England beats a fighting Sri Lanka in 1st test by 5 wkts

 

England secured a victory in the first match of the three-game series against Sri Lanka. On the fourth day of the match, Sri Lanka set England a target of 205 runs to win. England successfully chased it down, winning by five wickets. At one point, England seemed to be in trouble after losing their top three batsmen with the score at just 70. However, Joe Root held firm at the crease, supported by Harry Brook. The pair managed to put together a partnership of 49 runs.

Despite the early setbacks, England did not resort to the aggressive "Bazball" style of play. Harry Brook played a patient innings, scoring 32 runs off 68 balls. After Brook's dismissal, Jamie Smith joined Root and the two added 64 runs together. Root reached his fifty off 108 balls and remained unbeaten on 62. Smith, who scored 39 runs off 48 balls, was eventually dismissed by Asitha Fernando. Earlier, Ben Duckett (11), Dan Lawrence (34), and captain Ollie Pope (6) were cheaply dismissed by the Sri Lankan bowlers.

Before this, Sri Lanka's second innings collapsed to 326 runs after lunch, following the dismissal of century-maker Kamindu Mendis (113). Veteran Dinesh Chandimal, who contributed 79 runs, was the last man out. Sri Lanka lost their last four wickets for just 26 runs. They had started the day on 204 for six and added 122 more runs. For England, Matthew Potts and Chris Woakes took three wickets each.

Kamindu Mendis, playing in just his fourth Test match, scored his third century, helping Sri Lanka stage a remarkable comeback after being 122 runs behind in the first innings. The day's play began half an hour late due to rain. Mendis had previously scored two centuries and an unbeaten 92 in the Test series against Bangladesh in March. He continued his fine form against England, hitting one six and 15 fours in his 183-ball innings. Chandimal, who returned after retiring hurt due to a finger injury on Friday, provided valuable support, and the pair added 117 runs for the seventh wicket, helping Sri Lanka claw their way back into the match.

Earlier on the first day batting first after winning the toss Sri Lanka could nmanage only 236 in their 1st innings as their batting misfired against a quality seam bowling of Woakes , Atkinson , Bashir & Wood  before Dhananjaya D Silva rescued the tourists with a fine 74 with a support from Rathnayake (72) .  In reply England piled on 358 in their 1st innings.  After being rattled initially , England batters contributed as a team with Root (42) , Brook (56) , Lawrence (30) and the lower order scoring rubs but the hero of thè England 1st innings was keeper Jamie Smith who scored a sparking 111 to take England to a big 122 run first innings lead which ultimatey proved to be the deciding factor in this test despite Sri Lanka staging a superb fightback in their second innings.  Smith ultimatey won match of the match award for his decisive scores of 111 & 39 .