By Srian Obeyesekere

Trailing by 122 runs, Sri Lanka caved in against a deadly England pace attack that aimed for vulnerability by body attacking the Lankan batsmen to succumbing to rearing deliveries with Dinesh Chandimal a temporary casualty rapped by Wood on right thumb to caving in to 6 wickets for 204 for a meagre 82-rn lead of the third day’s play of the first test with the Brits well poised with two more days of play left yesterday at Old Trafford, Manchester.

After England had scored 358 on a maiden test century by Jamie Smith’s 111 off 148 balls consuming 8 boundaries and a six, Sri Lanka’s woes were exposed by a 2 for 1 slump by the English pace battery just 15 minutes into the innings by the removal of opener Nishan Madushka and one drop Kusal Mendis for ducks  to Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson respectively in a relative repeat of the first innings 3 for 6 in the first innings that starkly contributed to Engalnd’s whip hand to controlling the game in their favour in quest of their fourth successive test series triumph.

Sri Lanka limped back to 52 by a Dimuth Karunaratne-Angelo Mathews 51-run third-wicket fightback before England struck again with Chris Woakes sending bck Karunaratne by a rearing delivery that was so fast that the batsman hardly knew he had nicked it to Brook that was upheld after the review. He made 24. Skipper Dhananjaya de Silva joined Mathews to taking the score to 95 when he fluffed a pull off Potts and was trapped lbw.

In that specter, Angelo Mathews stood to channeling all his experience to going on to a solid 65 off 145 hitting 2 boundaries and a six to adding a face saving 78 aided by a counter-attacking Kamindu Mendis who took on the English attack to speeding to 56 off 109 upped by 6 across and one over the top as he remained Sri Lanka’s main hope together with Dinesh Chandimal to hopes of saving the match into the fourth day with Mathews having been taken out by by Woakes Mathews, who had been subdued for ten deliveries, reducing Sri Lanka to 173 for 5 after 50.4 overs when he was held by Potts having survived a dropped catch at slips lone slip by Root. 

Kamindu Mendis too rode a reprieve when on 39 by Atkinson at backward point as he kept his his wicket intact having been joined by Chandimal who came back from an x-rayed thumb surviving a fracture to remaining on 20 to carry Sri Lanka’s fight into the fourth day with Milan Rathnayake being the other casualty for 10. 

England resuming from an overnight 259 for 6, added a further 99 with Smith serenading in his maiden ton to be eighth out with the score 315 edging Milan Rathnayake to Chandimal to give the debutant his maiden test wicket which was a prize grab.

CHIEF SCORES:

Sri Lanka 236 & 204/6 (60 Overs) (Angelo Mathews 65, Kamindu Mendis n.o. 56, Dimuth Karunaratne 27, Dinesh Chandimal n.o. 20, Dhananjaya de Silva 11, Milan Rathnayake 10, Chris Woakes 2/34, Joe Root 1/1, Matthew Potts 1/26, Gus Atkinson 1/38)

England 358 (85.3 Overs) (Jamie Smith 111, Harry Brook 56, Joe Root 42, Dan Lawrence 30, Chris Woakes 25, Gus Atkinson 20, Ben Duckett 18, Matthew Potts 17, Asitha Fernando 4/103, Prabath Jayasuriya 3/85, Milan Rathnayake 1/66)