England whitewash Sri Lanka, win by 6 wickets; Strengthen chance for ICC WTC final

England whitewash Sri Lanka: Dominic Sibley hit an unbeaten 56 and Jos Buttler made a 48-ball 46 as England chased down 164 to defeat Sri Lanka by six wickets in the second Test on Monday at the Galle International Stadium to clinch the series 2-0.

On day four, England spinners Jack Leach and Dominic Bess spun a web on Sri Lanka’s batters and the duo took eight wickets between themselves as the hosts were bundled out for 126 in the second innings, setting England a target of 164.

The visitors then found themselves in a spot of bother at 89/4 with Joe Root back in the hut, but Sibley and Buttler stitched an unbeaten stand of 75 to take England over the line by six wickets. Chasing 164, England once again got off to a poor start as Lasith Embuldeniya dismissed Zack Crawley (13) and as a result, Dom Sibley and Jonny Bairstow were tasked with ensuring that the visitors did not fall behind in the game. Both batsmen ensured that the side had nine wickets in hand going into the final session, needing 118 more runs to register a win.

Bairstow was playing aggressively and he brought out all kinds of sweeps (traditional and reverse) to throw Embuldeniya off his line, but this attacking instinct brought about his dismissal as well and he was sent back to the pavilion after playing a knock of 29. Joe Root (11) and Daniel Lawrence (2) also failed to get going, and England was reduced to 89/4, still needing 75 runs for the win.

In the end, Buttler and Sibley ensured that England did not suffer any more hiccups and England registered a confortable win.

Earlier, resuming their second innings with a slender lead of 37 runs, Sri Lanka batters displayed poor game awareness and the side was restricted to 67/6 at the lunch break. England spinners who failed to take a single wicket in the first innings, turned their fortunes around in the second innings as Jack Leach and Dominic Bess took six wickets between themselves in the first session.

Kusal Perera (14), Lahiru Thirimanne (13), Oshando Fernando (3), Angelo Mathews (5), Dinesh Chandimal (9), and Niroshan Dickwella (7) all failed to leave a mark with the bat and Sri Lanka was left starring down the barrel. At the lunch break, Dilruwan Perera (1*) and Ramesh Mendis (11*) were at the crease for the hosts.

In the second session, Embuldeniya played a crucial knock of 40 runs off just 42 balls, and this innings helped Sri Lanka extend their lead above 150. Skipper Root took the final two wickets as Sri Lanka’s innings ended at 126, setting a target of 164 for England.

England will now travel to India for a four-Tests, five T20Is and three ODIs series.

ENGLAND 2ND INNINGS (TARGET: 164 RUNS)

BATSMEN		R	B	4s	6s	SR
Zak Crawley	c BOP Fernando b Embuldeniya	13	19	1	0	68.42
Dom Sibley	not out	56	144	2	0	38.89
Jonny Bairstow	lbw b Embuldeniya	29	28	3	1	103.57
Joe Root (c)	b Mendis	11	16	1	0	68.75
Dan Lawrence	c †Dickwella b Embuldeniya	2	9	0	0	22.22
Jos Buttler †	not out	46	48	5	0	95.83
Extras	(lb 4, nb 3)	7
TOTAL	(43.3 Ov, RR: 3.77)	164/4
Did not bat: Sam Curran, Dom Bess, Jack Leach, Mark Wood, James Anderson
Fall of wickets: 1-17 (Zak Crawley, 4.5 ov), 2-62 (Jonny Bairstow, 14.5 ov), 3-84 (Joe Root, 21.5 ov), 4-89 (Dan Lawrence, 24.6 ov)

BOWLING	O	M	R	W	ECON	NB
Lasith Embuldeniya	20	3	73	3	3.65	2
Dilruwan Perera	13.3	1	39	0	2.89	1
Ramesh Mendis	10	0	48	1	4.80	0

Sri Lanka 1st inning

BATSMEN		R	B	4s	6s	SR
Lahiru Thirimanne	c †Buttler b Anderson	43	95	5	0	45.26
Kusal Perera	c Root b Anderson	6	14	1	0	42.86
Oshada Fernando	b Anderson	0	4	0	0	0.00
Angelo Mathews	c †Buttler b Anderson	110	238	11	0	46.22
Dinesh Chandimal (c)	lbw b Wood	52	121	4	1	42.98
Niroshan Dickwella †	c Leach b Anderson	92	144	10	0	63.89
Ramesh Mendis	c †Buttler b Wood	0	7	0	0	0.00
Dilruwan Perera	c Leach b Curran	67	170	8	1	39.41
Suranga Lakmal	c Crawley b Anderson	0	2	0	0	0.00
Lasith Embuldeniya	c Root b Wood	7	33	0	1	21.21
Asitha Fernando	not out	0	10	0	0	0.00
Extras	(lb 2, nb 1, w 1)	4
TOTAL	(139.3 Ov, RR: 2.73)	381
Fall of wickets: 1-7 (Kusal Perera, 4.1 ov), 2-7 (Oshada Fernando, 4.5 ov), 3-76 (Lahiru Thirimanne, 26.2 ov), 4-193 (Dinesh Chandimal, 68.6 ov), 5-232 (Angelo Mathews, 88.6 ov), 6-243 (Ramesh Mendis, 91.6 ov), 7-332 (Niroshan Dickwella, 120.4 ov), 8-332 (Suranga Lakmal, 120.6 ov), 9-364 (Lasith Embuldeniya, 132.6 ov), 10-381 (Dilruwan Perera, 139.3 ov)

BOWLING	O	M	R	W	ECON	WD	NB
James Anderson	29	13	40	6	1.38	0	0
Sam Curran	18.3	3	60	1	3.24	0	0
Jack Leach	38	5	119	0	3.13	0	0
Mark Wood	28	4	84	3	3.00	1	1
Dom Bess	26	2	76	0	2.92	0	0

ENGLAND 1ST INNINGS

BATSMEN		R	B	4s	6s	SR
Zak Crawley	c Thirimanne b Embuldeniya	5	24	1	0	20.83
Dom Sibley	lbw b Embuldeniya	0	14	0	0	0.00
Jonny Bairstow	c BOP Fernando b Embuldeniya	28	73	5	0	38.36
Joe Root (c)	run out (BOP Fernando)	186	309	18	0	60.19
Dan Lawrence	c Thirimanne b Embuldeniya	3	21	0	0	14.29
Jos Buttler †	c BOP Fernando b Mendis	55	95	7	0	57.89
Sam Curran	c Thirimanne b Embuldeniya	13	43	0	1	30.23
Dom Bess	c Thirimanne b Embuldeniya	32	95	4	0	33.68
Mark Wood	c Thirimanne b Embuldeniya	1	6	0	0	16.67
Jack Leach	lbw b MDK Perera	1	17	0	0	5.88
James Anderson	not out	4	5	1	0	80.00
Extras	(b 8, lb 3, nb 5)	16
TOTAL	(116.1 Ov, RR: 2.96)	344
Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Dom Sibley, 5.2 ov), 2-5 (Zak Crawley, 7.1 ov), 3-116 (Jonny Bairstow, 35.5 ov), 4-132 (Dan Lawrence, 41.2 ov), 5-229 (Jos Buttler, 70.5 ov), 6-252 (Sam Curran, 81.2 ov), 7-333 (Dom Bess, 109.5 ov), 8-337 (Mark Wood, 111.2 ov), 9-339 (Joe Root, 114.2 ov), 10-344 (Jack Leach, 116.1 ov)

BOWLING	O	M	R	W	ECON	NB
Suranga Lakmal	16	7	31	0	1.94	0
Lasith Embuldeniya	42	6	137	7	3.26	4
Asitha Fernando	10	2	31	0	3.10	0
Dilruwan Perera	32.1	4	86	1	2.67	1
Ramesh Mendis	16	1	48	1	3.00	0

SRI LANKA 2ND INNINGS

BATSMEN		R	B	4s	6s	SR
Kusal Perera	lbw b Leach	14	25	2	0	56.00
Lahiru Thirimanne	c Crawley b Leach	13	33	0	0	39.39
Oshada Fernando	c Crawley b Bess	3	19	0	0	15.79
Angelo Mathews	b Bess	5	11	0	0	45.45
Dinesh Chandimal (c)	c Anderson b Leach	9	6	2	0	150.00
Niroshan Dickwella †	c Lawrence b Bess	7	14	1	0	50.00
Ramesh Mendis	c †Buttler b Leach	16	20	3	0	80.00
Dilruwan Perera	c Crawley b Bess	4	13	0	0	30.77
Suranga Lakmal	not out	11	32	1	0	34.38
Lasith Embuldeniya	c Bairstow b Root	40	42	6	1	95.24
Asitha Fernando	b Root	0	1	0	0	0.00
Extras	(b 3, nb 1)	4
TOTAL	(35.5 Ov, RR: 3.51)	126
Fall of wickets: 1-19 (Kusal Perera, 5.2 ov), 2-29 (Oshada Fernando, 10.4 ov), 3-37 (Lahiru Thirimanne, 13.5 ov), 4-37 (Angelo Mathews, 14.4 ov), 5-47 (Dinesh Chandimal, 15.6 ov), 6-66 (Niroshan Dickwella, 20.1 ov), 7-70 (Dilruwan Perera, 22.3 ov), 8-78 (Ramesh Mendis, 25.1 ov), 9-126 (Lasith Embuldeniya, 35.4 ov), 10-126 (Asitha Fernando, 35.5 ov)

BOWLING	O	M	R	W	ECON	NB
James Anderson	2	0	6	0	3.00	0
Sam Curran	2	0	9	0	4.50	0
Dom Bess	16	1	49	4	3.06	0
Jack Leach	14	1	59	4	4.21	1
Joe Root	1.5	1	0	2	0.00	0

Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Perera, Oshada Fernando, Dinesh Chandimal(c), Angelo Mathews, Niroshan Dickwella(w), Ramesh Mendis, Dilruwan Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Embuldeniya, Asitha Fernando

England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Dominic Sibley, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root(c), Daniel Lawrence, Jos Buttler(w), Sam Curran, Dominic Bess, Jack Leach, Mark Wood, James Anderson

When will Sri Lanka vs England 2021 2nd Test be Played?
Sri Lanka vs England 2021 2nd Test will be played on Jan 22.

Where SL vs ENG 2nd Test will be Live Streamed?

SL vs ENG 2nd Test will be live broadcasted on Sony SIX in the Indian Sub-Continent. The SL vs ENG 2nd Test will also be Live Streamed on SonyLIV

Sri Lanka: Dialog (mobile) and Sri Lanka Cricket’s YouTube channel
USA: Willow TV
India: SonyLiv

Where SL vs ENG 2nd Test Match will be Live Broadcasted?
Sri Lanka: Channel Eye and Ten Cricket
UK: Sky Sports
India: Sony Ten 2
USA: Willow TV
South Africa: SuperSport

What Time SL vs ENG 2nd Test matches Will begin? Time
SL vs ENG 2nd Test matches Will begin at 10:00 Am IST

What are the venues for SL vs ENG 2nd Test? – Venue
SL vs ENG 2nd Test will be played Galle International Stadium

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