England turn screw on SL

A streaker runs through the ground – REUTERS

By Madushka Balasuriya

By the close of play on the second day in Galle, England had taken complete control of the first Test, and looked well at ease at 38 for no loss in their second innings, and 177 runs ahead in total. For Sri Lanka, it was a day to forget, as their batsmen failed time and again to come to terms with England’s spinners – who accounted for eight Sri Lankan scalps – as they were bowled out for 203, conceding a 139-run first innings deficit in the process.  

The pick of the English spinners was Moeen Ali, who finished with figures of 4 for 66, though he was ably assisted by the likes of Adil Rashid and Jack Leach.  

On a pitch that was offering progressively more turn and unpredictability, the trio looked as if they had been paying close attention to the home side’s spin-fuelled exploits the previous day. They constantly pitched the ball up, enticing the Sri Lankan batsmen to drive, and reaped rich dividends in the process. 

The foundations for such proactive thinking though were laid the previous day, as England’s lower order added 239 runs after their much-vaunted top five had been skittled out with barely over 100 runs on the board.

Ben Foakes was key man in the visitors’ recovery, and he was still around when play resumed on the second morning, just 13 runs short of becoming just the second England wicketkeeper to score a century on debut. Foakes reached the milestone in style – with consecutive boundaries – but fell a short while after as he looked to shed the safety first approach that had been a hallmark of his play on day one. 

With 342 runs on the board however, the damage had already been done, and matters only got worse for the Home side when Jimmy Anderson and Sam Curran took out both openers with just 10 runs on the board. 

But while England, who too had been 10/2 in their innings at one point, could partially point to their uber aggressive strategy as reason for their leaking of wickets, they at least had the benefit of a fast run rate. The Hosts muddied thinking, however, meant they did not have such a clear-eyed approach. 

Kusal Mendis was out caught behind after a failed forward defence, and Dhananjaya De Silva lap swept an Ali delivery straight onto the stumps, as Sri Lanka collapsed to 40/4. 

Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal seemed to have a modicum of a game plan – safety first in – but having put on 75 for the fifth wicket, Chandimal found himself stranded down the track having unsuccessfully advanced on Rashid. Mathews would steer the Lankan ship through to lunch with Niroshan Dickwella, but the former Captain would fall first ball after the break, caught bat-pad off Ali.

At 136/6 Sri Lanka were in damage control, and looking to reduce the deficit as much as possible. This was aided by a 35-run partnership between Dickwella and Dilruwan Perera, and a 28-run last wicket stand between Rangana Herath and Suranga Lakmal, which eked the total beyond the 200 mark.  

However, with England effectively starting day three on 177 for no loss, Sri Lanka need a minor miracle now to salvage anything from this game.