As many as 12 wikis fell on an exciting opening day in Galle when England went into stumps at 127/2, slamming Sri Lanka with just eight runs, in the first Test of the two-game series.
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Sri Lanka were folded out for 135 – their lowest total in Galle – after choosing to bat, with Dom Bess claiming his second five-for in test cricket, after Stuart Broad, building in the XI over Jimmy Anderson, eliminating Sri Lanka batting line-up.
English bats then made up most of the deficit before the stocks were pulled, despite a difficult start. The visitors lost Dom Sibley in fifth place of their engines, when Sri Lanka used the DRS well – Sibley was judged to have been caught at a slip off Lasith Embuldeniya. When Zak Crawley, who scored two doubles in his last test against Pakistan, followed suit, England appeared to be in trouble at 17/2.
However, captains Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow took the pressure and made another attack, sending an unbroken 110 * to help England get through to stumped attack for a second-day attack. On the way to that strong partnership, Root picked up his 50th half-century in test cricket, a largely 47 *-controlled Bairstow, leaving Sri Lanka to reflect on one of the toughest days which they have had in their fortress in Galle.
Sri Lanka were dealt an early blow when it emerged that their captain, opener Dimuth Karunaratne, had been taken out of the Test with a broken toe. Dinesh Chandimal took over the squad in his place, but his team’s battery performance in the first innings has ensured a tough ride. Suranga Lakmal was also missing, but did not recover from a major injury.
The guests lost their first wicket in as early as seventh, when Lahiru Thirimanne fell into the Broad trap – he had set foot, and made a delivery. into his ribs, and Thirimanne quickly inserted it. Two balls later, Broad had another when Kusal Mendis fell to cutting his leg, giving the gamekeeper Jos Buttler an edge. This was his fourth duck in a series in Tests.
Kusal Perera had a few hopes, with his track record for reviving teams despite turmoil, but when he was sent off for a 28-ball 20-ball – he capped off a rebound attempt – Sri Lanka was 25/3. It was then that two old bats, Angelo Mathews and Chandimal, came together to try to regenerate the intestines.
It was hard going. Broad had noticed an opening, and Mathews and Chandimal had to be extremely careful. And they were, putting forward 56 runs for the fourth wicket, off 113 balls. They had brought the total to 81 when Broad called Mathews a big wicket, which he tried to cut and put down. When Chandimal followed suit in the next round, Sri Lanka were in tough straits at 81/5.
He was followed by a fall. Niroshan Dickwella (12) was sent off when Sibley caught a rather lucky grip at a point off Bess, and four goals later, England hit another blow when Dasun Shanaka, who had hit 23 hard, hit the case of Bess and his capture behind him.
Dilruwan Perera and Embuldeniya failed to get off the mark, and although Wanindu Hasaranga’s 22-ball 19-ball lead brought Sri Lanka to 135, his dimissal, which helped Bess to a famous five-wicket slump, put an end difficult innings.
England then made sure to take advantage of that.