RECAP
Follow UsMendis, Chandimal induce hope
Kamindu Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal batted for 25 overs on Day 4 to keep Sri Lanka in the hunt. The pair continued their overnight partnership, adding 117 runs for the seventh wicket, extending Sri Lanka’s lead to 185.
The England bowlers looked docile and it felt as if they were waiting for the second new ball. They tried to trap Chandimal in a leg-side heavy field but nothing worked in their favor. Meanwhile, Mendis brought up his third Test hundred, scoring 113 from 183 deliveries.
England come back with new ball
The hosts finally broke the Mendis-Chandimal pair in the sixth over with the second new ball. Having batted so well for his 113, Mendis poked at a delivery from Gus Atkinson that he could have left.
The lower-order couldn’t hang around with Chandimal (79 from 119 balls) and Sri Lanka managed only 20 runs for their last four wickets, setting England 205 to win.
England’s quick start
Another innings and another quickfire opening stand. Ben Duckett and Dan Lawrence amassed 34 off 34 balls for the opening wicket, bringing down the deficit to 171 in a crucial start. Asitha Fernando then nabbed Duckett for the second time in the match, edging him to the wicketkeeper.
Sri Lanka dig in
Sri Lanka were quick to seize the scoring rate after Duckett’s departure. It became harder to score against the older ball on a dying Manchester track. Lawrence and Ollie Pope took 44 balls to add 22 runs for the second wicket before Pope miscued a reverse sweep against Prabhat Jayasuriya.
Milan Rathnayake then snared Lawrence. At 70/3, Sri Lanka were still fighting in the Test.
Root, Brook, Smith take England home
Joe Root and Harry Brook once again pulled England out of a possible rut. The Yorkshire pair added 49 runs for the fourth wicket to ease England’s nerves. After Brook (32) handed a return catch to Jayasuriya, Root added 64 for the fifth wicket Jamie Smith (39 from 48) to pull the game in favor of the Three Lions.
Root formed the reserved half of both stands, with Brook and Smith scoring more freely. In an uncharacteristic Bazball chase, England took 57.2 overs to raze down the target and scored only 64 runs in boundaries (13 fours and two sixes). The former skipper finished unbeaten on 62 off 128 balls with only two fours.
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