2nd Test
Day-4 Morning Session Highlights:
England has maintained their dominant position following the dismissal of Dimuth Karunaratne
At The Lunch of Day-4:
Sri Lanka scored 196 (1st Innings) & 136/4 (2nd Innings), where as England scored 427 (1st Innings) & 251 (2nd Innings).
Sri Lanka need another 347 runs to win.
England continued to assert their dominance in the Lord’s Test, picking up two more wickets in the morning session of the fourth day.
Sri Lanka, under significant pressure with a formidable target of 483 runs to win, lost Prabath Jayasuriya early.
Angelo Mathews and Dimuth Karunaratne then steadied the innings with a crucial half-century partnership.
However, just before the lunch break, Karunaratne’s dismissal dealt a severe blow to Sri Lanka’s hopes.
Karunaratne was given a reprieve early in the day when Joe Root failed to hold onto a difficult chance at first slip.
England, however, did not take long to make a breakthrough, with Chris Woakes claiming Jayasuriya, who had come in as the night-watchman the previous day, caught behind by Harry Brook.
Karunaratne soon took the aggressive route, targeting Gus Atkinson with three boundaries in an over.
This prompted a change in bowling at both ends, with Matthew Potts and Olly Stone introduced into the attack.
Karunaratne reached his first fifty of the series, while Mathews greeted Shoaib Bashir with a boundary.
The pair consolidated after the drinks break, appearing set to see out the session.
However, just before lunch, England struck again, with Stone finding extra bounce to dismiss Karunaratne, who was out for 55, caught behind.
The wicket caused tension in the Sri Lankan camp, especially when Dinesh Chandimal nearly fell to his first ball but edged it past the fielder.
Chandimal managed a couple of boundaries thereafter but will need to contribute significantly if Sri Lanka is to mount a serious fightback once play resumes.
Leave a Reply