Sri Lanka vs England 2018: Second Test, Day 1 - Review

England posted a total of 285 runs for the loss of ten wickets in the first innings where Sri Lanka in reply had scored 26 runs for the loss of one wicket on day one of the second Test in Pallekele.

However, earlier in the day, England skipper, Joe Root won the toss and elected to bat first. England after a well-deserved win in the first Test couldn’t start their innings on a good note. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka pacer, Suranga Lakmal did the early damage in the first session.

England had managed to score 120 runs with the loss of four wickets at lunch on day one.

The top four batsmen of the English team had added only 120 runs where opener Rory Burns played some excellent cricket scoring 43 runs off 81 deliveries. Initially, England had made some changes in the combination of the batting line-up. All-rounder Ben Stokes was seen batting at number three, whereas, Moeen Ali batted at number six.

However, the changes didn’t go in their way, as the duo couldn’t put up a great show with their bat. Later, both Jos Buttler and Sam Curran played some rescue cricket for the visitors as well. Both of them had scored half-centuries from England team. Also, Dilruwan Perera was the pick of the bowlers for Sri Lanka who bagged four wickets while Pushpakumara claimed three.

Moreover, Sri Lanka claimed three wickets in the second session, but once again it were the English batsmen who turned the tables towards the end. Meanwhile, Buttler did that in the first session, while Rashid did the same in the second one.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka added 26 runs with the loss of one wicket before the end of day one. England bowler Jack Leach made the first breakthrough picking up the wicket of Kaushal Silva.

Dimuth Karunaratne and Malinda Pushpakumara will resume on day two, as Sri Lanka are trailing by 259 runs in the first essay.

Brief Scores:

England 285 (Sam Curran 64; Dilruwan Perera 4/61)

Sri Lanka 26/1 (Dimuth Karunaratne 19, Jack Leach 1/7)