Sri Lanka won their first day of the first Test match against England at Galle International Cricket Stadium as they ended up on 156/2 at stumps on the third day, after taking 6 dismissals for just 101 runs during the day to keep themselves in the contest.
England resumed their innings on 320/4 with Skipper Joe Root and Jos Buttler on 168 and 7 respectively on the morning of the 3rd day.
Day 2: Captain Root records highest score by an Englishman in Sri Lanka
Root continued his dominant innings from where he left off and reached to his 4th double century, becoming the only England player to score two double centuries as Captain. He also surpassed 8000 Test runs, being the 7th Englishman to do so.
The morning session was going exactly as England expected until Asitha Fernando produced a brilliant delivery to dismiss Buttler who was on 30. With a hint of away movement, Buttler was forced for a thick edge through to Niroshan Dickwella behind the wickets. In the very next ball, Fernando rattled the stumps of Sam Curran to bring Sri Lanka some relief.
Video: ‘Wanindu & Dilruwan haven’t been able to consistently put it in right areas’ – David Saker
After that opening, the spinners managed to wipe up the tail quickly, restricting England from 4/372 to 421/10. It was the first session in this Test match where Sri Lanka won, as they picked 6 wickets for 101 runs. Veteran Dilruwan Perera cashed in with 4 wickets, while left-armer Lasith Embuldeniya ended up with 3.
Stats – Joe Root’s 228
- First double century by an Englishman in Sri Lanka
- Fifth double century by an Englishman in Asia (last one was in 2015 by Sir Alastair Cook in Abu Dhabi)
- Root’s 2nd double century vs Sri Lanka
- Only England player to score two double centuries as captain
- 2nd fastest Englishman to reach 8000 Test runs (in 178 innings)
England set a first innings lead of 286 runs for Sri Lanka courtesy of the home team’s terrible batsmanship in the first innings, but the locals seemed to learn their lesson as the Sri Lankan opening pair batted with extra caution in the afternoon session, adding 90 runs.
Kusal Perera, who is usually an attacking player, restricted himself from his usual nature and added a well composed 62 before he threw away the perfect start for a poor delivery from Sam Curran. Kusal Perera’s eyes lit up at a short, wide one outside the off stump and he threw his hands at it, only to pick out the line man at deep point. Perera and Thirimanne added 101 runs to the first innings, laying a perfect foundation to the fight back in the third innings.
Photos: England tour of Sri Lanka 2021 – 1st Test | Day 03
Thirimanne also made an unbeaten 76, which is his first 70+ score after 7 years. His last 70+ was recorded in 2013 against Bangladesh, where he scored an unbeaten 155 which is his only test hundred.
Unfortunately, Sri Lanka lost Kusal Mendis just before the stumps for 15 runs, but he avoided what would have been a traumatic 5th duck in a row. Sri Lanka are still 130 runs behind England’s first innings and sweeping off that deficit without losing too many wickets will be their first task tomorrow.
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Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lahiru Thirimanne | c Jonathan Bairstow b Stuart Broad | 4 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 18.18 |
| Kusal Perera | c Joe Root b Dominic Bess | 20 | 28 | 2 | 0 | 71.43 |
| Kusal Mendis | c Jos Buttler b Stuart Broad | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Angelo Mathews | c Joe Root b Stuart Broad | 27 | 54 | 1 | 1 | 50.00 |
| Dinesh Chandimal | c Sam Curran b Jack Leach | 28 | 71 | 1 | 0 | 39.44 |
| Niroshan Dickwella | c Dominic Sibley b Dominic Bess | 12 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 57.14 |
| Dasun Shanaka | c Jos Buttler b Dominic Bess | 23 | 48 | 3 | 0 | 47.92 |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | b Dominic Bess | 19 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 86.36 |
| Dilruwan Perera | b Dominic Bess | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Lasith Embuldeniya | run out (Jack Leach) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Asitha Fernando | not out | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 2 (b 0 , lb 1 , nb 1, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 135/10 (46.1 Overs, RR: 2.92) |
| Fall of Wickets | 1-16 (6.3) Lahiru Thirimanne, 2-16 (6.5) Kusal Mendis, 3-25 (10.2) Kusal Perera, 4-81 (28.6) Angelo Mathews, 5-81 (29.2) Dinesh Chandimal, 6-105 (38.1) Niroshan Dickwella, 7-126 (42.5) Dasun Shanaka, 8-126 (42.5) Dilruwan Perera, 9-130 (43.5) Lasith Embuldeniya, 10-135 (46.1) Wanindu Hasaranga, |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stuart Broad | 9 | 3 | 20 | 3 | 2.22 | |
| Sam Curran | 4 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 2.00 | |
| Mark Wood | 6 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 3.50 | |
| Dominic Bess | 10.1 | 3 | 30 | 5 | 2.97 | |
| Jack Leach | 17 | 2 | 55 | 1 | 3.24 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zak Crawley | c Wanindu Hasaranga b Lasith Embuldeniya | 9 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 34.62 |
| Dominic Sibley | c Lahiru Thirimanne b Lasith Embuldeniya | 4 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 26.67 |
| Jonathan Bairstow | c Kusal Mendis b Lasith Embuldeniya | 47 | 93 | 2 | 0 | 50.54 |
| Joe Root | c Lasith Embuldeniya b Dilruwan Perera | 228 | 321 | 18 | 1 | 71.03 |
| Dan Lawrence | c Kusal Mendis b Dilruwan Perera | 73 | 150 | 6 | 1 | 48.67 |
| Jos Buttler | c Niroshan Dickwella b Asitha Fernando | 30 | 57 | 3 | 0 | 52.63 |
| Sam Curran | b Asitha Fernando | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Dominic Bess | run out (Minod Bhanuka) | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Jack Leach | lbw b Dilruwan Perera | 4 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 20.00 |
| Mark Wood | c Niroshan Dickwella b Dilruwan Perera | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 22.22 |
| Stuart Broad | not out | 11 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 84.62 |
| Extras | 13 (b 7 , lb 0 , nb 6, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 421/10 (117.1 Overs, RR: 3.59) |
| Fall of Wickets | 1-10 (4.2) Dominic Sibley, 2-17 (8.4) Zak Crawley, 3-131 (42.2) Jonathan Bairstow, |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lasith Embuldeniya | 45 | 4 | 176 | 3 | 3.91 | |
| Asitha Fernando | 14 | 1 | 44 | 2 | 3.14 | |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | 15 | 1 | 63 | 0 | 4.20 | |
| Dilruwan Perera | 36.1 | 2 | 109 | 4 | 3.02 | |
| Dasun Shanaka | 7 | 1 | 22 | 0 | 3.14 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kusal Perera | c Jack Leach b Sam Curran | 62 | 109 | 5 | 1 | 56.88 |
| Lahiru Thirimanne | c Jos Buttler b Sam Curran | 111 | 251 | 12 | 0 | 44.22 |
| Kusal Mendis | c Jos Buttler b Jack Leach | 15 | 65 | 1 | 0 | 23.08 |
| Lasith Embuldeniya | c Dominic Sibley b Dominic Bess | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Angelo Mathews | c & b Jack Leach | 71 | 219 | 4 | 0 | 32.42 |
| Dinesh Chandimal | c Joe Root b Dominic Bess | 20 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 71.43 |
| Niroshan Dickwella | c Jos Buttler b Dominic Bess | 29 | 74 | 1 | 0 | 39.19 |
| Dasun Shanaka | b Jack Leach | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 80.00 |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | c Joe Root b Jack Leach | 12 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Dilruwan Perera | st Jos Buttler b Jack Leach | 24 | 38 | 5 | 0 | 63.16 |
| Asitha Fernando | not out | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 11 (b 7 , lb 1 , nb 3, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 359/10 (136.5 Overs, RR: 2.62) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stuart Broad | 17 | 11 | 14 | 0 | 0.82 | |
| Sam Curran | 11 | 1 | 37 | 2 | 3.36 | |
| Dominic Bess | 33 | 4 | 100 | 3 | 3.03 | |
| Mark Wood | 21 | 5 | 49 | 0 | 2.33 | |
| Jack Leach | 41.5 | 6 | 122 | 5 | 2.94 | |
| Joe Root | 11 | 1 | 19 | 0 | 1.73 | |
| Dan Lawrence | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 5.00 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zak Crawley | c Kusal Mendis b Lasith Embuldeniya | 8 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 38.10 |
| Dominic Sibley | b Lasith Embuldeniya | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 40.00 |
| Jonathan Bairstow | not out | 35 | 62 | 2 | 0 | 56.45 |
| Joe Root | run out (Niroshan Dickwella) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Dan Lawrence | not out | 21 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 40.38 |
| Extras | 9 (b 0 , lb 9 , nb 0, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 76/3 (24.2 Overs, RR: 3.12) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lasith Embuldeniya | 12 | 3 | 29 | 2 | 2.42 | |
| Dilruwan Perera | 11.2 | 2 | 34 | 0 | 3.04 | |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4.00 | |
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