Captain Marvel Joe Root ‘Player of the Match’

England shrugged aside yesterday’s 3-wicket hiccup to wrap up the first test against Sri Lanka with consummate ease requiring just  9.2 overs to close in on their victory target finishing on a 7-wicket triumphant champagne note to lead the 2-Test ICC Championship series 1-nil at the Galle International Stadium on Tuesday.  

The overnight pair of Jonny Bairstow and Dan Lawrence completed the job in style with Bairstow, the culprit of running out his skipper Joe Root yesterday and nearly himself, making amends remaining unbeaten on 35 off 65 deliveries with just the 2 boundaries and debutant Dan Lawrence on 21 off 52 in a careful tread out sans any big hits.   

Double centurion Joe Root proved to be the ‘Captain Marvel’ picking up the Player of the Match award.

Sri Lanka’s defeat was largely to do with the lack of discipline in terms of endurance temperament by the frontline batsmen mainly in the first innings when bowled out for 135, and in the second innings except for the individual performances of Lahiru Thirimanne and Angelo Mathews while opening batsman Kusal Janith Perera’s inability to transform his second innings 62 to larger measure when the second wicket partnership was on song through impetuous stroke play  as much as the continued failures of Kusal Mendis. 

CHIEF SCORES:

SRI LANKA 135

AND 156/2 O/N, 359 (136.5 Overs) RR: 2.62

(Lahiru Thirimanne 111, Angelo Mathews 71, Kusal Janith Perera 62, Niroshan Dickwella 29, Dinesh Chandimal 20, Dilruwan Perera 24, Kusal Mendis 15, Wanindu Hasaranga 12, Jack Leach 5/122, Dom Bess 3/100, Sam Curran 2/37)

ENGLAND 321 

AND 38/3 O/N, 76/3 (24.2 Overs) RR: 3.12 

Jonny Bairstow n.o. 11, Dan Lawrence n.o. 7, Lasith Embuldeniya 2/29)