England give Sri Lanka route into final Test

Third Test, The Kia Oval (day 2 of five)

England 325: Pope 154, Duckett 86; Rathnayake 3-56

Sri Lanka 211-5: Nissanka 64, De Silva 64*, Kamindu Mendis 54*

Sri Lanka are 114 runs behind

Scorecard

England gave Sri Lanka a mode backmost into the last Test connected a funny 2nd time astatine The Kia Oval.

The location broadside squandered wickets to beryllium bowled retired for 325 earlier Sri Lanka reached 211-5, 114 behind.

Like the archetypal day, atrocious airy was a changeless threat, astatine 1 signifier resulting successful the bewildering show of Chris Woakes bowling 4 balls of off-spin.

Home skipper Ollie Pope turned his period into 156 but received small support. Sri Lanka’s bowlers were overmuch improved from their mediocre showing connected Friday and, with England’s aggression tipping into recklessness, the hosts mislaid their past 7 wickets for 64 runs.

England’s ultra-positivity carried into their bowling and tract settings, astir apt due to the fact that of an eagerness to capitalise connected the conditions.

Sri Lanka raced to 50 wrong 9 overs, led by Pathum Nissanka’s 40-ball half-century. He was not deterred by opening spouse Dimuth Karunaratne being run-out by Olly Stone’s nonstop hit.

Nissanka became the archetypal Test wicket for debutant Josh Hull erstwhile helium drove to a diving Woakes astatine other cover. With Stone taking 2 wickets successful arsenic galore overs, Sri Lanka mislaid 3 for 7 runs to gaffe to 93-5.

Skipper Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis battled and, erstwhile the airy worsened aft tea, England had to vessel spin. Crucially, Hull dropped De Silva connected 23.

Sri Lanka were making bully advancement until the umpires decided it was excessively dark. By that point, De Silva had 64 and Mendis 54, their basal worthy an unbroken 108.

After the vexation of much than fractional of time 1 being mislaid to the light, this 2nd time was low-intensity and, astatine times, low-quality. With England already confirmed arsenic bid winners, the finale is lacking jeopardy and was not helped by much shenanigans with the light.

The gloom of the entity and greenish tinge of the transportation suggested assistance for the bowlers, truthful determination was immoderate logic to England’s approach. They tried to people rapidly successful the morning, past went all-out for wickets erstwhile they came to bowl.

Still, immoderate of the dismissals – each 7 batters retired connected Saturday were caught playing attacking shots - and tract settings were reminiscent of a affable oregon payment match.

That feeling was reinforced erstwhile Karunaratne was run-out 2 balls into Woakes’ 4th over. Umpires Joel Wilson and Chris Gaffaney decided the airy was not suitable for gait bowling, resulting successful Woakes sending down immoderate unspeakable off-breaks.

At a stroke, planetary athletics resembled the colony green. At a clip erstwhile the aboriginal of Test cricket is debated, this was a country of precocious farce. The assemblage booed. Within moments, the prima came out.

Normal Test cricket resumed, England worked done the apical bid until they were halted by De Silva and Mendis, and the airy played a portion again arsenic Sri Lanka chipped distant the shortage aft tea.

The mode England batted suggested a tendency to get bowling. In the 1 implicit Woakes bowled earlier lunch, England had 8 catchers.

Sri Lanka were fixed the accidental to people rapidly and pounced connected it. Nissanka’s half-century was the fastest by a Sri Lanka batter successful a Test against England. Nissanka and Karunaratne ran good until Karunaratne was sold abbreviated by a choky azygous and Stone’s dead-eye throw.

Woakes’ rotation was nary amended than nine standard, but erstwhile helium was allowed backmost to pace, Kusal Mendis edged to 2nd slip. Stone continued his awesome instrumentality to Test cricket by archetypal getting Angelo Mathews to fend to gully, past pinning Dinesh Chandimal lbw.

Hull, the 20-year-old, 6ft 7in left-armer, is the astir outrageous prime of each England’s caller hunches. On successful the 12th over, helium swung the shot and was occasionally erratic, yet got the cardinal wicket of Nissanka acknowledgment to Woakes’ astute catch. It was conscionable his 17th first-class wicket.

De Silva and Mendis battled to tea, their basal astatine 49 erstwhile the airy necessitated much spin. Da Silva drilled Shoaib Bashir to Hull astatine mid-on and a straightforward accidental was spilled. It would person near Sri Lanka 152-6.

It is to England’s recognition they were blessed to vessel rotation for much than an hr into the evening, erstwhile the reintroduction of gait would person sent the players off. In the end, the umpires decided it was excessively acheronian adjacent for the dilatory bowlers, leaving 26 overs unused.

England had done good to determination to 221-3 aft being asked to bat connected time one. When Pope resumed connected Saturday connected 103 and successful the institution of Harry Brook, the location broadside were successful fast-forward from the outset.

Brook’s was a skittish innings. He was woefully dropped by Asitha Fernando astatine heavy constituent earlier helium drilled Milan Rathnayake to abbreviated screen for 19. It acceptable the code for the remainder of England’s morning.

Sri Lanka recovered prodigious plaything and Pope rode his luck. An lbw disconnected Vishwa Fernando was overturned by the tiniest borderline erstwhile Pope had 139 and successful the aforesaid implicit the skipper someway escaped dragging connected to his ain stumps.

Jamie Smith clipped Asitha to mid-wicket, Woakes and Gus Atkinson some holed retired from the off-spin of Da Silva, Hull and Bashir were bounced out.

Pope was the eighth wicket to fall, hooking Vishwa to heavy quadrate leg. Apart from Ben Duckett, who made 86 connected the opening day, nary different England batter made it to 20.

Overall, the seven-wicket illness connected Saturday greeting came successful precisely 100 deliveries.