Root leads England to victory over Sri Lanka in first Test
View(s):But together with Yorkshire team-mate Harry Brook (32) he shared a grinding partnership of 49 in 20 overs — a far cry from England’s ‘Bazball’ approach of recent years, although a still slow outfield made boundaries hard to come by. The match, however, was back in the balance when Brook chipped a return catch to Jayasuriya, with England now 119-4 and still needing a further 86 runs to win.
Kamindu Mendis scored his third Test hundred in four appearances - AFP
But Jamie Smith, fresh from a maiden Test century in the first innings, gave Root fine support with a brisk 39 during a stand of 64 as England went 1-0 up in a three-match series after finishing on 205-5. It was another sign of the 24-year-old wicketkeeper’s admirable big-match temperament, Smith’s performances with the bat in Manchester minimising the impact of regular captain Ben Stokes’s absence with a series-ending torn hamstring.
That Sri Lanka took this match so deep into the fourth day was a testament to their resilience after they had collapsed to 6-3 on the opening morning. They continued that fight in the field on Saturday before Smith broke the shackles with successive fours off left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya before later pulling the tiring bowler for six.
By the time he was bowled by Asitha Fernando, England were in sight of victory at 183-5. Soon afterwards, Root went to fifty before ending the match with just his second four in 128 balls faced when he lofted Jayasuriya down the ground.
- Kamindu Mendis in command -
Earlier, Sri Lanka’s Kamindu Mendis scored his third hundred in just four Tests as he made 113 in a second-innings total of 326, having come in with his side in trouble at 95-4. Together with Dinesh Chandimal (79), he shared a seventh-wicket stand of 117 in 30 overs. England suffered a setback before play started Saturday when express quick Mark Wood was ruled out with a thigh injury suffered while bowling late on Friday.
Sri Lanka resumed on 204-6, just 82 runs ahead, after Smith’s 111 had been the cornerstone of England’s first-innings 358. Mendis, dropped on 39, was 56 not out and Chandimal 20 not out. Mendis was quickly into his stride on Saturday, having missed Sri Lanka’s lone warm-up match against the second-string England Lions at Worcester last week after visa problems delayed his entry into the UK,
The 25-year-old left-hander, drove fast bowler Gus Atkinson through the covers and pulled him behind square for fours off successive deliveries. Chandimal, meanwhile, completed a 73-ball fifty after resuming his innings following a pain-killing injection, having retired hurt on 10 when struck on the thumb by Wood.
After England took the new ball, Mendis’s cut off seamer Chris Woakes — his 12th four in 167 balls also including a six — saw him to a well-deserved century. He later struck Atkinson for three fours in the first over after lunch to take Sri Lanka past 300, saving the best for last with a flashing cover drive.
But the Surrey quick had his revenge when, bowling from around the wicket, a ball tha cut away sharply off the pitch took Mendis’s outside edge, with Root holding a low catch at slip. Despite his dismissal, Mendis was still left with a hugely impressive Test batting average of 92. His exit, however, sparked a collapse that saw Sri Lanka lose their last four wickets for 19 runs.
| Scoreboard | |
| Sri Lanka 1st innings 236 all out (74) (Dhananjaya de Silva 74, Milan Rathnayake 72, Kusal Mendis 24; Chris Woakes 3/32, Shoaib Bashir 3/55, Gus Atkinson 2/48)\ England 1st innings 358 all out (85.3) (Jamie Smith 111, Harry Brook 56, Joe Root 42, Dan Lawrence 30, Chris Woakes 25, Mark Wood 22, Gus Atkinson 20; Asitha Fernando 4/103, Prabath Jayasuriya 3/85, Vishwa Fernando 2/73)
Sri Lanka 2nd innings (O’night 204-6) Nishan Madushka b Woakes 00 Dimuth Karunaratne c Brook b Wood 27 Kusal Mendis c Smith b Atkinson 00 Angelo Mathews c Potts b Woakes 65 Dinesh Chandimal c Singh b Potts 79 Dhananjaya de Silva lbw b Potts 11 Kamindu Mendis c Root b Atkinson 113 Milan Rathnayake c Duckett b Root 10 Prabath Jayasuriya c Brook b Potts 05 Vishwa Fernando lbw b Woakes 00 Asitha Fernando not out 00 Extras (lb9, nb1, w6) 16 Total (all out; 89.3 overs) 326 Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Madushka, 0.3ov), 2-1 (Kusal Mendis, 1.4ov), 3-52 (Karunaratne, 13.1ov), 3-74 (17.2 ov), 4-95 (Dhananjaya, 25.3ov), 5-173 (Mathews, 50.4ov), 6-190 (Rathnayake, 55.4ov), 7-307 (Kamindu Mendis, 85.2ov), 8-321 (Jayasuriya, 87.6ov), 9-322 (V. Fernando, 88.6ov), 10-326 (Chandimal, 89.3ov) Bowling: Chris Woakes 22-6-58-3 Gus Atkinson 17-2-89-2, Shoaib Bashir 20-0-77-0, Mark Wood 10.2-1-36-1, Matthew Potts 17.3-4-47-3, Joe Root 1.4-0-5-1, Dan Lawrence 1-0-5-0 England 2nd innings (Target 205) Ben Duckett c Kusal b A. Fernando 11 Dan Lawrence lbw b Rathnayake 34 Ollie Pope c Dhananjaya b Jayasuriya 06 Joe Root not out 62 Harry Brook c and b Jayasuriya 32 Jamie Smith b A. Fernando 39 Chris Woakes not out 08 Extras (lb5, nb3, w5) 13 Total (5 wickets; 57.2 overs) 205 Did not bat: Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir Fall of wickets: 1-34 (Duckett, 5.4ov), 2-56 (Pope, 12.5ov), 3-70 (Lawrence, 15.3ov), 4-119 (Brook, 34.6ov), 5-183 (Smith, 50.4ov) Bowling: Vishwa Fernando 8-0-46-0, Asitha Fernando 12-1-25-2, Prabath Jayasuriya 25.5-4-98-2, Milan Rathnayake 12-0-31-1 |