Kandy: Half-centuries from three batsmen and resistance from the lower order saw Sri Lanka record a 46-run lead on day two of the second Test against England.
Nightwatchman Jack Leach, who went out to bat alongside Rory Burns, played out one over in England’s second innings before the close of play.
Sri Lanka, who started the day at 26/1, posted a total of 336 after batting through almost the entirety of the second day.
Opener Dimuth Karunaratne notched up 63 and middle-order batsman Dhananjaya de Silva supported him with 59.
The best performance with the willow, though, came from Roshen Silva, who was the last Sri Lankan wicket to fall in the innings. He scored a splendid 85, batting smartly with the tail to take his team to a sizeable first-innings lead.
Roshen came into the middle with Sri Lanka in trouble at 165/6, even as the England spin attack continued to wreak havoc on the dry surface.
All the wickets that fell on the day — barring the Karunaratne run-out — came from spin bowling. Jack Leach, the pick of the English bowlers, returned figures of 3/70 while Adil Rashid claimed three scalps for 75 runs.
Sri Lanka looked in a spot of bother at 31/2 in the morning session, when Malinda Pushpakumara fell to Moeen after adding just four runs to the total. However, Karunaratne and De Silva steadied the ship with their 96-run stand for the third wicket.
The momentum swung back in England’s favour, however, when Karunaratne fell to a moment of brilliance in the field by Ben Stokes, who sprang from gully, picked up the ball at point, and threw down the stumps with only one to aim at. The visitors tightened their hold on the game by dismissing Kusal Mendis, De Silva and Angelo Mathews within the next 15 overs.
Just when it started to look like the hosts would have to accept a first-innings deficit, Roshen brought his A game to give his team a valuable 46-run lead. (UNI)
