England romped home by eight wickets to level the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka 1-1 at the P. Sara Oval yesterday. Chasing 94 runs for victory, England achieved their target losing just two wickets to gain back their winning form as the world’s top Test playing team after four straight defeats – three against Pakistan in the Middle-East and one in Galle. Thus England also retained the number one position in the ICC Test rankings.
The Sri Lanka-England Test series which concluded yesterday also was of importance for the home side in a way. It was 30 years ago, February 1982 to be exact, when Sri Lanka first played at Test match against England and yesterday’s match was more or less an anniversary encounter for both teams. Even in that game it was an off spinner – John Emburey who made the difference between the two teams.