the keeper. The outfield is quick and the ball races away to the fine leg boundary. Another boundary for Ben Stokes. |
| 19.3 : L Sandakan to Stokes, Leg spinner pitches and goes past the outside edge of Stokes' bat. Not much you can do with those except not nick that. |
| 19.4 : L Sandakan to Stokes, Up and over. Reverse sweeps this over the slip fielder. They pick up a single. |
| 19.5 : L Sandakan to Buttler, FOUR! Come down and takes it on the full. Times is beautifully past mid off fielder to the fence. Boundary. |
| 19.6 : L Sandakan to Buttler, Charges down again, flicks it through mid-wicket for a brace. Nice use of the feet. |
| 20.1 : D Perera to Stokes, Full and on middle, Stokes prods forward and bunts this one down. |
| 20.2 : D Perera to Stokes, Around off, driven firmly to extra cover to get to the other end. |
| 20.3 : D Perera to Buttler, Tossed up on leg, Buttler is froward to pad it out. The ball balloons and there are cries of catch it for Perera who dives ahead but cannot get to the ball. |
| 20.4 : D Perera to Buttler, On the pads, turned away to square leg for a run. |
| 20.5 : D Perera to Stokes, Leg side again, worked away through square leg for one more. |
| 20.6 : D Perera to Buttler, On middle and leg, Buttler goes back and turns another one fine towards fine leg. Two runs taken. |
| 21.1 : L Sandakan to Stokes, Leg spinner on middle and leg, blocked out by Stokes. |
| 21.2 : L Sandakan to Stokes, Around off, Stokes cannot get it past covers. |
| 21.3 : L Sandakan to Stokes, Drags this outside off, Stokes swipes it through mid-wicket for just one. |
| 21.4 : L Sandakan to Buttler, FOUR! Yet another quick feet powerful flick from Buttler. Takes it on the full and whips this through mid-wicket for a boundary. Takes the lead to 177. |
| 21.5 : L Sandakan to Buttler, FOUR! Excellent batting. The pace of Sandakan is allowing Buttler to catch it on the full. Charges down the track and flicks it fine through mid on this time for back-to-back boundaries. |
| 21.6 : L Sandakan to Buttler, Tossed up outside off, Butter gets to the pitch and punches it to covers. Sensible batting. |
| Dhananjaya de Silva is asked to bowl. |
| 22.1 : de Silva to Stokes, On leg, turned to mid-wicket to give Buttler the strike. |
| 0.0 : REVIEW! The dangerous Buttler is given LBW. He opts for the review. |
| 22.2 : de Silva to Buttler, NOT OUT! Buttler survives. The bounce saves him. Loopy ball on middle, Jos comes charging but misses his shot. Gets rapped in front of the stumps on his knee roll. The players put in an appeal and the umpire gives it out. After a chat with his partner Jos takes it up. Replay shows us that the ball would have gone over the stumps. The on-field decision has to be overturned. England retain their review. |
| 22.3 : de Silva to Buttler, Looped up and at the pads, worked behind square leg for a single. |
| 22.4 : de Silva to Stokes, Looped up on middle, defended off the front foot by Stokes. |
| 22.5 : de Silva to Stokes, Flatter and quicker on off, Stokes defends it to cover. |
| 22.6 : de Silva to Stokes, Flatter ball on off stump, Stokes is half ahead as he defends the ball. |
| 23.1 : L Sandakan to Buttler, Flighted on off, Buttler is down the wicket and drives to long off for a single. |
| 23.2 : L Sandakan to Stokes, Short length, Stokes pulls it away off the bottom of his bat to deep mid-wicket. The single brings up the 50-run partnership between these two. |
| 23.3 : L Sandakan to Buttler, Floated up and a full toss on middle, Buttler paddles it to fine leg for a single. |
| 23.4 : L Sandakan to Ben Stokes, NOT OUT! Stokes gets a life. Sandakan has overstepped. The ball was outside off and Stokes lobbed his drive up straight to cover. The celebration of Sri Lanka is short lived though, as the umpires ask Stokes to wait and check for the No ball. And to the dismay of the Lankans, the chinaman has overstepped. |
| L Sandakan to Stokes, Short of a length on middle, Stokes punches it away off the backfoot to cover for a run. |
| 23.5 : L Sandakan to Buttler, Flighted outside off, Buttler is down the wicket and keeps it out by hitting it straight to mid off. |
| 23.6 : L Sandakan to Buttler, This is the wrong 'un but the ball is way outside off. Left alone pretty easily. |
| 24.1 : de Silva to Stokes, On off, bunted down. |
| 24.2 : de Silva to Stokes, Ben has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 24.3 : de Silva to Stokes, Around off, Stokes plays it to the off side. |
| 24.4 : de Silva to Stokes, Flighted ball on off, driven through covers for a single. |
| 24.5 : de Silva to Buttler, On middle and leg, Buttler makes room and looks to flick it but gets a leading edge over the bowler's head for a couple of runs. |
| 24.6 : de Silva to Buttler, Jos flicks it away with a wristy shot. The batsmen have run through for a single. |
| 25.1 : L Sandakan to Buttler, Low full toss outside off, Buttler sweeps it towards square leg for a run. |
| 25.2 : L Sandakan to Stokes, Down the leg side, Stokes leaves it alone. The ball rolls to the fine leg region. They cross but the umpire signals a dead-ball as there was no intention of a shot. |
| 25.3 : L Sandakan to Stokes, FOUR! Errs down the leg side, Stokes goes back and flicks it through square leg for another boundary. The 100 is up for England. |
| 25.4 : L Sandakan to Stokes, Gets behind this ball and keeps this one out. |
| 25.5 : L Sandakan to Stokes, The batsman has played it towards mid-wicket. They pick up a single. |
| 25.6 : L Sandakan to Buttler, Buttler has swept that one through the leg side. The batsmen have run through for a single. Sandakan figures after 4 overs read, 4-0-32-0. 8 rpo. |
| 26.1 : de Silva to Buttler, On middle and leg, turned to the leg side. |
| 26.2 : de Silva to Buttler, Flatter on middle, taped in front of him. |
| 26.3 : de Silva to Buttler, On middle and leg, Buttler rocks back and works it towards square leg to bring up the 200-run lead. |
| 26.4 : de Silva to Stokes, Brilliant running. The moment Stokes nudged that on the leg side he wanted two. Plays this with soft hands towards cow corner and comes back for the second. |
| 26.5 : de Silva to Stokes, Leans ahead and blocks this one out. |
| 26.6 : de Silva to Stokes, Prods forward and keeps another one out. |
| 27.1 : L Sandakan to Buttler, Full and on off, driven past the cover fielder to get off strike. |
| 27.2 : L Sandakan to Stokes, Down the leg, swept through deep square leg to rotate strike. |
| 27.3 : L Sandakan to Buttler, Leg spinner on middle, pushed towards covers for another run. |
| 27.4 : L Sandakan to Stokes, Stokes goes to pull one but misses to get hit on the pads. |
| 27.5 : L Sandakan to Ben Stokes, NO BALL! What is Sandakan doing? This is the second time he is overstepping. SECOND TIME, for a spinner. Not helping their cause. Gives this air on off, Stokes goes fishing but gets an outside edge at first slip. Dhananjaya takes the catch but the umpires have asked the batsman to wait. Only to find out that there is nothing behind the line. 2 gone, 7 more lives left for Stokes. |
| L Sandakan to Stokes, Gets to the pitch of this one and blocks it out. |
| 27.6 : L Sandakan to Stokes, Rocks back and punches this ball to the off side. That will be LUNCH on Day 3. |
| This session began with a bang for Sri Lanka, with a wicket of the first ball. Three more wickets followed over the next hour. But the second hour has seen Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes just take control of the situation and pull England out of the slight trouble they were in. They have played beautifully after the Drinks break and at the same time, got runs at a good pace. The lead has swelled upto 206 runs. And during this partnership, Buttler has been given out once but reviewed to survive. Stok |
| So what began in such a good way for Sri Lanka, has ended demoralizingly. They, though can't afford to be sulking about it and will need to come rejuvenated after the break. Or else, England could just be out of sight. Do join us for the post Lunch session. |
| ... Day 3, Session 2 ... |
| We are back for the second session. The players are making their way out to the middle. Jos Buttler to face the first ball from Dhananjaya de Silva. |
| 28.1 : de Silva to Jos Buttler, DROPPED! Down the leg side, Jos gets a tickle on this one and Dickwella down the leg side cannot hold onto it. Buttler now dropped on 38. |
| 28.2 : de Silva to Buttler, Fuller and on middle, Buttler is half forward in defense. |
| 28.3 : de Silva to Buttler, Flatter delivery on middle, Jos stands tall and defends it back to the bowler. |
| 28.4 : de Silva to Buttler, This one grips and turns after landing on middle. Hits Buttler on the pads and lobs up toward the leg side. |
| 28.5 : de Silva to Buttler, This ball is flatter and on the pads, Buttler flicks it to mid-wicket for a single. |
| 28.6 : de Silva to Stokes, Short and on off, Stokes defends it towards cover. |
| Dilruwan Perera to bowl from the other end. |
| 29.1 : D Perera to Buttler, Looped outside off, swept away to deep square leg and the batsmen come back for two. Great running in such heat! |
| 29.2 : D Perera to Buttler, Looped outside off, Jos comes down the wicket, takes it on the full and pushes it to long on for a single. |
| 29.3 : D Perera to Stokes, Flatter ball outside off, Stokes is half forward and dead bats it. |
| 29.4 : D Perera to Stokes, Flatter ball on off, Stokes has driven this to long off for a run. |
| 29.5 : D Perera to Buttler, Top edge but safe! Jos goes for the sweep but there is no short fine leg so the ball falls in no man's land and the batsment come back for two. |
| 29.6 : D Perera to Buttler, Flatter delivery outside off and coming in, Buttler pushes the ball back to the bowler. |
| 30.1 : de Silva to Stokes, Reverse sweeps this full one outside off, away for two runs. The backward point fielder makes a half stop and the ball is slowed down for sweeper cover to come around and limit it to two. |
| 30.2 : de Silva to Stokes, Flatter delivery on off, Stokes stands tall and punches it straight back. |
| 30.3 : de Silva to Stokes, This one is a straighter one, Stokes flicks it away to square leg for a single. |
| 30.4 : de Silva to Buttler, Buttler comes down the wicket and gets hit on the pads as he misses his drive. |
| 30.5 : de Silva to Jos Buttler, Full and outside off, the ball is driven to long off as Jos gets off strike. |
| 30.6 : de Silva to Stokes, This ball is shorter and outside off, Stokes pushes the ball to cover point and retains strike for the next over. |
| 31.1 : D Perera to Stokes, Flatter and shorter outside off, Stokes cuts it to sweeper cover for a run. |
| 31.2 : D Perera to Buttler, Looped up on middle, Jos comes down the wicket and defends it. |
| 31.3 : D Perera to Buttler, Flighted outside off, Buttler comes down again and the turn on the ball beats him as he gets hit on the pad. The ball rolls onto the off side as the batsmen cross over for a leg bye. |
| 31.4 : D Perera to Stokes, FOUR! Stokes goes down on one knee and the ball which was flatter and outside off has been smashed away over mid-wicket for a boundary. |
| 31.5 : D Perera to Stokes, OUT! No third time lucky for Stokes! And guess what? Dilruwan has his leg well inside the popping crease on this occasion. The ball was looped up outside off, Stokes comes charging down and wants to go for a maximum over mid on but his connection is poor and the ball goes straight into the fielder's hand. Stokes knew it straight away that he wasn't clearing the fielder. And must be disappointed considering that is an unwanted shot at that stage after getting a four off |
| Moeen Ali is the new man in. |
| 31.6 : D Perera to Ali, Flatter ball outside off, left alone. |
| 32.1 : de Silva to Buttler, Flatter ball on middle, Jos defends off the back foot. |
| 32.2 : de Silva to Buttler, This one is at the pads, Buttler flicks it away for a single to square leg. |
| 32.3 : de Silva to Ali, The ball was flighted outside off, Moeen taps it down toward third man for a single. |
| 32.4 : de Silva to Buttler, Flatter outside off, Buttler late cuts it away to deep point for another run. |
| 32.5 : de Silva to Ali, Flatter ball outside off, Moeen pushes it through the cover. The fielder dives and prevents the single. |
| 32.6 : de Silva to Ali, Fuller ball outside off, Ali drives to sweeper cover to keep strike. |
| 33.1 : D Perera to Ali, Looped up on off, Ali plays it with soft hands to backward point. |
| 33.2 : D Perera to Ali, Shorter outside off, Ali cuts it away for another run to sweeper. |
| 33.3 : D Perera to Buttler, Loopy delivery on off, Buttler comes down again and pushes it towards mid-wicket and gets to the other end. |
| 33.4 : D Perera to Ali, Flatter delivery at the pads, Ali dead bats it to short leg. |
| 33.5 : D Perera to Ali, Shorter length and outside off, Moeen pushes it to sweeper for a run. |
| 33.6 : D Perera to Buttler, Good ball to end the over, outside off and quicker. Grips and turns to get the inside edge of Jos. But the ball just rolls along the ground onto the leg side. |
| 34.1 : de Silva to Ali, Flighted on off, Moeen Ali defends it on the front foot. |
| 34.2 : de Silva to Ali, Flatter delivery on off, Ali plays it away stylishly to deep mid-wicket but just for a single. |
| 34.3 : de Silva to Buttler, Full on middle, Buttler works it away to mid-wicket for a run. Gets to 49. |
| 34.4 : de Silva to Ali, Outside off and turning away, left alone. |
| 34.5 : de Silva to Ali, Flatter ball on middle, Ali defends it back to de Silva. |
| 34.6 : de Silva to Ali, Full and outside off, driven to sweeper and strike retained. |
| 35.1 : D Perera to Ali, Flatter ball on off stump, Moeen is back in his crease and plays it back to the bowler. |
| 35.2 : D Perera to M Ali, FOUR! This is a really quick outfield. The full ball outside off takes the thick outside edge as Ali comes ahead to defend. It goes wide of slip and beats backward point to the fence. |
| 35.3 : D Perera to Ali, Ali failed to make contact and was hit low on the pads. A strong appeal from the bowler and fielders. The umpire decides the batsman is not out. The bowler doesn't seem interested to go upstairs. |
| 35.4 : D Perera to Ali, Moeen pushes this flatter one to the cover region. The batsmen have run through for a single. |
| 35.5 : D Perera to Jos Buttler, Looped up on off, Buttler comes down the wicket and gets a thick outside edge to third man for a couple. Gets to his 12th Test fifty. No massive celebrations. Its been a great innings though. Looking positive from the outset. |
| 35.6 : D Perera to Buttler, Reverse swept away to third man, the batsmen come back for two. |
| 36.1 : de Silva to Ali, Ali has punched that ball through the offside but straight to cover. |
| 36.2 : de Silva to Ali, Full and on off, Mo comes ahead and defends it. |
| 36.3 : de Silva to Ali, Flighted and almost yorker length, Ali plays it towards mid-wicket for a single. |
| 36.4 : de Silva to Buttler, Flatter ball and keeps going with the angle, Buttler pushes it through the covers wide of mid off for a single. |
| 36.5 : de Silva to Ali, Looped up on off, Ali comes ahead and defends it. |
| 36.6 : de Silva to Ali, Comes ahead and bunts down this one. |
| 37.1 : D Perera to Buttler, Looped up outside off, Jos has his dancing shoes on again and pushes it away to cover for a single. 150 up for the visitors. |
| 37.2 : D Perera to Ali, This one is flatter on off, Ali pushes it to backward point. |
| 37.3 : D Perera to Ali, Down the leg side, Ali looks to guide it but doesn't get any bat on it. Dickwella stops it with his pads. |
| 37.4 : D Perera to Ali, Looped up on middle, Ali prods ahead and defends it back to the bowler. |
| 37.5 : D Perera to Ali, Fully flighted, Mo sweeps it away to fine leg for another run. |
| 37.6 : D Perera to Buttler, Beautifully bowled, beats Jos in the flight but he adjusts well in the end to work it away on the leg side behind square for a run. |
| Lakshan Sandakan back on now. |
| 38.1 : L Sandakan to Buttler, Flighted outside off, Jos comes down yet again to defend it. |
| 38.2 : L Sandakan to Buttler, Flatter ball that turns in after landing, Buttler adjust well and defends to mid-wicket. |
| 38.3 : L Sandakan to Buttler, Looped up, Jos comes down and takes it on the full. Pulls it away to deep square leg for one. Feels he missed out there. |
| 38.4 : L Sandakan to Ali, Short outside off, Ali cuts it to sweeper for a run. The lead is now 250. |
| 38.5 : L Sandakan to Buttler, Flighted outside off, wrong 'un. Jos reads it well and works it mid off for a single. |
| 38.6 : L Sandakan to Ali, Very full and Ali misses the attempted drive. Dickwella gets hit on the left pad. |
| 39.1 : D Perera to Buttler, Flatter ball at the pads, worked away to deep square leg for yet another single. All too easy for Jos. |
| 39.2 : D Perera to Ali, Loopy on the pads, Ali dead bats it. |
| 39.3 : D Perera to Ali, Similar delivery, Ali finds the gap towards mid-wicket and gets to the other end. |
| 39.4 : D Perera to Buttler, Flighted and at the pads, Buttler defends it to short leg. |
| 39.5 : D Perera to Buttler, Jos is down the wicket again and pads this one away. |
| 39.6 : D Perera to Buttler, Full ball on middle, Buttler plays it away but straight to mid-wicket. |
| 40.1 : L Sandakan to Ali, Flatter ball that lands on leg stump, Ali stands tall and pushes it to long on for a single. |
| 40.2 : L Sandakan to Buttler, Full toss on middle, Jos paddles it away to deep fine leg for another run. |
| 40.3 : L Sandakan to Ali, Flighted outside off, Ali comes ahead and defends. |
| 40.4 : L Sandakan to Ali, A carbon copy of the previous delivery. |
| 40.5 : L Sandakan to Ali, Flighted outside off, left alone by Ali as the ball turns away. |
| 40.6 : L Sandakan to Ali, Moeen keeps strike as he cuts this away and picks up a single. |
| 41.1 : D Perera to Ali, Flatter ball on off, Ali drops it down on the off side and takes a quick single. Jos is lightning quick to respond too. |
| 41.2 : D Perera to Jos Buttler, Delivered wide outside off seeing the batsman come down, but Jos reaches out and hits it to long off for one. |
| 41.3 : D Perera to Ali, Flatter ball on middle, Ali is on the backfoot and defends to mid on and gets a run. |
| 41.4 : D Perera to Buttler, Jos is down the ground and defends it to mid-wicket. |
| 41.5 : D Perera to Buttler, Flighted ball on middle, Buttler comes down the wicket and gathers a run to deep mid-wicket. |
| 41.6 : D Perera to Ali, Ali prods ahead and dead bats this full one. |
| 42.1 : L Sandakan to Buttler, So full and Jos plays it to long on easily for a run. |
| 42.2 : L Sandakan to Ali, Crashed away on the off side to sweeper cover for another single. England doing it easily here. |
| 42.3 : L Sandakan to Buttler, Outside leg and full, Buttler works it away to deep backward square leg for a single. |
| 42.4 : L Sandakan to Ali, Flighted outside off, Ali defends it on the front foot. |
| 42.5 : L Sandakan to M Ali, Full toss outside off, Ali drives it to long off and gets to the other end. |
| 42.6 : L Sandakan to Buttler, Wrong 'un, Jos is down the wicket and defends it to the bowler. |
| Time for a Drinks break. And time for Lakmal to think about what to be done next. Its been all too easy for England. They have milked around the bowlers at will and picked up singles easily. No risk at all and the bowlers have looked ineffective. Buttler especially running down the wicket to almost every ball is making batting look so easy. The hosts need to do something quick, they are getting pushed out of the game. |
| 43.1 : D Perera to Ali, Full and on off, driven to covers. |
| 43.2 : D Perera to Ali, Around off, kept out. |
| 43.3 : D Perera to Ali, A bit flat outside off, punched back to the bowler. |
| 43.4 : D Perera to Ali, Similar length, closer to the off pole, hit off the back foot. |
| 43.5 : D Perera to Ali, Straighter one on off, cut to point. |
| 43.6 : D Perera to Ali, Short ball outside off, Ali is happy to block it. |
| Buttler has been stumped down the leg side here. The leg umpire goes upstairs for the decision. Looked out to the naked eye. |
| 44.1 : L Sandakan to Buttler, OUT! Brilliant bowling by Sandakan and finally a wicket for him. Sees Buttler charging down the wicket so darts this way down leg. Buttler who comes using his feet so well finally misses one this time. That spun enough for Jos who tried adjusting to it. Dickwella moves to his left and collects it well. Takes off the bails and Buttler who tries to come back knows he is short of the crease. Sri Lanka need to capitalize on this now. |
| 0.0 : Ben Foakes in the next batsman in. |
| 44.2 : L Sandakan to Foakes, Loopy ball on off, Foakes gets one off the middle of the bat. |
| 44.3 : L Sandakan to Foakes, Foakes plays a pull shot to this short delivery. The batsmen have run through for a single. Ben is off the mark. |
| 44.4 : L Sandakan to Ali, Pushed to the cover region by Ali. |
| 44.5 : L Sandakan to Ali, Outside off, left alone. |
| 44.6 : L Sandakan to Ali, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 45.1 : D Perera to Foakes, Arm ball outside off, Foakes gets to the ball but fails to block it. Impact way outside of that. |
| 45.2 : D Perera to Foakes, Full on middle and leg, Foakes dances down but blocks it. |
| 45.3 : D Perera to Foakes, Inside edge. Some turn for Perera. Foakes tries to block this with a straight bat but gets an inside edge onto his pads. |
| 45.4 : D Perera to Foakes, Pushed to the cover region by Buttler. They pick up a single. |
| 45.5 : D Perera to Ali, Outside off, Moeen drives it away from cover-point to change strike. |
| 45.6 : D Perera to Foakes, Around off, Foakes keeps this out. |
| 46.1 : L Sandakan to Ali, Leg spinner outside off, Ali pokes at it but misses. |
| 46.2 : L Sandakan to M Ali, OUT! Excellent catch! Another one for Sandakan after the break and no overstepping again. Leg spinner outside off, Moeen tries to cut it late but Dhananjaya at first slip dives to his left. Goes in with soft hands to the ball which enables it to stick. The lead is worth 267 now. |
| Adil Rashid is the next batsman. |
| 46.3 : L Sandakan to Rashid, Leg spinner on off, Rashid reads it well and sees it out. |
| 46.4 : L Sandakan to Rashid, Played to mid-wicket region by Adil. |
| 46.5 : L Sandakan to Rashid, Gets behind the ball and stonewalls this. |
| 46.6 : L Sandakan to Rashid, Rashid stays inside his crease and bunts this one down. |
| 47.1 : D Perera to Foakes, Arm ball around off, turned to the leg side. |
| 47.2 : D Perera to Foakes, Down leg again, Foakes works it to the on side. |
| 47.3 : D Perera to Foakes, Similar line, Foakes flicks it away with a wristy shot. |
| 47.4 : D Perera to Foakes, On the pads, flicked off the pads. |
| 47.5 : D Perera to Foakes, Full and on middle and leg, Foakes hits it towards mid on. |
| 47.6 : D Perera to Foakes, Covers his stumps and blocks this one out. |
| 48.1 : L Sandakan to Rashid, Leg spinner on middle and off, Rashid gets low and plays it onto the ground. |
| 48.2 : L Sandakan to Rashid, Full in line, flicked uppishly over mid-wicket for a single. |
| 48.3 : L Sandakan to Foakes, Second time now Foakes has hit the ball in the air. Gets on one knee to swipe it but gets a top edge towards square leg. They cross. |
| 48.4 : L Sandakan to Rashid, Around middle and leg, played to short leg. |
| 48.5 : L Sandakan to Rashid, Down the leg side, helped to short fine leg for one. |
| 48.6 : L Sandakan to Foakes, Sweeps this from outside off, Foakes sweeps it to deep square leg for a brace. |
| 49.1 : D Perera to Rashid, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 49.2 : D Perera to Rashid, Flicks this through mid-wicket and changes ends. |
| 49.3 : D Perera to Foakes, Foakes uses his feet again, Foakes turns it to cow corner. One more run added. |
| 49.4 : D Perera to Rashid, Down the leg side. Turned away towards square leg. They cross. |
| 49.5 : D Perera to Foakes, Played to mid-wicket region by the batsman. |
| 49.6 : D Perera to Foakes, Ben shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 50.1 : L Sandakan to Rashid, Outside off, Rashid punches it away from mid off for a run. |
| 50.2 : L Sandakan to Foakes, This one is down the leg side and the batsman leaves it alone. |
| 50.3 : L Sandakan to Foakes, On middle and leg, hit to mid-wicket. |
| 50.4 : L Sandakan to Foakes, Wrong 'un. Foakes plays it away from his body and gets beaten. |
| 50.5 : L Sandakan to Foakes, Pushed to the cover region by BF. |
| 50.6 : L Sandakan to Foakes, On the pads, worked away towards square leg. Ben will retain the strike for the next over. |
| 51.1 : D Perera to Foakes, Flatter delovery on middle, turns after landing and the keeper collects it down the leg side. |
| 51.2 : D Perera to Foakes, Flatter ball outside off, Foakes is back in his crease as he defends it. |
| 51.3 : D Perera to Foakes, Flighted this time, the keeper comes down the wicket and plays it to long on for a single. |
| 51.4 : D Perera to Rashid, Flatter ball on middle, Adil comes ahead and defends it back to the bowler. |
| 51.5 : D Perera to Rashid, Shorter ball outside leg, keeps low and hits Rashid on the pad. But the ball is way down leg for LBW. |
| 51.6 : D Perera to Rashid, Rashid goes for a slog but can only get a single down to long on. The ball was in the air but not near any fielder. |
| 52.1 : L Sandakan to Rashid, Flighted on middle, Rashid is on the back foot. He punches it straight to cover. |
| 52.2 : L Sandakan to Rashid, Short and outside off, Rashid cuts it away behind point for a single. |
| 52.3 : L Sandakan to Foakes, Shorter ball landing on middle. The ball turns and hits Foakes on his thigh pad as he looks to flick it away. |
| 52.4 : L Sandakan to Foakes, Fuller and on the pads, Foakes flicks it away on the front foot this time for a single to deep square leg. |
| 52.5 : L Sandakan to Rashid, Fuller on middle, Rashid covers the spin and defends it back to Sandakan. |
| 52.6 : L Sandakan to Rashid, The ball takes the outside edge and runs toward backward point as Rashid tries to whip this flatter ball towards square leg. Picks up a single and keeps the strike. |
| 53.1 : D Perera to Rashid, On off, taped in front of him. |
| 53.2 : D Perera to Rashid, Arm ball on the pads, helped towards short fine leg for a run. |
| 53.3 : D Perera to Ben Foakes, Full and on middle, hit to long on to give his partner the strike. |
| 53.4 : D Perera to Rashid, Loopy ball on middle and leg. Stonewalled. |
| 53.5 : D Perera to Rashid, Full and on off, dug out well by Rashid. |
| 53.6 : D Perera to Rashid, Full and on middle, Rashid can't get his flick past short mid-wicket. |
| 54.1 : L Sandakan to Foakes, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 54.2 : L Sandakan to Foakes, FOUR! A boundary after a long time. A bit short outside off, Foakes rocks back and cuts it through cover-point. No protection there and the ball races away. Just the 10th boundary of the innings. No sixes yet. |
| 54.3 : L Sandakan to Foakes, Played through mid-wicket by BF. They pick up a single. |
| 54.4 : L Sandakan to A Rashid, FOUR! SHOT! Elegance. Full, almost a half volley around off, Rashid creams it through covers for a great boundary. |
| 54.5 : L Sandakan to Rashid, Full again on middle and leg, milked past mid on for an easy run. |
| 54.6 : L Sandakan to Foakes, Around off, played to the off side. |
| Malinda Pushpakumara is called into the attack. Just the five overs for him so far. |
| 55.1 : M Pushpakumara to Rashid, Outside off, cut to covers. |
| 55.2 : M Pushpakumara to Rashid, Around off, played back to the bowler. |
| 55.3 : M Pushpakumara to Rashid, Short ball on off, Rashid turns it away to cow corner to give Foakes the strike. |
| 55.4 : M Pushpakumara to Foakes, Outside off, a soft leading edge towards the slip fielder. |
| 55.5 : M Pushpakumara to Foakes, On middle and off, defended off the front foot. |
| 55.6 : M Pushpakumara to Foakes, On middle and leg, driven to mid on. |
| 56.1 : L Sandakan to Rashid, Fuller ball on off, another soft leading edge past the bowler towards mid off to bring up the 200 for the visitors. |
| 56.2 : L Sandakan to Foakes, Foakes rocks back and works this ball towards square leg for a run. |
| 56.3 : L Sandakan to Rashid, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 56.4 : L Sandakan to Rashid, On middle and leg, Rashid gets it off the inner half towards square leg. |
| 56.5 : L Sandakan to Rashid, On middle and legs, played with a straight bat. |
| 56.6 : L Sandakan to Rashid, Down the leg side, helped to fine leg. They take one. |
| 57.1 : M Pushpakumara to Rashid, Arm ball on middle, a touch short. Adil is happy to defend this. |
| 57.2 : M Pushpakumara to Rashid, Better length, Rashid comes forward and bunts this. |
| 57.3 : M Pushpakumara to Rashid, On off, Rashid pushes it to the off side. |
| 57.4 : M Pushpakumara to Rashid, Fuller ball around off, driven to covers for a run. |
| 57.5 : M Pushpakumara to Ben Foakes, Outside off, cut late towards backward point for a single. The 300-run lead is up for England. Still going strong. |
| 57.6 : M Pushpakumara to Rashid, AR has played that off the front foot and into the ground. Another over before Tea. |
| 58.1 : L Sandakan to Foakes, Full on leg, swept fine to short fine leg for a single. |
| 58.2 : L Sandakan to A Rashid, Full again down the leg side, flicked away to deep mid-wicket for a brace. |
| 58.3 : L Sandakan to Rashid, Another similar ball around off, driven past the bowler for a single. |
| 58.4 : L Sandakan to Foakes, Loopy ball on middle and leg, turned to the on side. |
| 58.5 : L Sandakan to Foakes, Gets to the pitch of the ball and gives it to the short mid-wicket fielder. |
| 58.6 : L Sandakan to Foakes, Swept behind square to pick up two runs. That will be Tea on Day 3. |
| A slow, dull session. Shared, one would presume. But England do seem to have their noses ahead as the lead has moved over 300. Sri Lanka let singles be taken very easily in this session and England, despite losing three wickets in this session won't be too worried. A little bit of resurrection for the chinaman, Sandakan though. He picked up two wickets and kept his feet behind the line. On the other hand, Moeen had another failure with the bat and its started to look like he is in the side more |
| ... Day 3, Session 3 ... |
| The players are out in the middle for the final session of play. Dilruwan Perera to start off proceedings, and Adil Rashid to face. |
| 59.1 : D Perera to Rashid, Looped up on off, Adil dead bats it. |
| 59.2 : D Perera to Rashid, Flighted outside off, Rashid is half ahead to defend it. |
| 59.3 : D Perera to Rashid, Looped up on middle, Rashid drops it on the leg side and gets a single. The fielder at mid-wicket is lazy and allows for the single. |
| 59.4 : D Perera to Foakes, Flighted outside off, played down the ground to long on for a single. |
| 59.5 : D Perera to Rashid, Looped up on middle, defended with soft hands by Adil. |
| 59.6 : D Perera to Rashid, Whipped away to square leg by Adil Rashid to deep square leg. Single taken and the lead is now 309. |
| Malinda Pushpakumara to bowl from the other end. |
| 60.1 : M Pushpakumara to Rashid, Over the wicket and full at the pads, worked to mid-wicket for a single. |
| 60.2 : M Pushpakumara to Foakes, Flighted on middle, pushed to short cover. |
| 60.3 : M Pushpakumara to Foakes, Down the leg side, Foakes works it to square leg. No run. |
| 60.4 : M Pushpakumara to Foakes, Flatter ball at the middle stump, Foakes stays back in the crease and defends it. |
| 60.5 : M Pushpakumara to Foakes, Flighted at the pads, Foakes tucks it behind square on the leg side for another run. |
| Sri Lanka appeal for a caught behind. Umpire shakes his head. They go up for a review. |
| 60.6 : M Pushpakumara to Rashid,OUT! The on field decision will have to be overturned. Finally a good review for Sri Lanka. The ball was outside leg and turns away from Rashid who cleared his front leg and comes ahead to defend. The ball bounces more and grazes his glove on the way to the keeper. It is a smart catch from Dickwella. Eighth one down for England. They are now effectively 311-8. The funny part in this review was that Dickwella didn't look like he had much of a say. The slip fielder t |
| Stuart Broad is in at no. 10. |
| 61.1 : D Perera to Foakes, Flighted on off, Foakes pushes it to long on and gets the new man on strike. |
| 61.2 : D Perera to Broad, Flatter delivery on the pads, Broad gets off the mark with a single to mid-wicket. |
| 61.3 : D Perera to Foakes, Full and at the pads, Foakes works it down the leg side to square leg. |
| 61.4 : D Perera to Foakes, Flatter ball on the middle, Foakes defends off the back foot. |
| 61.5 : D Perera to Foakes, Flighted on middle, defended showing the full face of the bat. |
| 61.6 : D Perera to Foakes, Flatter ball on middle, Foakes stays deep in his crease and keeps this out. |
| 62.1 : M Pushpakumara to Broad, Flighted outside off, Broad comes ahead and defends it easily. |
| 62.2 : M Pushpakumara to Broad, A replica of what happened on the previous ball. |
| 62.3 : M Pushpakumara to Broad, Third ball in the row on off and kept away on the front foot by Broad. |
| 62.4 : M Pushpakumara to Broad, OUT! One to go now. Muted celebrations among the Lankans. Comes around the wicket, Broad plays ahead to this one and gets an inside edge that goes into the waiting arms of Kusal Mendis at short leg. This match has been about close-in catching. England are 313 ahead now. |
| Jack Leach is the last man in. |
| 62.5 : M Pushpakumara to Leach, DROPPED at short leg! The ball was looped up on middle and Leach gets an inside edge on his bid to defend, that is just a little too far away from the diving short leg fielder. Very difficult chance as the replays suggest later. |
| 62.6 : M Pushpakumara to Leach, Full and on middle, defended off the front foot. |
| 63.1 : D Perera to Foakes, Flatter ball at the pads, flicked toward mid-wicket but Foakes doesn't take the run. |
| 63.2 : D Perera to Foakes, The batsman has driven this full one outside off to mid off. |
| 63.3 : D Perera to Foakes, Foakes comes down the wicket and dead bats it. |
| 63.4 : D Perera to Foakes, Similarly defended after coming down the wicket. |
| 63.5 : D Perera to Foakes, Drops this one outside off, Foakes plays it late and towards third man. Picks up a couple. |
| Sri Lanka have taken an LBW decision against them up! |
| 63.6 : D Perera to Foakes, NOT OUT! The ball is clipping the stumps and the umpire's decision will remain. Sri Lanka don't lose their review. The ball was quicker and on middle. It turns a little and beats Foakes as he tries to sweep. Gets hit on the pad and Sri Lanka decide to review as they have 2 reviews left. The England innings will go on at least for another ball. |
| 64.1 : M Pushpakumara to Leach, Flighted and outside off, Leach comes ahead to defend. |
| 64.2 : M Pushpakumara to Leach, The ball is flatter, Leach stays back and defends this one off the back foot. |
| Leach has been given caught behind. He goes upstairs straight away. |
| 64.3 : Pushpakumara to Leach, NOT OUT! The decision has to be overturned. The ball was on middle and Leach comes down the wicket and the ball lobs off his pad and the keeper takes it. Sri Lanka appeal and the umpire gives it out. Leach reviews immediately and the replays show that the ball was nowhere near his bat. England go on. |
| 64.4 : M Pushpakumara to Leach, Leach gets to the pitch of the ball and defends it. |
| 64.5 : M Pushpakumara to Leach, This one is flatter on the pads, Leach misses the ball as he tries to flick it and gets hit on the pad, outside the line of the stumps. |
| 64.6 : M Pushpakumara to Leach, Wide down the leg side, the batsman leaves it alone. |
| 65.1 : D Perera to Foakes, Driven hard to long on by Foakes, but no run taken. |
| 65.2 : D Perera to Foakes, The ball is full and Foakes defends off the front foot with a straight bat. |
| 65.3 : D Perera to Foakes, Misses his sweep completely and the ball misses the off pole by a whisker. England's last wicket seems to be a very stubborn one. |
| 65.4 : D Perera to Foakes, Flatter ball at the pads, worked away to square leg. |
| 65.5 : D Perera to Foakes, Flighted at the pads, Foakes pushes it to short mid-wicket. |
| 65.6 : D Perera to Foakes, Woakes retains strike as he pushes it to mid on and gets a single. Lead is 316. |
| 66.1 : M Pushpakumara to Foakes, Over the wicket, the ball beats the outside edge of Foakes as he tries to defend it. The ball seemed to have taken off the rough. |
| 66.2 : M Pushpakumara to Ben Foakes, Pulled away to deep square leg but no run taken. |
| 66.3 : M Pushpakumara to Foakes, Full and on middle, Foakes plays it straight down to the bowler who dives to his left and stops the ball. |
| 66.4 : M Pushpakumara to Foakes, Flatter delivery on the pads, Ben flicks it to square leg. |
| 66.5 : M Pushpakumara to Foakes, Foakes gets a single to deep cover. Leach has to play a ball. |
| 66.6 : M Pushpakumara to Leach, This one is at the pads, Leach stays back and defends it into the ground on the leg side. |
| Foakes has been given out LBW! He goes upstairs immediately. |
| 67.1 : Perera to Foakes, NOT OUT! You have to be kidding me! The Ball Tracker shows that the ball would have missed leg stump. Good review from England, done actually as it was the last wicket anyway. But Lo and behold! The ball which was on middle goes on to miss leg stump according to the Ball Tracker. Sri Lanka face more frustration. |
| 67.2 : D Perera to Foakes, Full and at the pads, Foakes plays it to mid-wicket for no run. |
| 67.3 : D Perera to Foakes, Foakes punches this ball off his back foot and declines the single. |
| 67.4 : D Perera to Foakes, Flatter delivery outside off, Foakes plays it late to deep backward point for a single. Two balls for Leach to handle. |
| 67.5 : D Perera to Leach, Leach plays this off the front foot and towards point. |
| 67.6 : D Perera to Leach, This is shorter and Leach pushes it to backward point off the back foot. |
| 68.1 : M Pushpakumara to Foakes, Down the leg side and turning into the pads, Foakes sweeps it down to short fine leg. |
| 68.2 : M Pushpakumara to Foakes, OUCH! This must have hurt. Foakes sweeps this one aimed at the pads, coming half ahead and right into the shoulder of Kusal Mendis at short leg. He seems to be in some pain. |
| Slight halt in the play as Kusal Mendis needs some medical attention. The physios and the magic spray is out. We are good to go. |
| 68.3 : M Pushpakumara to Foakes, Another sweep and this goes straight to the fielder at square leg. |
| 68.4 : M Pushpakumara to Foakes, In the air but safe! Another sweep, another top edge but well away from deep fine leg. The batsmen pick up two in the meantime. |
| 68.5 : M Pushpakumara to Foakes, Short and wide down leg side, Ben rocks back and pulls it away to deep fine leg for a single. |
| 68.6 : M Pushpakumara to Leach, Flighted and at the pads, Leach defends it into the ground easily. |
| 69.1 : D Perera to Foakes, Flatter ball on middle, Foakes pushes it in the gap through the covers and comes back for two. Good running sensing the opportunity to get two there. |
| 69.2 : D Perera to Foakes, Looped up outside off, Foakes comes down the wicket and defends to mid-wicket. |
| 69.3 : D Perera to Foakes, Another couple, Foakes comes down the wicket and hits it wide of mid on. The fielder has to slide to stop the ball and there is an easy two here. |
| 69.4 : D Perera to Foakes, Flatter ball at the pads, Foakes flicks it to mid-wicket and picks up a single. Perera can have two gos at Foakes. |
| 69.5 : D Perera to Leach, OUT! Finally, the England innings comes to an end. Dilruwan Perera gets his 5th wicket. The eighth time he has achieved the feat in Test matches. Also his 100th wicket in home Tests. Flatter ball around off, Leach goes back to play it with a straight bat but gets an outside edge back to the keeper. Dickwella takes a good catch. SO, England are ALL OUT FOR 230. |
| So the third innings ends and Sri Lanka need 327 to win. It is going to be really tough in the fourth innings. There are 20 overs left in the day. England will come hard at the hosts with the trio of spin bowlers they have. Add to it a few overs of Stuart Broad with the new cherry and the Sri Lankan openers have their work cut out. |
| Coming to England's innings, it was looking in tatters when Joe Root was caught and bowled with the score reading 39-4. But then, an 89-run stand between Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler rescued them and put them ahead again, with the latter going on to score 64. The tail wagged around and frustrated the Lankans for a long time. The visitors should be happy and confident of completing the whitewash. Will that happen or will we see the Lankans spring a surprise? |
| 0.1 : S Broad to Gunathilaka, Too wide outside off stump, even in Tests. Umpire signals it as wide. Broad is a little disappointed with the call. |
| S Broad to Gunathilaka, This time it is down the leg side, Danushka tries to flick it but misses the ball. |
| 0.2 : S Broad to Gunathilaka, The ball was outside off again and moves away after landing. Danushka leaves it alone. |
| 0.3 : S Broad to Gunathilaka, Another wide, this is even wider than the first ball. The ball is collected at second slip by Foakes. |
| S Broad to Gunathilaka, Good ball this time! Danushka tries to defend and the ball just moves away to beat the outside edge of Danushka. Root considering the review but decides against it. |
| 0.4 : S Broad to Gunathilaka, Danushka lets this ball go outside his off stump. |
| 0.5 : S Broad to Gunathilaka, Again well outside off, left alone pretty comfortably by Gunathilaka. |
| 0.6 : S Broad to Gunathilaka, Sri Lanka are off the mark with three runs. Gunathilaka punches the wide ball outside off towards cover and come back for three by the time deep point comes around and throws it back. Wayward over by Stuart Broad, all over the place. |
| Moeen Ali to bowl from the other end. |
| 1.1 : Ali to Gunathilaka, Flighted on middle, drifts on with the angle of the ball and hits Danushka on the pads. England appeal but the ball was definitely going down leg. |
| 1.2 : M Ali to D Gunathilaka, Full on off, Danushka drives it long off and gets off strike. |
| 1.3 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Karunaratne defends this full one on middle, back to the bowler. |
| 1.4 : M Ali to Karunaratne, FOUR! Full toss outside off, Dimuth comes down the track and cover drives it for four runs. The hard new ball runs away quickly to the fence. Off the mark with four! |
| 1.5 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Looped up on middle, Dimuth defends it on the front foot. |
| 1.6 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Very full, almost yorker length. The ball is played towards mid on. |
| 2.1 : S Broad to Gunathilaka, On a fuller length around off, driven to mid off. |
| 2.2 : S Broad to Gunathilaka, Outside off, the batsman lets it go. |
| 2.3 : S Broad to Gunathilaka, Better from Broad, On a good length on that fourth stump line. Gunathilaka feels for it but gets beaten. |
| 2.4 : S Broad to Gunathilaka, Down the leg side, Gunathilaka flicks it away square behind square for a brace. |
| 2.5 : S Broad to Gunathilaka, Gets behind this length ball and taps it out. |
| 2.6 : S Broad to Gunathilaka, Another good length ball on off, DG defends it out. |
| 3.1 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Dimuth opens the face of the bat and helps it to third man. One run added to the total. |
| 3.2 : M Ali to Gunathilaka, On off, driven to mid off. |
| 3.3 : M Ali to Gunathilaka, Covers his stumps and hits this one onto the ground. |
| 3.4 : M Ali to Gunathilaka, Stays inside and stonewalls this one. |
| 3.5 : Ali to Gunathilaka, Spinning into Gunathilaka who misses the line of the ball. Gets hit on his pad down the leg side. |
| 3.6 : M Ali to Gunathilaka, On off, Gunathilaka plays it with a straight bat. |
| 4.1 : S Broad to Karunaratne, Back of a length ball around middle and leg, Karunaratne bunts it out. |
| 4.2 : S Broad to Karunaratne, On a good length around off, Karunaratne taps it to the off side. |
| 4.3 : S Broad to Karunaratne, On the leg side, flicked away to the square leg region. |
| 4.4 : S Broad to Karunaratne, The ball is down the leg side but Dimuth still goes after it, only to miss his flick. |
| 4.5 : S Broad to Karunaratne, Way outside off, easy leave for Karunaratne. |
| 4.6 : S Broad to Karunaratne, Fuller ball on the leg side, flicked to mid-wicket for a run. |
| 5.1 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Fuller ball on off, played to the off side. |
| 5.2 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Turning in on leg, skids and hits Karunaratne on the leg side. Half-hearted appeal. |
| 5.3 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Dimuth has punched that ball through the offside. |
| 5.4 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Driven through the covers by DK. The batsmen have run through for a single. |
| 5.5 : M Ali to Gunathilaka, OUT! There goes the first one. Regulation off spinner dismissal that. Pitched on middle and off, it goes away from Karunaratne who feels for it. Gets a genuine outside edge which goes at a good height to Stokes at slip. Takes a good catch. First one for Moeen and Sri Lanka need another 312 runs. |
| Dhananjaya de Silva is in at no. 3. |
| 5.6 : M Ali to Silva, De Silva gets behind the ball and presents a full face of the bat. |
| 6.1 : S Broad to Karunaratne, Overpitched on middle and leg, beautifully flicked through mid-wicket for a couple of runs. |
| 6.2 : S Broad to Karunaratne, Bangs this one short outside off, Karunaratne ducks under it. |
| 6.3 : S Broad to Karunaratne, Pitches this one further up on the leg side, turned away through square leg for one. |
| 6.4 : S Broad to Silva, De Silva works it down the leg side. No run available. |
| 6.5 : S Broad to Silva, Good length ball outside off, Dhananjaya defends it back to mid off. |
| 6.6 : S Broad to Silva, Good length ball on off stump again, safely defended by de Silva. |
| 7.1 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Looped up on middle, Dimuth defends it back to the bowler. |
| 7.2 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Loopy ball outside off, driven uppishly towards covers. |
| 7.3 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Outside off, kept out to the off side. |
| 7.4 : M Ali to Karunaratne, FOUR! Lose ball outside off, Karunaratne picks his spot and cuts it through point for a boundary. |
| 7.5 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Short again on middle and leg, Dimuth makes room and cuts it through covers for one more. |
| 7.6 : M Ali to Silva, Outside off, Dhananjaya comes across and looks to swipe but cannot make contact. |
| Jack Leach is into the attack. |
| 8.1 : J Leach to Karunaratne, Down the leg side, turned away towards fine leg for one. |
| 8.2 : J Leach to Silva, Some turn. Outside off, de Silva keeps it out. |
| Review time! England have taken an LBW decision given in favor of Dhananjaya de Silva. |
| 8.3 : Leach to Silva, OUT! Great review! Excellent use of the review. Pitched around leg, coming into the right-hander. He looks to block it but gets rapped on the pads. England appeal but the umpire stays put. After a long chat, Root signals a 'T'. Replays roll in and says that the ball straightened enough. Three reds and de Silva is out of here. England rejoice as they watch it on the giant screen. |
| Kusal Mendis is the new man in. |
| 8.4 : J Leach to Mendis, On off, well blocked by Mendis. |
| 8.5 : J Leach to Mendis, Gets behind this one and keeps this one out as well. |
| 8.6 : J Leach to Mendis, Lovely loop on off, Mendis bunts it out. |
| 9.1 : M Ali to Karunaratne, On the pads of Dimuth who flicks it away through mid-wicket for a run. |
| 9.2 : M Ali to Mendis, Around off, Mendis pushes it to the off side. |
| 9.3 : M Ali to Mendis, Stays inside and drives this to short covers. |
| 9.4 : M Ali to Mendis, Mendis is off the mark. Turns this fine to fine leg for a single. |
| 9.5 : M Ali to Karunaratne, On middle, played back to the bowler. |
| 9.6 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Tossed up ball in line of the stumps, played onto the ground. |
| 10.1 : J Leach to Mendis, Gives this air on off, driven to the off side. |
| 10.2 : J Leach to Mendis, Pushed to the cover region by Kusal. The batsmen have run through for a single. |
| 10.3 : J Leach to D Karunaratne, FOUR! Flatter ball on middle, Dimuth goes back and pulls this with disdain through square leg for a boundary. |
| 10.4 : J Leach to Karunaratne, Full and on middle and leg, milked through mid-wicket for a run. |
| 10.5 : J Leach to Mendis, On the pads again, turned away behind square for a single. |
| 10.6 : J Leach to D Karunaratne, Full on middle, Karunaratne hits it through mid on to keep the strike. |
| Given out! But looks like there was an inside edge as Dimuth Karunaratne stays it up straightaway. |
| 11.1 : Ali to D Karunaratne, NOT OUT! Inside edge indeed. Loopy ball on middle, Dimuth gets low to sweep but the ball goes on to hit leg. Ali appeals and the umpire raises his finger. Karunaratne at once takes it up. Replays show us that there was a clear bottom edge. Sri Lanka retain their review. |
| 11.2 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Flatter delivery on middle and Dimuth covers the spin and defends the ball. |
| 11.3 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Another flatter ball and another defensive shot. |
| 11.4 : M Ali to Karunaratne, This one is slightly looped up and Dimuth comes ahead and dead bats it. |
| 11.5 : M Ali to Karunaratne, Dimuth drives it to the cover fielder. Good timing but no placement. |
| 11.6 : M Ali to Karunaratne, OUT! Bowled 'em! This one has gone right through the gate and hits the middle and off stump. The batsman who has been holding Sri Lanka's batting together all series long is gone now. In deep, deep trouble. The ball was a drifter landing just outside off and comes in with the angle and goes in the space between bat and pad. England need 7 more wickets to win now. |
| Angelo Mathews is next. |
| Ben Stokes is in for a burst. |
| 12.1 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, Back of a length ball on the hips of Mendis who hops and tucks it down. |
| 12.2 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, Similar line and length, this time Mendis tucks it fine towards fine leg for a single. |
| 12.3 : Ben Stokes to Mathews, Bouncer!Mathews ducks under it and is in no mood to play at it. |
| 12.4 : Ben Stokes to Mathews, Stokes goes short again outside off, Angelo slap bats it past Stokes towards long on. The ball does not go all the way but they take three. |
| 12.5 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, FOUR! Another banged in ball from Stokes. Kusal goes for the hook but gets a top edge over the keeper's head for a boundary. |
| 12.6 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, FOUR! Shot! Back of a length ball on off, Kusal punches the ball through covers for back-to-back boundaries. |
| 13.1 : M Ali to Mathews, Angelo defends it from within the crease. |
| 13.2 : M Ali to Mathews, Arm ball outside off, Mathews goes fishing but cannot get bat to ball. |
| 13.3 : M Ali to A Mathews, Full and on middle, hit through mid on to rotate strike. |
| 13.4 : M Ali to Mendis, On leg, flicked away with a wristy shot. |
| 13.5 : M Ali to Mendis, Full on off, Mendis plays it onto the ground. |
| 13.6 : M Ali to Mendis, Kusal works it down the leg side. They pick up a single. |
| 14.1 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, Too short, Mendis ducks under it. |
| 14.2 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, Outside off, Mendis cannot get it past the point fielder. |
| 14.3 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, Back of a length ball on off, Kusal is happy to play it to the off side. |
| 14.4 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, Stokes continues with his short ball ploy. Mendis does the right thing by ducking under it. |
| 14.5 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, For a change bowls a good length ball around off, Mendis is solid in defense. |
| 14.6 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, Length on off, Mendis pushes it the off side. |
| Jack Leach is in for another spell. |
| 15.1 : J Leach to Mathews, Arm ball on off, played towards covers. |
| 15.2 : J Leach to Mathews, Kusal has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 15.3 : J Leach to A Mathews, A bit short outside off, Mendis cuts it past backward point for a run. |
| 15.4 : J Leach to Mendis, Full on the pads, worked away to deep square leg for a brace. |
| 15.5 : J Leach to Mendis, A bit flat on off, defended off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 15.6 : J Leach to Mendis, Mendis reads the spin and taps this in front of him. |
| 16.1 : Ben Stokes to Mathews, Wide. Angelo picked that bouncer early and let it through to the keeper. The umpire has signalled a wide. |
| 0.0 : OUT! The umpires are just checking weather the catch is a clean one. The soft signal is out. |
| 16.1 : Ben Stokes to Mathews, OUT! It is clean and Mathews has to walk back. The short ball ploy from Stokes has worked. But this is some poor batting from the experienced Mathews. Ben digs it short outside off, Mathews for some reason goes for the pull instead of leaving it alone. Can't connect it well and the ball goes towards mid-wicket where Broad runs in and takes a very good catch. The umpires check for the catch and it is a clean one. Angelo falls right in the trap and England are making t |
| Lakshan Sandakan is being sent in as a nightwatchman. |
| 16.2 : Ben Stokes to Sandakan, No mercy. Bangs one short over the head of Sandakan who ducks under it. |
| 16.3 : Ben Stokes to Sandakan, Wide down the leg side, no trouble at all for Sandakan. |
| 16.4 : Ben Stokes to Sandakan, Lakshan doesn't forget where his stumps are. Stokes bowls a good length ball on middle, Sandakan blocks it out. |
| 16.5 : Ben Stokes to Sandakan, Goes short again, Sandakan is happy to duck under it. |
| 16.6 : Ben Stokes to L Sandakan, What brilliant commitment from Ben Stokes. This is what we need. Bowls a fuller ball on middle, Sandakan pushes it along the turf towards long on. Stokes, who is further up the pitch in his followthrough runs behind the ball, dives near the rope and saves three runs for his side. Athletic stuff. That will also be STUMPS on Day 3 as the rain comes down. |
| England firmly in control of this Test at the end of Day 3. Sri Lanka were always going to have a tough time in this chase of 327 but their approach has been questionable. They came out and have shown no sign of patience or wanting to play long. They have lost four wickets in just 17 overs. The writing seems to be on the wall and in all probability, the Test should end on Monday if the same stuff continues and nature doesn't cause any interruptions. |
| Coming to the day's play, England began by losing wickets in a hurry in their second essay. Sri Lanka looked like making a comeback but their hopes were shattered by Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler who steered the England ship out of troubled waters. However, the no balls did not aid their cause. Even as they fell, the tail continued what it has done on most occasions this series, frustrate the hosts and score more runs. By the time the last England wicket was taken, the visitors had a really big lea |
| The top and upper middle order have already been removed and England are well on their way to complete the whitewash. They will be looking to come and finish off the proceedings as early as possible. Will they do so in a hurry or will Sri Lanka show that there is more in them? Join us then for all the action on Day Four, beginning at 1000 local (0430 GMT). Cheers! |
| ... Day 4, Session 1 ... |
| Welcome to what could and should most probably be the last day of this England tour to Sri Lanka. With the series being a foregone conclusion even before this Test began, all the hosts had left to play for, was pride and it seems highly unlikely they can salvage that either. They will require a monumental fightback of sorts if they are to win this game by scoring the 274 runs necessary. What seems more likely to happen though, is the tourists picking up the six wickets and going on to complete t |
| Dimuth Karunaratne in an interview now. Says that he feels better today after the ball hit him on his ribs last evening. Regarding their game plan for Day 4, he mentions that they are looking for a batsman to get set and score big and look where things go, and take it session by session. Also adds that they are looking to fight their way out and show some resistance. States that when someone is in and set, he needs to score big. The new batsman finds it a bit difficult to adjust and that is wher |
| PITCH REPORT - Day 4 - Russel Arnorld says that it is hotter than yesterday, no rains around till evening. The pitch has become even drier and lots of cracks. There will be a lot of doubt in the batsmen's head about what the pitch will do. Lots of rough areas have been created by the fast bowlers on their follow through. Brad Hogg adds that its not only about the spinners, and that the Sri Lankan batsmen are having troubles with the quicker bowlers and a tough time with the short ball. |
| The players are out in the middle. Lakshan Sandakan to face the first ball of the day from Moeen Ali. |
| 17.1 : M Ali to Mendis, Turn and bounce on the first ball! Looped outside off, Sandakan comes ahead but the ball beats him and hits him on his chest. |
| 17.2 : M Ali to L Sandakan, Fuller this time, the ball is pushed to short mid-wicket. |
| 17.3 : M Ali to L Sandakan, Looped outside off, Sandakan tries to drive but gets the inner half of the bat to mid on. |
| 17.4 : M Ali to L Sandakan, The ball is outside off this time and holds its line as Lakshan comes ahead to defend it. Just beats the outside edge. |
| 17.5 : M Ali to L Sandakan, Similar ball a little wider outside off again, beats the outside edge again as Sandakan can't connect. |
| 17.6 : M Ali to L Sandakan, This is defended on the front foot back to the bowler. Maiden over to start off with. |
| Jack Leach to bowl from the other end. |
| 18.1 : J Leach to Mendis, Around the wicket, overpitched on middle, Mendis drives it to long off and picks up the first run of the morning. |
| 18.2 : J Leach to Sandakan, Sharp spin and beats the outside edge again! Looped outside off and Sandakan comes ahead to defend but can't make contact as the ball turns and beats him. |
| 18.3 : J Leach to Sandakan, Arm ball this time, Sandakan is half ahead to defend it. |
| 18.4 : J Leach to Sandakan, Fuller outside off, Sandakan pushes it straight to short cover. |
| 18.5 : J Leach to Sandakan, This ball is shorter and quicker on middle, Sandakan is back in his crease and brings hit bat down in the nick of time to flick it away to square leg for a single. |
| 18.6 : J Leach to Mendis, Flighted outside off, Mendis drives it to sweeper cover and retains strike. |
| 19.1 : M Ali to Mendis, Loopy ball in line of the stumps, Mendis bunts it down. |
| 19.2 : M Ali to Mendis, SIX! Lose ball and put away. Full toss outside off, Mendis eyes light up and slaps it over mid-wicket for a biggie. Big chance for this lad today to get some runs under |
| 19.3 : M Ali to Mendis, Defended off the front foot by Kusal presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 19.4 : M Ali to Mendis, Down the leg side, helped away to fine leg for a run. |
| 19.5 : M Ali to Sandakan, Long appeal but nothing from the umpire. On middle and off, goes away from Sandakan who is forward trying to block it.He misses and gets hit on his back leg. England appeal but the umpire stats put. Root thinks about it but then decides against it. Good move as the replay shows us that the impact was outside off. |
| 19.6 : M Ali to Sandakan, Spins into Sandakan who looks to leave it but hits his thigh pad outside leg. |
| 20.1 : J Leach to Mendis, Flatter delivery on middle, turns late but Sandakan adjusts well to defend it. |
| 20.2 : J Leach to K Mendis, Fuller outside off, Mendis drives to long off and gets to the other end. |
| 20.3 : J Leach to Sandakan, Looped up on middle, Sandakan defends this on the front foot. |
| 20.4 : J Leach to Sandakan, What a beaut! Too good for Lakshan! The ball in on leg and turns a mile to beat the outside edge and end up outside off. He couldn't have done anything about this one. |
| 20.5 : J Leach to Sandakan, Flatter ball, defended towards point by Lakshan. |
| 20.6 : J Leach to Sandakan, Fuller and outside off, Sandakan drives it wide of mid off but no run taken. |
| 21.1 : M Ali to Mendis, Looped up outside off, Mendis takes a long stride and sweeps it to deep square leg for a run. |
| 21.2 : M Ali to Sandakan, Sandkan stays back and wants to flick this one but the ball turns a lot and goes down the leg side. Lots of revolutions on the ball this morning from Ali! |
| 21.3 : M Ali to Sandakan, This one is flatter and at the pads, Sandakan flicks it toward mid wicket. |
| 21.4 : M Ali to Sandakan, Very full and flighted wide outside off, Sandakan is ahead to drive but fails to make contact with the ball. |
| 21.5 : M Ali to Sandakan, This time he connects with the ball and drives it to sweeper cover for a run. |
| 21.6 : M Ali to Mendis, FOUR! Short and easily pulled away for four by Kusal. Rocks back and finds the gap towards square leg. |
| 22.1 : J Leach to Sandakan, Flatter ball outside off, Sandakan punches it to cover off the back foot. |
| 22.2 : J Leach to Sandakan, Beaten again! Sandakan is lucky not to get an outside edge. |
| 22.3 : J Leach to Sandakan, Flighted but on the pads, Lakshan brings his bat in front of the pads and defends it well. |
| 22.4 : J Leach to Sandakan, Fuller and loopy on middle, Sandakan is on his front foot and defends it to short cover. |
| 22.5 : J Leach to Sandakan, Quicker delivery on middle and short of a length, Sandakan stays in the crease and plays it back towards the bowler. |
| 22.6 : J Leach to Sandakan, Very full, almost yorker length. Sandakan digs it out to cover. |
| 23.1 : M Ali to Mendis, Flighted outside off, Mendis comes forward and dead bats it. |
| 23.2 : M Ali to Mendis, Slightly short, Mendis is quick to go back and pulls this away to deep square leg for a single. |
| 23.3 : M Ali to Sandakan, Around the wicket, flighted on middle. Sandakan defends it back to the bowler. |
| 23.4 : M Ali to Sandakan, FOUR! Full toss outside off, Lakshan gets it on the middle of the bat and finds the gap through the covers for a boundary. Nightwatchman doing pretty well so far. |
| 23.5 : M Ali to Sandakan, Shorter ball on middle and turns and bounces to hit the thigh pad. Lobs on to the leg side. No run. |
| 23.6 : Ali to Sandakan, Slight appeal from England but decide not to review. The ball was flatter and on the pads and Sandakan misses his flick, a couple of noises but there is no bat involved here. Good decision by Root not to go upstairs. |
| 24.1 : J Leach to Mendis, Full ball on middle, Mendis comes ahead and defends it with a straight bat. |
| 24.2 : J Leach to Mendis, Mendis prods ahead to this loopy ball on off and bunts it down. |
| 24.3 : J Leach to Mendis, Flatter delivery and Mendis just drops it down towards point off the back foot. Picks up a single. |
| 24.4 : J Leach to Sandakan, Generous flight here, Sandakan takes a large stride and defends it into the ground. |
| 24.5 : J Leach to Sandakan, Flatter delivery this time and on middle and leg, Sandakan stays back in his crease and keeps it out. |
| 24.6 : J Leach to Sandakan, Another one that goes past the outside edge. Sandakan is flirting with danger here as he comes ahead to defend this one which was flighted and on middle, but the ball grips and turns just enough to skim past the outside edge. |
| 25.1 : M Ali to Mendis, On middle and leg, Mendis tucks it away to deep square leg for a brace. Nicely done. |
| 25.2 : M Ali to Mendis, Loopy ball on off, stonewalled by Kusal. |
| 25.3 : M Ali to Mendis, A bit flat on off, Mendis gives it to the short leg fielder. |
| 25.4 : M Ali to Mendis, Full and outside off, Mendis gets it off the inner half back to the bowler. |
| 25.5 : M Ali to Mendis, Looks like Mendis has a plan here. Gets right in front of the stumps and nudges this ball fine towards fine leg. Picks up another couple. |
| 25.6 : M Ali to Mendis, A tad short over the stumps, pulled through mid-wicket to retain the strike. |
| 26.1 : J Leach to Mendis, Flatter ball on middle, Mendis is on the back foot and defends it to short leg. |
| 26.2 : J Leach to Mendis, Flighted on middle this time, Mendis defends it into the ground on the off side. |
| 26.3 : J Leach to Mendis, Looped up outside off, Mendis drives confidently to long off and gets to the other end. |
| 26.4 : J Leach to Sandakan, Nice flight here and on off, Sandakan defends it solidly. |
| 26.5 : J Leach to Sandakan, Flatter ball on middle and off, Sandakan keeps it out off the back foot. |
| 26.6 : J Leach to L Sandakan, OUT! At last, England have the wicket of the pesky nightwatchman. Sandakan's vigil comes to an end. This was always coming. The ball is looped up on middle and turns away after landing. Sandakan who is well ahead to defend, gets the outside edge and Stokes takes a simple catch at slip. England don't celebrate too much, looks like they mean business and want to finish this off quickly. This is now the 9th catch in the series for Stokes, his second best effort. He has |
| Roshen Silva is the new man in. Also, another change in bowling. Adil Rashid replaces Moeen Ali. |
| 27.1 : A Rashid to Mendis, Flighted and outside off to start with, Mendis is comfortable in defense though. |
| 27.2 : A Rashid to K Mendis, FOUR! This was a shorter ball outside off, Mendis is very quick onto the back foot and pulls it away to deep mid-wicket for a boundary. Very good shot from the right-hander. |
| 27.3 : A Rashid to Mendis, Great work in the deep by Rory Burns! The ball was another short one, outside off this time. Mendis cuts it away in front of point, towards the cover boundary. Burns puts in a dive and stops the boundary, saving a run for his team. The batsmen pick up three. |
| 27.4 : A Rashid to Silva, Beaten first ball! Roshen is ahead to defend this not too full ball and the turn beats his outside edge. |
| 27.5 : A Rashid to Silva, Woah! Lots of turn on this one. It begins on middle and leg and ends way way wide of off stump. Roshen leaves it alone but looks puzzled by so much spin. |
| 27.6 : A Rashid to Silva, This ball is shorter and outside off, Silva is off the mark with a punch to sweeper cover. He picks up a single and keeps strike. 8 runs off Rashid's first over. |
| 28.1 : J Leach to Silva, Tad short around off, played with a straight bat to the off side. |
| 28.2 : J Leach to Silva, Given air this one outside off, driven to covers |
| 28.3 : J Leach to Silva, Gets behind the ball and blocks this to the off side again. |
| 28.4 : J Leach to Silva, Reads the spin outside off and leaves this alone. |
| 28.5 : J Leach to Silva, Silva has punched the ball off the back foot towards covers. One run added to the total. |
| 28.6 : J Leach to Mendis, Full and outside off, Mendis cannot get it past covers. |
| 29.1 : A Rashid to Silva, Good ball starting on off and turns away late. Roshen looks to defend but misses the ball. |
| 29.2 : A Rashid to Silva, Similar delivery, left alone by Roshen this time. |
| 29.3 : A Rashid to Silva, Drawn into the forward defense and beaten by the turn! Good over this time by Rashid. So close to the outside edge. Was full and outside off and late turn beating the forward defense of Silva. |
| 29.4 : A Rashid to Silva, Silva pushes this to cover point and picks up a single. |
| 29.5 : A Rashid to Mendis, FOUR! 49 now for Mendis! This ball is full and Kusal comes down the track and pushes it in the air and towards the long on fence. Good shot! |
| 29.6 : A Rashid to Mendis, 7th Test fifty for Kusal Mendis. Pushes this full one through the covers and gets to the landmark. Might have come a little too late for the Lankans but a fighting innings this in tough times! |
| 30.1 : J Leach to Mendis, Flatter delivery on middle, Mendis pulls it away to deep mid-wicket for a single. |
| 30.2 : J Leach to Silva, Beaten outside off again! Roshen is ahead to defend and this loopy one on off grips and turns enough to beat his outside edge. |
| 30.3 : J Leach to Silva, Flatter delivery outside off on a fuller length, Silva guides it wide of slip towards short third man and gets a single. Rashid fields and throws it very wide but no overthrows here as Root covers up well. |
| 30.4 : J Leach to Mendis, Full toss outside off, Mendis drives it to long off for a single. 100 up for the hosts. |
| 30.5 : J Leach to Silva, Full and flighted on middle, Silva defends it coming ahead. |
| 30.6 : J Leach to Silva, This ball is outside off and Roshan looks to defend as the ball spins away and beats his outside edge once more! |
| 31.1 : A Rashid to K Mendis, Fuller ball on middle and leg, Mendis pushes it to long on for a run. |
| 31.2 : A Rashid to Silva, Another one that turns just enough to beat the outside edge of Silva who was ahead to defend this full one outside off. |
| 31.3 : A Rashid to Silva, Looped up on off, an easy single on offer as Silva drives to sweeper cover. |
| 31.4 : A Rashid to K Mendis, Shorter delivery on middle, Mendis pulls it in front of square leg for a single. |
| 31.5 : A Rashid to Silva, Flatter delivery on middle and leg, Roshen works it away to square leg for a run. |
| 31.6 : A Rashid to Mendis, Dead batted by Kusal coming half ahead. |
| 32.1 : J Leach to Silva, Full and on middle, Roshen comes ahead and defends it. |
| 32.2 : J Leach to Silva, Where was Roshen going? Defends this onto the leg side and sets off. Mendis sends him back wisely as Ben Foakes is quick to the ball and it would've been a suicidal run in case they had gone for it. The England keeper throws it too high and the batsman gets back in. Sri Lanka can ill-afford a run out at this stage. |
| 32.3 : J Leach to Silva, Flatter delivery, kept out on the front foot. |
| 32.4 : J Leach to Silva, Roshen comes ahead to this flighted ball outside off and bunts it down to silly point. |
| 32.5 : J Leach to Silva, Shorter ball, Silva rocks back and plays it toward point for a run. |
| 32.6 : J Leach to Mendis, Mendis covers the line of this ball and defends it on the front foot. |
| 33.1 : A Rashid to Silva, Flatter delivery and spinning away, Roshen pushes it toward short cover. |
| 33.2 : A Rashid to Silva, Flatter ball again but keeps straight. Silva is back in his crease and wants to flick it but misses to get hit on the pads. The ball was too high so there is not much of an appeal. |
| 33.3 : A Rashid to Silva, Silva connects the flick this time to a short ball and gets a single toward mid-wicket. |
| 33.4 : A Rashid to Mendis, Too much turn outside off, Kusal decides not to chase after it as it was way, way outside off. |
| 33.5 : A Rashid to Mendis, Mendis stands tall and punches this one to sweeper for a single. |
| 33.6 : A Rashid to Silva, FOUR! This is overpitched outside leg. Roshen doesn't let the ball rise as he sweeps it very fine on the leg side and all along the ground to the fence. |
| Drinks! Surprisingly, the hosts are showing some patience and applying themselves. This was needed last evening and one can feel it has come too late. Having said that, anything is possible in cricket. Kusal Mendis is on the counter and is looking good for a big score. Roshen Silva has shown that he has the composure to carry on. To be honest, England have looked flat this morning and have just not got it right so far. Can they improve in the second hour? |
| 34.1 : J Leach to Mendis, Loopy ball around off, Mendis gives it towards silly point. |
| 34.2 : J Leach to Mendis, On the pads, bunted down. |
| 34.3 : J Leach to Mendis, Pushed to the cover region by Kusal. |
| 34.4 : J Leach to Mendis, Off spinner outside off, Mendis reaches for it and cuts it past point for one. |
| 34.5 : J Leach to Silva, On middle and leg, Silva paddles it to deep square leg for an easy couple. |
| 34.6 : J Leach to Silva, Arm ball outside off, Silva looks block this but it goes past his outside edge. |
| 35.1 : A Rashid to K Mendis, Takes the outside edge but just drops short of slip! Flatter ball on leg stump, Mendis is ahead to defend but gets the edge that luckily for him, doesn't carry to Stokes at slip. |
| 35.2 : A Rashid to Mendis, Full ball outside off, Mendis pushes it defensively to point and picks up a single. |
| 35.3 : A Rashid to Silva, Ripper from Adil! This ball turns square after landing on leg. Beats the outside edge of the defending Silva. Beautiful loop! |
| 35.4 : A Rashid to R Silva, This is a poor follow up delivery! Short and pulled away wide of mid on for four runs. Roshen Silva will be hoping for more of these. |
| 35.5 : A Rashid to Silva, Roshen opens the face of his bat and helps this loopy ball outside off to short third man. |
| 35.6 : A Rashid to Silva, A few steps down the track and this flatter ball on middle is defended back to the bowler. |
| 36.1 : J Leach to Mendis, Very full and Mendis smothers the ball right into the ground. |
| 36.2 : J Leach to Mendis, Flatter delivery outside off, Mendis rocks back and steers it to deep cover for a single. |
| 36.3 : J Leach to Silva, Easy single for Roshen as the ball is quicker and on his pads. He flicks it away to square leg and gets to the other end. |
| 36.4 : J Leach to Mendis, Another shorter one on the pads, Mendis flicks it away in the gap between mid-wicket and square leg. Picks up a couple! Good running that. |
| 36.5 : J Leach to Mendis, Full ball outside off, Mendis pushes it to sweeper cover for a single. It is looking easy for Mendis now against Leach. |
| 36.6 : J Leach to Silva, Another single for Roshen and he keeps the strike. Plays this full ball towards cover point and gets a run. Six runs off the over and no risks taken. |
| 37.1 : A Rashid to Silva, Full and around off, Silva carves it through cover-point for just a run. |
| 37.2 : A Rashid to Mendis, On the pads, Kusal gets behind it and blocks it. |
| 37.3 : A Rashid to Mendis, Yorker in line of the stumps, Mendis does well to hit it back to the bowler. |
| 37.4 : A Rashid to Mendis, Leg spinner outside off, Kusal shoulders his arms to it. |
| 37.5 : A Rashid to Mendis, Beauty! Good take too. Pitched on off, spins away from Mendis who is ahead to block it. Misses it and it goes at a good height to Foakes. |
| 37.6 : A Rashid to Mendis, Good ball followed by a bad one. Short and outside off, pulled to cow corner for a run. |
| Ben Stokes is now on for a bowl. |
| 38.1 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, Like we expected starts with a bouncer down leg, Mendis pulls it through square leg for a single. |
| 38.2 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Over the stumps, Silva jumps and bunts it down. |
| 38.3 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Bangs this short on the hips, Roshen gets it off his glove onto the ground. |
| 38.4 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Short again down the leg side, this time Roshen ducks under it. |
| 38.5 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Five in a row, Roshen ducks to evade it. Six in a row incoming? |
| 38.6 : Ben Stokes to Silva, You bet! Short and outside off, Silva sways away from it. |
| 39.1 : A Rashid to Mendis, Leg spinner outside off, cut behind point to change ends. |
| 39.2 : A Rashid to Silva, Loopy ball in line of the stumps, driven to covers. |
| 39.3 : A Rashid to Silva, Flighted ball on middle, well blocked by Roshen. |
| 39.4 : A Rashid to Silva, Similar line and length, Roshen cannot get it past short covers. |
| 39.5 : A Rashid to Silva, On middle and off, played to silly point. |
| 39.6 : A Rashid to Silva, Plays this with soft hands towards point and picks up a run. Clever batting. |
| 40.1 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Back of a length ball on the pads of Roshen who tucks it away to deep square leg. Bairstow hares to his left and sweeps it up. They pick up two and bring up the 50-run stand. Come at a good time too. |
| 40.2 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Short ball down the leg side, Silva ducks under it happily. |
| 40.3 : Ben Stokes to Silva, With no surprise Stokes goes short outside off, Roshen gets low. |
| 40.4 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Better from Stokes and well played from Roshen. Shorter length over the stumps, Roshen sways away from it. |
| 40.5 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Comes in from over the wicket and bangs it short outside off, Silva ducks under it. |
| 40.6 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Pitches it up further on a good length, Silva pokes at it but gets beaten. |
| 41.1 : A Rashid to Mendis, Outside off, punched off the back foot towards extra cover for a single. |
| 41.2 : A Rashid to Silva, Pushed to the cover region by Roshen. |
| 41.3 : A Rashid to Silva, Flatter ball around off, punched towards covers for another run. |
| 41.4 : A Rashid to Mendis, Down the leg side, worked away to the leg side. They pick up a single. |
| 41.5 : A Rashid to Silva, Covers his stumps and blocks this into the ground. |
| 41.6 : A Rashid to Silva, Around off, played with a straight bat to the off side for a single. |
| 42.1 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Fuller length on middle, hit to mid on. |
| 42.2 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Short ball down the leg side, Roshen watches it go through to the keeper. |
| 42.3 : Ben Stokes to Silva, FOUR! Full and on off, Roshen gets to the pitch of it and flicks it through mid-wicket for a boundary. |
| 42.4 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Good length ball outside off, Roshen shoulders his arms to it. |
| 42.5 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Back of a length ball on the hips, Silva looks to tuck it but get on his thigh pad. |
| 42.6 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Outside off, Silva blocks it out carefully. |
| Jack Leach is in for another spell. |
| 43.1 : J Leach to Mendis, Short on middle, Kusal pulls it to mid on. |
| 43.2 : J Leach to Mendis, Tossed up on off, Mendis cuts it towards point for a single. |
| 43.3 : J Leach to Silva, Tossed up on middle, Silva looks to defend but gets an outside edge away from slip and towards short third man. The batsmen take a run. |
| 43.4 : J Leach to Mendis, Flighted delivery on off, Mendis defends off the front foot. |
| 43.5 : J Leach to Mendis, Floated on middle, the batsman cuts it towards point for a single. |
| 43.6 : J Leach to Silva, Tossed up again on off, Silva blocks it well. |
| 44.1 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, Bowls a bouncer, Mendis does well to duck under it. |
| 44.2 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, Short of a length delivery, Mendis defends off the back foot and it goes past short leg. |
| 44.3 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, Length delivery on off, Mendis blocks it well. |
| 44.4 : Ben Stokes to K Mendis, WIDE! Bowls a bouncer over the wicket, Mendis does well to duck under it. |
| Ben Stokes to Mendis, Short of a length delivery again, Mendis pulls it towards square leg for a single. |
| 44.5 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Short again on the body, Mendis manages to defend off the back foot. |
| 44.6 : Ben Stokes to R Silva, NO BALL! FOUR BYES! 150 up for Sri Lanka. Bowls a quick bouncer, Silva does well to duck under it and it goes over the keeper for a boundary. Called a no ball because it was the third bouncer of the over. |
| Ben Stokes to Silva, Length delivery on off, Silva cuts it to point. |
| 45.1 : J Leach to Mendis, FOUR! Beautifully placed behind square leg by Mendis. Moves into the 70s now! Shorter on middle, Mendis rocks back and pulls this away in slow motion for a four. |
| 45.2 : J Leach to Mendis, Flighted outside off, Mendis comes down and defends it. |
| 45.3 : J Leach to Mendis, Flatter ball on the pads, Mendis flicks it to square leg. |
| 45.4 : J Leach to Mendis, Wide and outside off, the batsman chooses to let this one go. |
| 45.5 : J Leach to Mendis, Looped up on middle, Mendis prods ahead and dead bats it. |
| 45.6 : J Leach to Mendis, Full ball again on middle, Mendis is ahead to defend this ball into the ground. |
| 46.1 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Full outside off, Silva drives it to cover. |
| 46.2 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Good length delivery outside off, Silva offers no shot. |
| 46.3 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Again on a good length outside off, the batsman shoulders arms to this one. |
| 46.4 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Third consecutive leave for Silva. Good length delivery outside off, Silva lets it go. |
| Moeen Ali is loosening up. Can England sneak in one more over before Lunch? |
| 46.5 : Ben Stokes to Silva, Length delivery on middle, Silva looks to defend but gets an inside edge onto the pads and it goes to short mid-wicket. They pick up a single. |
| 46.6 : Ben Stokes to Mendis, Good length delivery on off, the batsman blocks it well. |
| Moeen Ali to quickly sneak in one over before the Lunch break, can he manage to pick up a wicket? |
| 47.1 : M Ali to Silva, FOUR! Good shot. Tossed up on off, Silva plays a reverse sweep through third man for a boundary. |
| 47.2 : M Ali to Silva, Flighted delivery on middle, Silva flicks it towards mid on for a single. |
| 47.3 : M Ali to Mendis, Tossed up on middle, Mendis gets an inside edge onto the pads and it goes past short leg. |
| 47.4 : M Ali to Mendis, FOUR! Poor delivery from Moeen Ali. Short on middle, Mendis pulls it through square leg for a boundary. |
| 47.5 : M Ali to Mendis, Tossed up again on middle, Mendis keeps it out. |
| 47.6 : M Ali to Mendis, APPEAL FOR LBW! NOT OUT! Flighted delivery on off, Mendis looks to defend but gets an inside edge onto the pads. The bowler appeals but the umpire shakes his head. THAT IS LUNCH ON DAY 4. |
| What a session for the hosts! One would be lying if they said they expected this kind of a resistance from them this morning, especially after how easily their top order crumbled last evening. But Kusal Mendis, along with Lakshan Sandakan and Roshen Silva have blunted the England attack, both spin and pace. He has shown patience and maturity, also punishing the bad balls at the same time. Sri Lanka have cut the runs required too and are surely in with a chance here, albeit a very slim one right |
| Sri Lanka will start to believe, especially with Niroshan Dickwella still to bat. They just need 163 runs more to win. For England though, the Lunch break couldn't have come at a better time. The visitors know that it is all about a wicket or two before the game is back in their favor. But also need to remember that they will need to come back and pile the pressure or else the game could swing back wide open. Should be a good contest. Join us back for the post-Lunch session! |
| ... Day 4, Session 2 ... |
| The players are back for the post-Lunch session. Jack Leach has the ball in his hand and facing will be Roshen Silva. |
| 48.1 : J Leach to Silva, Looped up on middle, Roshen defends it with soft hands. |
| 48.2 : J Leach to Silva, Too full and Roshen paddles it away fine on the leg side for a couple. |
| 48.3 : J Leach to Silva, Good loop outside off, Roshen goes for the drive and is beaten by the turn. |
| 48.4 : J Leach to Silva, Flighted on middle, Roshen comes ahead and defends it back to the bowler. |
| 48.5 : J Leach to Silva, Similar ball as the previous one, Silva plays it with soft hands again. |
| 48.6 : J Leach to Silva, Flighted outside off, Roshen is beaten by the turn and just misses the outside edge. |
| Adil Rashid to bowl from the other end. |
| 49.1 : A Rashid to Mendis, Full toss and smacked away off the front foot by Mendis for a single. |
| 49.2 : A Rashid to Silva, Great flight outside off, draws Roshen into the drive and beats his outside edge. |
| 49.3 : A Rashid to Silva, Flatter delivery outside off, Roshen is back in his crease and punches it to point. |
| 49.4 : A Rashid to Silva, Looped up on middle, Silva makes room and plays it to cover point for a single. |
| 49.5 : A Rashid to Mendis, Flighted ball on middle, Mendis comes ahead and defends it into the ground. |
| 49.6 : A Rashid to Mendis, Flatter delivery on middle, Mendis pushes it in the gap between long on and deep mid-wicket for a couple. Good running this! |
| 50.1 : J Leach to Silva, Flatter and full outside off, driven away to sweeper cover for a single. |
| 50.2 : J Leach to Mendis, Slower ball and turns away after landing on middle. Just enough to beat the outside edge again. |
| 50.3 : J Leach to Mendis, Full toss and Mendis misses out on this one as he punches it straight to mid on. |
| 50.4 : J Leach to Mendis, Looped up on middle, Mendis comes ahead and defends it. |
| 50.5 : J Leach to Mendis, Appeal for a stumping referred upstairs. Did Mendis lift his back leg? Not Out signals the Third umpire. The ball spun sharply after landing on middle, Mendis is beaten outside off as he tries to defend down the wrong line. Foakes collects it and waits for a long time before removing the bail. Mendis' foot though is grounded the whole time. |
| 50.6 : J Leach to Mendis, Full ball and outside off, Mendis comes onto his front foot and dead bats it. |
| 51.1 : A Rashid to Silva, Shorter outside off, Silva cuts it away off the back foot for a single. |
| 51.2 : A Rashid to Mendis, Looped up on off stump, Mendis comes ahead and defends it into the ground on the off side. |
| 51.3 : A Rashid to Mendis, FOUR! Full toss and put away this time. Mendis comes down on one knee and swipes it away wide of deep mid-wicket and to the fence. Sri Lanka 151 away now. |
| 51.4 : A Rashid to Mendis, Lands outside off and spins further away, left alone by the batsman. |
| 51.5 : A Rashid to Mendis, Flatter delivery on off, Mendis punches it back straight off the back foot. |
| 51.6 : A Rashid to Mendis, Well outside off and turning away, Mendis puts his pad ahead and leaves it alone. |
| 52.1 : J Leach to Silva, Flatter and quicker on the middle, Silva is late as he works it away to square leg and picks up a single. |
| 52.2 : J Leach to Mendis, Short delivery again, Mendis defends the ball and pushes it back to the bowler from within the crease. |
| England go up for a review for caught behind. |
| 52.3 : J Leach to Mendis, NOT OUT! Seems more like a desperation review from the visitors. Mendis was ahead to the full one on middle and the ball like on many occasions before, spins away and beats the outside edge. Foakes collects it and remains calm whereas slip and the close-in fielders go up in appeal along with Leach. Root takes a long while before going upstairs. Replays show that there is absolutely nothing on it. England lose a review. |
| 52.4 : J Leach to Mendis, This one is flatter and on middle, Mendis gets behind the line of the ball and defends it. |
| 52.5 : J Leach to Mendis, This is full and flighted on off, Kusal is ahead and defends it into the ground. |
| 52.6 : J Leach to Mendis, Full and outside off stump, Mendis pads it away. |
| 53.1 : A Rashid to Silva, Tossed up ball outside off, driven to covers. |
| 53.2 : A Rashid to Silva, Leg spinner outside off, Silva leaves it alone. |
| 53.3 : A Rashid to Silva, Silva plays the square cut to point again. |
| 53.4 : A Rashid to Silva, Short and outside off, Silva reaches for it and cuts it to point. |
| 53.5 : A Rashid to Silva, Loopy ball down leg, turned away around the corner for a single. That also brings up 8000 First Class runs for Roshen Silva. He averages exactly 50 at the moment. |
| 53.6 : A Rashid to Mendis, Around off, played to the off side. Dot ball. |
| 54.1 : J Leach to Silva, Flatter and quicker at the pads, Roshen just drops it with soft hands onto the leg side. |
| 54.2 : J Leach to Silva, Looped up outside off, Silva gets off strike with a single to deep cover. |
| 54.3 : J Leach to Mendis, Shorter ball outside off, Mendis cuts it away to sweeper and runs to the other end. |
| 54.4 : J Leach to Silva, Flatter ball starting on leg, Roshen covers the spin and defends it. |
| 54.5 : J Leach to Silva, Shorter ball outside off, Roshen goes for the cut but misses and the ball skids through to the keeper. |
| Another stumping appeal taken upstairs. |
| 54.6 : J Leach to Silva, NOT OUT! Waste of time honestly, Roshen's foot was on the ground the entire time. The ball was shorter and quicker outside off, Silva looks to punch the ball but misses again and Foakes removes the bails and asks the leg umpire the question. |
| 55.1 : A Rashid to Mendis, Outside off and flighted, Mendis offers no shot as he puts his pad in front. |
| 55.2 : A Rashid to Mendis, Short and slow, pulled away by Kusal for a single to deep mid-wicket. |
| 55.3 : A Rashid to Silva, Flatter delivery on middle, Silva stays back and defends it. |
| 55.4 : A Rashid to Silva, Well outside off, Roshen decides to let this ball go. |
| 55.5 : A Rashid to Silva, Wide outside off, Silva pushes it off the back foot to point. |
| 55.6 : A Rashid to Silva, Googly for the last ball of the over, Silva gets hit on the pad but the ball was going down leg. |
| 56.1 : J Leach to Mendis, Flighted and on middle, Kusal comes ahead and dead bats it. |
| 56.2 : J Leach to Mendis, Outside edge but drops short of Stokes at slip. Kusal was ahead to defend this loopy ball outside off, gets the outside edge that doesn't carry. |
| 56.3 : J Leach to K Mendis, Oh my God, what happened there? All kinds of misunderstanding between the two batsmen. Mendis drives towards mid off and sets off for the run but the non-striker is ball watching. Broad at mid off picks up the ball and throws it very wide and Mendis who was more than halfway down the pitch manages to get back in the nick of time. Even a half decent throw there would have had him. |
| 56.4 : J Leach to Mendis, Mendis comes ahead and smothers the spin on this full one. |
| 56.5 : J Leach to Mendis, Another flighted delivery on middle, Kusal takes a big stride and defends it. |
| 56.6 : J Leach to Mendis, Flatter delivery, Mendis manages to defend it showing the full face of the bat. |
| 57.1 : A Rashid to Silva, Floated ball on middle and leg, Roshen is solid in his defense. |
| 57.2 : A Rashid to Silva, Leg spinner around off, spins away. Silva lets it be. |
| 57.3 : A Rashid to R Silva, A bit short outside off, Roshen cuts it to deep backward point for a couple. The 100-run stand is up. What a stand this has been. Showing plenty of fight. |
| 57.4 : A Rashid to Mendis, OUT! Run-out! Absolutely unnecessary and fatal from the Sri Lankan batsmen. What a splendid throw from Jack Leach. He bowls left handed, and throws right handed. Bullet throw from deep square leg and hits the stumps directly to find Mendis short of his crease. Third time unlucky for Mendis. The ball was a wrong 'un and worked away off the pads by Silva to deep square leg. Mendis is slow on the first run and also slightly slips at the striker's end while turning for the |
| Niroshan Dickwella walks out to bat. |
| 57.5 : A Rashid to Silva, Flatter delivery on the pads, flicked away by Roshen for a single. |
| 57.6 : A Rashid to Dickwella, The ball is way wide on the leg side and Dickwella who tries to flick it away cannot make contact. |
| 58.1 : J Leach to Silva, Full and on off, pushed through covers for one. Brings up his 5th Test fifty. Forget the run out for a moment, he has played well. |
| 58.2 : J Leach to Dickwella, Arm ball on middle and off, Dickwella blocks it out. |
| 58.3 : J Leach to Dickwella, Loopy ball down leg, Dickwella gets a leading edge towards leg slip. No fielder there and they cross as the ball goes further down. |
| 58.4 : J Leach to Silva, Roshen covers his stumps and defends this one down. |
| 58.5 : J Leach to Silva, Outside off, played to the point region. |
| 58.6 : J Leach to Silva, Flighted ball on off, Roshen taps it in front of him. |
| 59.1 : A Rashid to Dickwella, Woah! What has happened here? The helmet flap seems to have come off. The ball which was flighted outside off, takes off from nowhere and spins into Dickwella who was trying to sweep. He misses it and gets hit on the front part of the helmet but the impact makes the flap fall off. He is fine to continue though as there is no problem. |
| 59.2 : A Rashid to Dickwella, This ball is on the pads, Dickwella is on his back foot and whips it away to deep square leg for a run. |
| 59.3 : A Rashid to Silva, Flatter delivery on middle and leg, Silva plays it mid-wicket and runs through for one. |
| 59.4 : A Rashid to N Dickwella, This is short and Dickwella rocks back and pulls it away to the left of fine leg. Broad comes around and dives to stop it. Keeps it down to two. Wonderful effort from the tall bloke. |
| 59.5 : A Rashid to Dickwella, Another flick to square leg for a single. |
| 59.6 : A Rashid to Silva, Looped up on off, Roshen comes ahead and dead bats it. |
| Moeen Ali is given another burst. |
| 60.1 : M Ali to Dickwella, Around the wicket, looped up on middle. Dickwell reverse sweeps it away to deep backward point and gets to the other end. |
| 60.2 : M Ali to Silva, Flighted outside off, Roshen comes ahead to defend but misses and gets hit on the pads. The impact was well outside off though. |
| 60.3 : M Ali to Silva, Another similar delivery and again not a good defense by Silva. It could have easily lobbed to short leg off the inside edge or the glove. |
| 60.4 : M Ali to Silva, Comes down the wicket this time and flicks it away to deep square leg for a run. |
| 60.5 : M Ali to Dickwella, The reverse sweep is out again but this time, Rashid makes good diving stop at short third man and prevents any run. |
| 60.6 : M Ali to Dickwella, Flatter delivery, Dickwella opens the face of the bat and helps it to third man. |
| 61.1 : A Rashid to Silva, Huge turn on this one, Silva lets it go at the last moment. |
| 61.2 : A Rashid to Silva, Full and wide outside off, left alone easily. |
| 61.3 : A Rashid to Silva, Outside off and turning further away, no shot offered. |
| 61.4 : A Rashid to R Silva, Looped up and overpitched on off, Silva drives it straight to cover. |
| 61.5 : A Rashid to Silva, Looped up just outside off, Roshen comes ahead and defends it into the ground. |
| 61.6 : A Rashid to Silva, Well wide of off stump, Roshen shoulders his arms to it. |
| 62.1 : M Ali to Dickwella, Full toss on the pads, Dickwella whips it away to deep mid-wicket for a single. |
| 62.2 : M Ali to Silva, Flighted on off, Roshen takes a large stride ahead and smothers the spin. |
| 62.3 : M Ali to Silva, In the air and safe! What a rush of blood from Silva! This one was flighted outside off and the batsman comes down and looks to lift it over mid on but gets the inside half of the bat. The ball has enough on it just to beat a deepish mid on. Lucky for Silva. |
| 62.4 : M Ali to Silva, Full and on middle, Silva comes ahead and defends it with a straight bat. |
| 62.5 : M Ali to Silva, Swept away by Roshen to deep backward square leg for a single. |
| 62.6 : Ali to N Dickwella, DROPPED! What has suddenly gotten into the Sri Lankan batsmen? Going along so well with the singles and doubles, want to go for the boundaries now. Dickwella sweeps it but gets a top edge due to the extra bounce on this full loopy ball from Ali. Jennings at a very fine fine leg comes in for the catch, dives but drops it and can't complete the take. Reprive for Dickwella. Need to concentrate again and just keep it simple. |
| 63.1 : A Rashid to R Silva, Flighted and full on off, defended off the front foot. |
| 63.2 : A Rashid to R Silva, Bowls it short this time and it has been pulled to deep mid-wicket for a run. |
| 63.3 : A Rashid to Dickwella, Full again, sliding down, it's nudged to deep square leg for a run. 200 up for Sri Lanka. |
| 63.4 : A Rashid to Silva, Very full and in line of the stumps, Silva brings his bat down at the last moment to keep it out. There was a stifled appeal for an lbw but not given for obvious reasons. |
| 63.5 : A Rashid to Silva, Short and wide outside off, Silva chases it and cuts it through point for one. |
| 63.6 : A Rashid to Dickwella, Allows the ball to spin back in and then helps it behind square leg for one. Called a no ball. |
| Another partnership settling in for Sri Lanka. It will be interesting to see England's approach once the required runs come under 100. |
| A Rashid to Silva, Tossed up ball outside off, Roshen tries to defend but is beaten by the away spin. Drinks break. |
| 64.1 : M Ali to Dickwella, On off, Dickwella gets low and sweeps it towards square leg for a run. |
| 64.2 : M Ali to Silva, Long appeal but spinning down leg then. Off spinner on off, Roshen is forward to block it but gets beaten to hit the pads. England appeal but the umpires stay put. Foakes has a chat with Root but then decide against it. Right decision as replays show us that it would have gone above the stumps and also the impact was outside off. |
| 64.3 : M Ali to Silva, The batsman has played it towards mid-wicket. They pick up a single. |
| 64.4 : M Ali to Dickwella, FOUR! Reverse sweep! Full on middle, Dickwella reverse sweeps it over the slip fielder for a boundary. |
| 64.5 : M Ali to Dickwella, Sweeps this along the turf through square leg for a single. |
| 64.6 : M Ali to Silva, Stays inside and bunts this one out. |
| Jack Leach to replace Adil Rashid. |
| 65.1 : J Leach to Dickwella, FOUR! SHOT! Steps out of his crease and smokes this over the bowler's head for a one-bounce boundary. |
| 65.2 : J Leach to Dickwella, OUT! The bowling change has worked. Jack Leach gets his wicket and the counter-attacking Dickwella has to go. Bowls this flatter on the off. Dickwella looks to tuck it away but gets it off his glove towards backward short leg. Who else but Jennings dives forward and takes a good catch. Dickwella walks and that takes the spinners tally to 97 wickets in this series. England need 3 more wickets to win this game. |
| Dilruwan Perera is the new batsman in at no. 9. |
| 65.3 : J Leach to Perera, Flatter ball on off, Perera waits on the back foot and defends it. |
| 65.4 : J Leach to Perera, Full and quick on middle, Dilruwan comes ahead to defend it. |
| 65.5 : J Leach to Perera, Short and spinning away outside off, Dilruwan cuts it but straight to cover. |
| 65.6 : J Leach to Perera, Flighted on the pads, Perera prods ahead and dead bats it. |
| 66.1 : M Ali to Silva, Loopy ball outside off, Roshen walks ahead and whips it through square leg for a run. |
| 66.2 : M Ali to D Perera, A tad short outside off, Perera goes back to cut it but gets a bottom edge towards the keeper. |
| 66.3 : M Ali to Perera, Full and on off, hit back to the bowler. |
| 66.4 : M Ali to Perera, On the pads, Perera gets it off something over the leg slip fielder. Replay shows us that came off the thigh pad. |
| 66.5 : M Ali to Perera, Taken but not off the bat. Similar line down leg, Dilruwan looks to flick it but it goes off this pad to Stokes at leg slip who takes it with his right hand. |
| 66.6 : M Ali to Perera, Quicker one down leg, Perera misses his flick. |
| 67.1 : J Leach to Silva, Covers his stumps and blocks this one. |
| 67.2 : J Leach to Silva, Full on leg, worked away to the on side. |
| 67.3 : J Leach to Silva, Full and on off, blocked out with a straight bat. |
| 67.4 : J Leach to Silva, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 67.5 : J Leach to R Silva, Outside off, driven to covers. |
| 67.6 : J Leach to Silva, Arm ball outside off, Silva fails to get bat to ball. Perera will face the next over. |
| 68.1 : M Ali to Perera, Fuller ball on off, driven back to the bowler. |
| 68.2 : M Ali to Silva, Fuller ball on middle and off, keeps low. Perera looks to flick it but misses his shot. England put in an appeal but Ravi stays put. Good review that as the ball would have gone to miss the leg pole. |
| 68.3 : M Ali to Silva, Roshen works it down the leg side. One run added to the total. |
| 68.4 : M Ali to Perera, FOUR! Nicely done! Full and on off, Perera comes out and lofts it over mid-wicket for a boundary. |
| 68.5 : M Ali to Perera, Goes on his back foot and defends this one solidly. |
| 68.6 : M Ali to Perera, Around off, Perera keeps it out. |
| James Anderson comes onto the field as a substitute for Moeen Ali, who has gone off. |
| 69.1 : J Leach to Silva, Slower ball down the leg side. Leach gets the better of Dilruwan to hit his leg. But it was going down leg. |
| 69.2 : J Leach to Silva, Covers his stumps and taps this in front of him. |
| 69.3 : J Leach to Silva, Beautiful bowled. Given air on off, Silva is beaten as he missed the line of the bowl. |
| 69.4 : J Leach to Silva, This time goes behind the ball and plays it to off side. |
| 69.5 : J Leach to R Silva, Driven through mid off by the batsman. One run added to the total. |
| 69.6 : J Leach to Perera, Dilruwan stays inside the crease and bunts another one out. |
| 70.1 : M Ali to Silva, Full and on middle, flicked to mid-wicket. |
| 70.2 : M Ali to Perera, Loopy ball on leg, Dilruwan gets hit on his thigh pad outside the leg stump. |
| 70.3 : M Ali to Perera, Down the leg side again, Perera looks to tuck it away but misses again. |
| 70.4 : M Ali to Perera, Outside off, Perera gives room and cuts it through point for a brace. |
| 70.5 : M Ali to Perera, Around leg, Roshen comes forward and pads it out. |
| 70.6 : M Ali to Perera, On middle and leg, played with a straight bat. |
| 71.1 : J Leach to Silva, On off, Dilruwan is looking solid in his defense. |
| 71.2 : J Leach to Silva, Around off, kept out solidly. |
| 71.3 : J Leach to Silva, Down the leg side, turned to the on side for nothing. |
| 71.4 : J Leach to Perera, Missed out. Looks to cut it but cannot get it past point. |
| 71.5 : J Leach to Perera, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 71.6 : J Leach to Perera, On off, Perera keeps it out. |
| 72.1 : M Ali to Silva, Flatter delivery at the pads, Roshen pushes it to mid-wicket for a run. |
| 72.2 : M Ali to Perera, Short ball and on the pads, the ball hits the thigh pad and just rolls beside leg stump. |
| 72.3 : M Ali to D Perera, OUT! England need 2 more! Another catch for Jennings at short leg, his eigth in this series. Short ball on middle and turns inward, takes the inside edge and goes to short leg off the thigh pad. Jennings is going down but holds on to the catch rolling towards his right. He is having a great Test in the field. Dilruwan couldn't do much about this, caught on the back foot and nothing else to do. Sri Lanka seems to have again brought the hopes of their fans up and going dow |
| Suranga Lakmal is in at no. 10. |
| 72.4 : M Ali to Lakmal, Full and the ball spins to go through the gap in between bat and pad. |
| 72.5 : M Ali to Lakmal, Fuller and looped up on moff, Lakmal uses his long legs to come ahead and defend this one. |
| 72.6 : M Ali to Lakmal, This one is flatter and the ball is on the pads, Lakmal flicks it to square leg. |
| 73.1 : J Leach to Silva, Full and on off, driven to covers. |
| 73.2 : J Leach to Silva, Loopy ball on off, taped in front of him |
| 73.3 : J Leach to Silva, Quicker one on off, Roshen on his back foot keeps it out. |
| 73.4 : J Leach to Silva, Around off, cut to point. |
| 73.5 : J Leach to Silva, Full and down leg, played towards mid-wicket. |
| 73.6 : J Leach to Silva, Takes it on the full and flicks this through mid-wicket for a run. Will keep the strike for he next over. |
| A review for LBW! England think it is pad first. |
| 74.1 : M Ali to Silva, OUT! YES! Bat first! England get another review right! Excellent use of the technology. A bit short around off, spins back in. Roshen tries making room and cutting it. It goes to the off sided. England appeal as they think it is pad first. Root asks Moeen and he nods his head. They take it up. Replay shows us that it was pad first and Ball Tracker shows us three reds. Roshen departs after a well played innings but the end is neigh for them now. |
| 0.0 : Malinda Pushpakumara is the last batsman in. |
| 74.2 : M Ali to Pushpakumara, FOUR! Flighted outside off, Malinda puts his foot ahead and gets a thick outside edge for four towards deep backward point. |
| 74.3 : M Ali to Pushpakumara, Shorter ball at the pads, Malinda stays tall and plays it to leg slip. |
| 74.4 : M Ali to Pushpakumara, Flighted outside off, the batsman comes ahead and defends it to short cover. |
| 74.5 : M Ali to Pushpakumara, Looped up outside off stump, Malinda comes down and keeps it out towards cover. |
| Another LBW decision taken up. Looks like there was an inside edge on this one. |
| 74.6 : Ali to Pushpakumara, NOT OUT! The on-field decision will remain and England lose their last review. The replays and the Snickometer show that there is a massive inside edge on this one as Malinda is half forward to defend it. Sri Lanka survive for one more over at least. Foakes persuaded Root to go up it seems. Waste of a review but England don't seem too bothered about it. |
| 75.1 : J Leach to Lakmal, Punched off the back foot by Lakmal. They pick up a single. |
| 75.2 : J Leach to Pushpakumara, Arm ball on off, MP tries to put bat on it but fails. |
| 75.3 : J Leach to Pushpakumara, Down the leg side, flicked away to the on side. |
| 75.4 : J Leach to Pushpakumara, Gets behind the ball and blocks this one out. |
| 75.5 : J Leach to Pushpakumara, FOUR! Full and down leg, Pushpakumara swipes it fine through fine leg for a boundary. |
| 75.6 : J Leach to Pushpakumara, Reads the spin well and leaves it alone outside his off stump. |
| 76.1 : M Ali to Lakmal, Looped up and hits Lakmal on his pad. Moeen goes for an appeal and the Umpire shakes his head. Replays show that there is an inside edge on this one as well. Anyway, there are no reviews left for England. |
| 76.2 : M Ali to Lakmal, Looped up on off, Lakmal keeps it out on the front foot. |
| 76.3 : M Ali to Lakmal, Lakmal has played this fuller length ball off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 76.4 : M Ali to Lakmal, In the air but just short of Broad at long-on. Lakmal sees this one tossed up and goes for a huge loft but doeesn't connect well and perhaps, that's what saved him. |
| 76.5 : Ali to Lakmal, Lakmal failed to make contact and was hit low on the pads. England is asking the umpire the question. But he says No again. Replays show that the ball would have been going over the stumps. |
| 76.6 : M Ali to Lakmal, Another appeal from England and another nod of the head by the umpire. Lakmal who was ahead to defend it misses the ball and gets hit on the pad. This one is similar to the previous one except that it bounced even more. |
| 77.1 : J Leach to Pushpakumara, Loopy ball around off, Pushpakumara prods forward but gets beaten. |
| 77.2 : J Leach to Pushpakumara, FOUR! Down leg, Pushpakumara gets low and sweeps it through square leg for a boundary. |
| 77.3 : J Leach to Pushpakumara, FOUR! Lovely! Short ball outside off, Malinda cuts it late through backward point for back-to-back boundaries. |
| 77.4 : J Leach to Pushpakumara, SIX! Best of the lot! 14 runs of three balls. Comes down the track and lofts this over the bowler's head for a huge hit. Having fun out there. |
| 77.5 : J Leach to Pushpakumara, Waits for it and cuts it late to the off side. |
| 77.6 : J Leach to Pushpakumara, Watches this ball and bunts it down. |
| 78.1 : M Ali to Lakmal, Flighted on off, Lakmal down the wicket and pushes it to wide mid on for a single. |
| 78.2 : M Ali to Pushpakumara, Looped up outside off, Malinda keeps it out off the front foot. |
| 78.3 : M Ali to Pushpakumara, Full and on off, Pushpakumara looks to go down town but gets a bottom edge towards short leg. Jennings puts his right hand out but the ball is away from him. They cross. |
| 78.4 : M Ali to Lakmal, Lakmal blocks this ball in front of him. |
| 78.5 : M Ali to Lakmal, The batsman flicks it away with a wristy shot. |
| 78.6 : M Ali to Lakmal, FOUR Byes! Outside off, Lakmal swings hard but cannot connect with the ball. Foakes fails to make contact and the ball races away to the third man fence. |
| Adil Rashid into the attack. |
| 79.1 : A Rashid to Pushpakumara, Outside off, driven to extra cover to give Lakmal the strike. |
| 79.2 : A Rashid to Lakmal, Floated leg spin outside off, well blocked by Lakmal. |
| 79.3 : A Rashid to Lakmal, Leg spin outside off, left alone. |
| 79.4 : A Rashid to Lakmal, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 79.5 : A Rashid to Lakmal, No googly. Lakmal rocks back and bunts this down. |
| 79.6 : A Rashid to Lakmal, Covers his stumps and blocks this with a straight bat. |
| 80.1 : M Ali to Pushpakumara, Outside off, guided to third man for a couple of runs. |
| 80.2 : M Ali to Pushpakumara, Holds his stance as he blocks this one in front of him. |
| 80.3 : M Ali to Pushpakumara, Gets low and sweeps this uppishly towards deep square leg for a run. |
| 80.4 : M Ali to Lakmal, Loopy ball on off, driven to covers. |
| 80.5 : M Ali to Lakmal, Charges down the wicket and hits this back to the bowler. |
| 80.6 : M Ali to Lakmal, Short ball down leg, flicked away towards square leg. Rashid missfields and they steal a run. |
| 81.1 : A Rashid to Lakmal, On middle and leg, flicked away to the on side. |
| 81.2 : A Rashid to Pushpakumara, Gets to the pitch of the ball and keeps this one out. |
| 81.3 : A Rashid to Pushpakumara, FOUR! Shot! 39 partnership up and Sri Lanka need 62 more runs. Charges down the wicket and lofts this past the left hand of Rashid for a boundary. |
| 81.4 : A Rashid to Pushpakumara, Googly. Pushpakumara comes ahead to block it but does not read it. Gets caught in front. England appeal but that was going down leg. |
| 81.5 : A Rashid to Pushpakumara, Outside off, Pushpakumara fails to put bat on ball. |
| 81.6 : A Rashid to Pushpakumara, The batsman gives this a full swing of the bat, down on one knee. The batsmen have run through for a single. |
| 82.1 : Ali to Pushpakumara, Chips this over the bowler's head to the vacant mid on region for just one. |
| 82.2 : M Ali to Lakmal, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 82.3 : M Ali to Lakmal, Rocks back and cuts this towards point for one. |
| 82.4 : M Ali to Lakmal, Down leg, Lakmal is hit low on the pads but too much spin on it. |
| 82.5 : M Ali to Lakmal, Defended off the front foot by Suranga presenting the full face of the bat. |
| Lakmal has been given out caught behind. Sri Lanka have reviewed against the decision. |
| 82.6 : Ali to Lakmal, NOT OUT! No inside edge and going down leg. Oh dear! England continue to find a way to get them out. Tossed up ball around off, Lakmal looks to work it away but it hit on the pads. The ball lobs and Foakes takes the catch. The players appeal and the umpires raises his finger. Sri Lanka go for the review. Replays show us that there was no inside edge and the ball would have gone on to miss the leg stump. |
| 83.1 : A Rashid to Pushpakumara, Flatter outside off, Malinda cuts it away to sweeper for a single. |
| 83.2 : A Rashid to S Lakmal, Flighted outside off, hit straight back to Rashid by Lakmal. |
| 83.3 : A Rashid to Lakmal, Flatter ball on middle, Lakmal flicks it away to square leg for a run. |
| 83.4 : A Rashid to Pushpakumara, Big loopy delivery outside off, Malinda looks to go for the expansive drive and gets beaten by the turn. |
| 83.5 : A Rashid to Pushpakumara, Looped up on middle, Malinda doesn't let the ball turn as he sweeps it away fine and comes back for two. |
| 83.6 : A Rashid to Pushpakumara, Full and outside off, Pushpakumara comes ahead and defends it onto the off side. |
| 84.1 : M Ali to Lakmal, FOUR! Terrific shot! Short ball outside off, Lakmal rocks back and cuts it through backward point for a boundary. Partnership worth 49 now. |
| 0.0 : New ball has been taken now. |
| 84.2 : M Ali to Lakmal, Down the leg side, Lakmal flicks it away through square leg for a run. That brings up the 50-run stand between these two. Boy, they have played well. |
| 84.3 : M Ali to Pushpakumara, On leg, Jennings at short leg takes the catch but it goes off the thigh pad. |
| 84.4 : M Ali to Pushpakumara, FOUR! Another boundary to Pushpakumara and under 50 needed now for a win. This is getting close. Down the leg side, Malinda sweeps it fine through the leg side for a boundary. |
| 84.5 : M Ali to Pushpakumara, MP has worked it off his pads behind square. One run added to the total. |
| 84.6 : M Ali to Lakmal, So close yet so far. Off spinner on off, Lakmal goes for the booming drive but misses it. The ball just passes the stumps. |
| Stuart Broad into the attack now. |
| 85.1 : Broad to Pushpakumara, Nasty! very nasty! Short ball, keeps a bit low. Pushpakumara tries to duck underneath it by taking his eyes off the ball. He takes a blow on the back of his helmet and is looking shaken up. |
| 0.0 : There will be a slight halt in play. The physio is out in the middle and examining Malinda Pushpakumara. He is good to go. Good sign this. |
| 85.2 : S Broad to Pushpakumara, No mercy! Broad goes short again on the body. Pushpakumara ducks under it. |
| 85.3 : S Broad to Pushpakumara, Well played. Gets behind this fuller ball and drives it towards covers for one. |
| 85.4 : S Broad to Lakmal, Length ball around off, cut towards backward point for a quick single. |
| 85.5 : S Broad to M Pushpakumara, WIDE! Short ball over the head height of Pushpakumara. Wide given by the umpire. |
| S Broad to Pushpakumara, Fuller ball on off, Pushpakumara swings hard but gets it off the inner half towards mid-wicket. |
| 85.6 : S Broad to Pushpakumara, Very well played! Gets behind the ball and plays this with a straight bat. That will be Tea on Day 4. |
| Well, well! Can't believe we are here! Somehow, Sri Lanka have managed to bring the deficit down to just 43 and there is very slight glimmer of hope. Four wickets went down in this session but don't fool yourselves, the last pair has been batting for close to 12 overs. They have played bravely and lived on so far. England seem to be a tad bit worried. The luck seems to have run out as have their reviews. Will we witness a crazy jailbreak from the hosts or will we see the fall of the last wicket |
| ... Day 4, Session 3 ... |
| Welcome, we are back. Jack Leach to bowl the first over. Lakmal to face. |
| 86.1 : J Leach to Lakmal, Flatter on middle, Lakmal defends it off the back foot. |
| 86.2 : J Leach to Lakmal, This one is short and on the pads, flicked away to square leg off the back foot. |
| 86.3 : J Leach to Lakmal, Flighted ball, Lakmal comes ahead and defends it towards cover. |
| GIVEN OUT! Suranga Lakmal has been adjudged lbw. Sri Lanka take the review. Looks quite adjacent. Let's see... |
| 86.4 : Leach to Lakmal, OUT! England have done it! It's clipping the leg pole and the umpire's call stays! England win by 42 runs and whitewash Sri Lanka 3-0, an achievement for them outside home after 56 long years. This one is flatter and on middle and off. Lakmal misses the forward defense and gets hit low on the pads. They appeal and the umpire raises his finger after thinking for a while. Lakmal has no other option but to opt for the DRS. The ball is sliding down but Ball Tracker feels that |
| So that's that and Sri Lanka have been whitewashed at home. England have done it, with their own brand of spin bowling. They were always ahead in the game one felt, and despite the tough fight that the hosts showed from time to time over the duration of the Test, England were still favorites to win. The trio of spinners did it again for them in this Test, just as in the previous two. Adil Rashid in the first innings with a five-for and Moeen Ali, Jack Leach with four each in the second innings. |
| Sri Lanka, on the other hand, will be disappointed as they played good cricket only in patches and didn't do enough to win a game. The little extra was what was lacking as they lost yet another close game. On the positive side though, Dilruwan Perera was the leading wicket-taker of this series with 22 wickets. Dimuth Karunaratne looked good whenever he batted. Even today, there was a good fight from Kusal Mendis and Roshen Silva as they had a par 100 stand but got out at a key stage in the game. |
| All in all, England will be very happy with this tour result. Every format has been dominated and every format has been won. Tests especially have been a great run for the Brits. Ben Foakes has been a great find and in the last Test, Bairstow seems to be an answer to their no. 3 issue. Despite being favorites, such a comprehensive win for a team that has been historically not so good in the subcontinent is a big achievement. Sri Lanka will have to go back to their drawing board and look at their |
| Ben Stokes is caught down for a chat. He says that Sri Lanka put them under pressure with that early partnership. On being asked what was said during the break, he says that they knew it was just a matter of one wicket. Thanks Leach for getting them over the line. On the series, he says it was quite tough and also the weather was quite hot. Mentions that his role in the squad is to be the enforcer. On achieving a whitewash, he replies that Sri Lanka are not easy to beat at home and he is proud t |
| Jack Leach also gives a quick interview. Says that it's a special feeling. Credits Sri Lanka for pushing them. On the last wicket, he mentions that he wanted the new ball so he could just skid one through. On the run out, he reckons that it was a big moment in the game and is very happy to be a part of it. Please hold on for the final presentation of the series. |
| Man of the Match, Jonny Bairstow is all smiles and says that it's not often that they come in the subcontinent and win the series. Admits that for him, it's been up and down, getting injured in between and then coming back into the team. On batting at number 3, he says that he is pleased with the start. Mentions that he's looking forward to the West Indian tour. |
| Sri Lanka's skipper, Suranga Lakmal says that it was a strong and tough game. On learning from the series, he replies that small things went wrong and they need to rectify that. Mentions that everyone did their best and they will have to show improvement in future. |
| Man of the Series, Ben Foakes says it's been crazy few weeks. Adds that the Sri Lankan guys played really well in this match. Feels that the conditions were tough and he is happy to acclimatize. Informs that this is his second tour here and the past experience helped him. He is delighted to contribute in England's success and says that he didn't do anything extra and just went with the flow. |
| Victorious England skipper, Joe Root says that he is really proud of everyone and terms it as a team effort. Adds that they knew they had the ability and hopes to keep improving from here on. Mentions about the squad depth which has been their biggest strength as they can bring in different guys who can pick 20 wickets and post scores to put pressure on the opponents. Feels it's been a good experience for the group. As a captain, Root replies that 'you are only as good as your team'. Credits his |
| So, we have come to the end of what has been a long, drawn out tour for England to Sri Lanka. 1-0 in the T20, 3-1 in the ODIS and 3-0 in the Tests. Though the scorelines look one-sided, the games have been closer than the results suggest. Sri Lanka fought valiantly but didn't have that extra bit in them to go over the line. But what's done is done. Onward and upward as they say, Sri Lanka travel to New Zealand next to play 2 Tests, 3 ODIs and 1 T20I. From dustbowls to fast, pacy pitches. They wi |
| It has been a lot of fun covering all these matches and there was a good contest between bat and ball. That's all for now! Adios and take care! Do switch tabs to follow up on the other crazy Test match going on between Pakistan and New Zealand where Yasir Shah has picked up his best figures in Test cricket. Cheers! |
Google +
Facebook
Twitter
Whatsapp