Jack Leach tears through Sri Lanka as hosts struggle chasing 301 to beat England
Written by News on 17/11/2018
Jack Leach tore through Sri Lanka’s top order with three wickets as the hosts initially floundered in pursuit of 301 to beat England on day four of the second Test in Kandy.
Left-arm spinner Leach had Kaushal Silva (4) stumped by Ben Foakes after luring the opener down the pitch and then had Keaton Jennings to thank for removing Dhananjaya de Silva (1), with his team-mate taking a stunning one-handed reflex catch at short leg as the home side tumbled to 16-2.
Leach reduced toiling Sri Lanka to 26-3 when he pinned Kusal Mendis (1) lbw on the sweep – England’s review proving successful with umpire Sundaram Ravi initially giving a ‘not out’ decision.
Joe Root’s side came close to another breakthrough but Ben Stokes was unable to cling on to a sharp one-handed catch at slip after Moeen Ali induced Angelo Mathews’ edge, while Dimuth Karunaratne (54no) overturned an lbw dismissal against Adil Rashid shortly before lunch.
Karunaratne’s stand with Mathews (28no) is now worth 67 with Sri Lanka heading into the interval on 93-3, needing a further 208 runs to level the series at 1-1 with a game to play.
Ben Foakes (65no) and James Anderson (12) earlier added 22 runs to England’s overnight 324-9 as they made 346 all out, the duo extending their last-wicket stand to 41 before Anderson was bowled by Dilruwan Perera (3-96) from the first delivery with the new ball.
An England victory will secure a first Test series win in Sri Lanka since 2001 as well as a first away from home since they triumphed 2-1 in South Africa in early 2016 under Alastair Cook’s captaincy.
Watch continued live coverage of the second Test in Kandy, live on Sky Sports Cricket (channel 404) and Sky Sports Main Event (channel 401).
(c) Sky News 2018: Jack Leach tears through Sri Lanka as hosts struggle chasing 301 to beat England
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