Bhathiya Barukanda
Sri Lanka lost the second of the 3-match Test series to England by 190 runs but did make a fight of it taking it to the final session of the fourth day with Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal and skipper Dhananjaya de Silva scoring half centuries in chasing an improbable 483 victory target at Lords yesterday.
The win gave England their first test triumph over Sri Lanka since 1991 in denting a long running euphoria the island nation had enjoyed over England at cricket’s most hallowed venue considered the citadel of the game where Gus Atkinson rode to a telling Player of the Match show. His sterling 118 innings and 5 wickets in the second innings was a perfect round off to becoming the third player to score a hundred and claim 5 wickets in a match at Lords following the feats of Vinod Mankad in 1952 and Ian Botham in 1978.
Karunaratne did defy to convert his overnight 23 to his first half century 55 in 13 innings consuming 129 balls and 201 minutes striking 7 boundaries in keeping England at bay in a fourth-wicket 55-run alliance with Angelo Mathews who made 36 off 91 lasting 135 minutes tucked into 3 boundaries after night watchman, Prabath Jayasuriya, who had just hung on for 4 in a 41-ball resistance was sent back by Chris Woakes. Karunaratne’s defiance was broken by Olly Stone who bounced one to finding the left-hander’s edge to wicket-keeper Jamie Smith. Mathews hung on for a dour 36 off 91 stretching 135 minutes executing 3 boundaries to adding 59 for the fifth-wicket with Dinesh Chandimal who went on the offensive to a 43-ball half century inside of lunch decked with 11 boundaries before falling for a 62-ball 58 to a bat pad catch off Gus Atkinson who went on to account for Kamindu Mendis 15 deliveries later who mistimed a slash to Duckett.
The advent of Dhananjaya de Silva went to a composed 50 off 71 hitting 7 boundaries before playing on to Atkinson operating the second new ball. The Lankan skipper figured in the highest partnership of 73 between Milan Rathnayake who was the last bastion for the Lankans in holding up England with a plucky 43 off 56 to finding the boundary on 7 occasions in an 83-minute wait. Rathnayake, who was 7 short of what would have been his second test fifty in two outings as he counter-attackied Stone’s short deliveries before Atkinson had him edging to Smith. Chris Woakes completed England’s victory having Lahiru Kumara caught by stone for 10.
England 427 (Root 143, Atkinson 118, Asitha 5-102) and 251 (Root 103, Asitha 3-52) beat Sri Lanka 196 (Kamindu 74, Potts 2-19) and 292 (Chandimal 58, Karunaratne 55, Dhananjaya 50, Rathnayake 43, Mathews 36, Atkinson 5-62) by 190 runs.
source: Sri Lanka Cricket
