Manchester, (APP – UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 25th Aug, 2024) Joe Root’s gritty unbeaten 62 guided England to a five-wicket win in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Set 205 to win, England were faltering at 56-2 when Root came into bat before tea on the fourth day.
But together with Yorkshire team-mate Harry Brook (32) he shared a grinding partnership of 49 in 20 overs — a far cry from England’s ‘Bazball’ approach of recent years, although a still slow outfield made boundaries hard to come by.
The match, however, was back in the balance when Brook chipped a return catch to Jayasuriya, with England now 119-4 and still needing a further 86 runs to win.
But Jamie Smith, fresh from a maiden Test century in the first innings, gave Root fine support with a brisk 39 during a stand of 64 as England went 1-0 up in a three-match series after finishing on 205-5
It was another sign of the 24-year-old wicketkeeper’s admirable big-match temperament, Smith’s performances with the bat in Manchester minimising the impact of regular captain Ben Stokes’s absence with a series-ending torn hamstring.
That Sri Lanka took this match so deep into the fourth day was a testament to their resilience after they had collapsed to 6-3 on the opening morning.
They continued that fight in the field on Saturday before Smith broke the shackles with successive fours off left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya before later pulling the tiring bowler for six.
By the time he was bowled by Asitha Fernando, England were in sight of victory at 183-5.
Soon afterwards, Root went to fifty before ending the match with just his second four in 128 balls faced when he lofted Jayasuriya down the ground.
– Kamindu Mendis in command –
Earlier, Sri Lanka’s Kamindu Mendis scored his third hundred in just four Tests as he made 113 in a second-innings total of 326, having come in with his side in trouble at 95-4.
Together with Dinesh Chandimal (79), he shared a seventh-wicket stand of 117 in 30 overs.
England suffered a setback before play started Saturday when express quick Mark Wood was ruled out with a thigh injury suffered while bowling late on Friday.
Sri Lanka resumed on 204-6, just 82 runs ahead, after Smith’s 111 had been the cornerstone of England’s first-innings 358.
Mendis, dropped on 39, was 56 not out and Chandimal 20 not out.
Mendis was quickly into his stride on Saturday, having missed Sri Lanka’s lone warm-up match against the second-string England Lions at Worcester last week after visa problems delayed his entry into the UK,
The 25-year-old left-hander, drove fast bowler Gus Atkinson through the covers and pulled him behind square for fours off successive deliveries.
Chandimal, meanwhile, completed a 73-ball fifty after resuming his innings following a pain-killing injection, having retired hurt on 10 when struck on the thumb by Wood.
After England took the new ball, Mendis’s cut off seamer Chris Woakes — his 12th four in 167 balls also including a six — saw him to a well-deserved century.
He later struck Atkinson for three fours in the first over after lunch to take Sri Lanka past 300, saving the best for last with a flashing cover drive.
But the Surrey quick had his revenge when, bowling from around the wicket, a ball tha cut away sharply off the pitch took Mendis’s outside edge, with Root holding a low catch at slip.
Despite his dismissal, Mendis was still left with a hugely impressive Test batting average of 92.
His exit, however, sparked a collapse that saw Sri Lanka lose their last four wickets for 19 runs.
