By Joe Mansfield.
A FINE fourth day performance completed a 2-0 series win for England over Sri Lanka to claim the Moose Cup in Galle.
Sri Lanka crumbled to 126 all out under the pressure of a great England spin bowling display. The stubbornness of Dom Sibley and skill of Jos Buttler backed up the bowlers efforts and steered the visitors to their target of 164 to win the second Test.
Lasith Embuldeniya took three more wickets and completed his haul of ten for the match, but his efforts proved to be in vain with the visitors winning by 6 wickets.
England started the day on 339-9 and added five to that tally courtesy of a reverse sweep to the boundary by James Anderson and a single by Jack Leach. The latter was out soon after as he was struck on the pads trying to sweep Dilruan Perera.
Sri Lanka were in the driving seat and led by 37 runs, a score of over 200 would have provided a serious challenge to England.
Joe Root gave seamers Sam Curran and James Anderson two overs each to open the bowling but quickly turned to the spin of Leach and Bess in the search of early wickets.
The spin duo were wicketless in the first innings, but the Galle pitch had evolved into a spinner’s paradise on the fourth day and sparked a change in fortune.
The sight of Leach and Bess tearing through a batting line-up has been a familiar sight in Taunton, Somerset in recent years, this time the coastal city of Galle in Sri Lanka witnessed their talent. They picked up four wickets apiece to reduce Sri Lanka to 78-8.
The scorebook made for ugly reading for Sri Lankan supporters as none of their front-line batsmen made significant scores.
The star of the match from Sri Lanka’s perspective was Embuldeniya and he came to the rescue with bat in hand. He struck a quick-fire 41 from 42 deliveries.
Root took matters into his own hands to put an end to the hosts surge in their innings. He dismissed Embuldeniya and then removed Asitha Fernando for a golden duck to end with figures of 2-0.
England trailed by 163 after their great bowling performance limited the host to 124 all out in their second innings.
Embuldeniya went on to influence the game further and added the wicket of Zak Crawley to his rapidly growing tally.
The left-arm bowler had accounted for all of Dom Sibley’s wickets in the series, but the opening batsman found a way to play his spin. His disciplined knock of 56 not out was the backbone of the England innings while wickets fell at the other end.
Johnny Bairstow scored fluently before Embuldeniya trapped him leg-before-wicket for 29. England were then forced into a state of panic as the wickets Root and Dan Lawrence fell in quick succession.
Buttler made 55 in the first innings and he picked up where he left off to strike a near run-a-ball 46 not out and guide England to victory. The pressure was on the wicketkeeper-batsman and he passed the test which will be a source of great confidence going into their upcoming series against India.
England XI
Z Crawley, D Sibley, J Bairstow, J Root (C), D lawrence, J Buttler (WK), S Curran, D Bess, M Wood, J Leach, J Anderson.
Sri Lanka XI
L Thirimane, K Perera, O Fernando, D Chandimal (C), A, Mathews, N Dickwella (WK), S Lakmal, R Mendis, D Perera, L Embuldeniya, A Fernando.
