A valiant ton by Dinesh Chandimal (126) led a resilient fight back and saved the visitors from another innings defeat as they piled up 475 in their second essay but it did little to change the eventual outcome as England chased down a paltry target of 79 to claim a series win at Chester-Le-Street in Durham on Monday.
Dinesh Chandimal and Milinda Siriwardana resumed on the overnight score of 309/5, but the 92-run partnership was soon broken when the latter could not add runs to his overnight score as he was removed by James Anderson for 35.
Chandimal, who was already on a half-ton, prodded his way alongside Rangana Herath, who carried his duties with the willow this time. The Sri Lanka vice-captain had his fortunes when he was dropped on 69 by Jonny Bairstow who dived to his left but could not hold on to the catch off Anderson’s bowling.
Gaining full momentum, ‘Chandi’ patiently moved forward with firm support from Herath at the opposite end. After grappling for nine deliveries on 99, Chandimal nudged the ball through third man to reach a resolute century, a much awaited sight for the away fans. Moreover, it was reminiscent of his innings (162*) against India at Galle last year where he came to bat at the same no. 6 position to turn the tables for a monumental victory.
The resurgence saw Sri Lanka reaching 403/6 at lunch with a slender lead of 6 runs. The pair continued their stubborn upturn as Herath reached his 2nd Test half-century in 87 balls. His cameo finally ended when Anderson trapped him for 61 as curtains were drawn on the plucky 116-run stand for the 7th wicket.
Chandimal’s fine knock came to a close when his stumps were disturbed by Stuart Broad on 126, while Sri Lanka were subsequently bowled out for 475. James Anderson, Chris Woakes, Steven Finn and Stuart Broad shared 9 wickets between them while Anderson’s outstanding spell yielded 5 for 58.
Chasing a target of 79 runs to claim the series, Alex Hales and skipper Alistair Cook opened for the home side. With a boundary off Nuwan Pradeep, Cook became only the 12th cricketer in history and the youngest ever player (31 years 157 days) to score 10,000 Test runs. Cook also became the first Englishman to reach the milestone, 139 years after they were granted Test status.
After Hales was clean bowled by Siriwardana for 11 off a straighter delivery which kept a tad low, Cook and Nick Compton resumed the upswing, reaching the target in 23.2 overs and securing a sumptuous 9-wicket win to seal the series 2-0 with a game to go.
Sri Lanka’s brave comeback certainly would not justify the dismal batsmanship in the first essay and the visitors will need to turn things around if they are to salvage pride in this series.
 led a resilient fight back and saved the visitors from follow-on as they piled up 475 in the second essay but little it did help to change the eventual outcome as England chased down a paltry target of 79 to claim a series win at Chester-Le-Street in Durham on Monday.){kind=link}