James Anderson shines again for England as second test in Sri Lanka remains in the balance | Cricket news

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See the highlights of the second day of the second test between Sri Lanka and England in Galle

James Anderson converted his 35th career five-field test course into six on the second day of the second England Test in Sri Lanka.

England’s top wicket catcher finished 6-40 as Sri Lanka was eliminated by 381 at the end of an extended afternoon session before a brilliant unbeaten 67 from Joe Root carried away the tourists, after having fallen to 5-2, to 98-2 at the close in Galle.

Previously, Niroshan Dickwella came within eight less than a century of the inaugural test and was among Anderson’s victims, while Dilruwan Perera (67) was the last man out and also made a valuable half-century for the hosts.

Sri Lanka’s 10 wickets fell into the hands of the closer, the first time it has happened in a test on the island since 1994, but the twist soon entered the equation as left-handed gunsmith Lasith Embuldeniya represented the two England starters. for the third time in the same number of entries. in the series.

Root and Bairstow stabilized the tourists and the captain quickly looked just as impressive as he did making his double century in the first test, lifting his 50th test fifty out of just 65 balls to bring his side safely to the stumps.

Joe Root came in with England reeling at 5-2 and scored a fluid 67th before stumps

The morning followed a similar pattern to the first day when England attacked early before Sri Lanka fought back as the session progressed.

Anderson represented Angelo Mathews (110) with the last ball of his first over, the Sri Lankan centurion adding just three to his total overnight before he was caught behind after a review from England.

The appeal was unconvincing when Anderson returned the ball to Mathews and the ball passed close to the bat before hitting the pad on the way to Jos Buttler behind the stumps. However, Root asked for the review and the UltraEdge showed a weak inner edge.

Newcomer Ramesh Mendis came in and out without scoring, though he could be considered a bit unfortunate when he looked at the ball down Mark Wood’s leg, only to see Buttler dove to his left and take a brilliant one-handed catch.

Niroshan Dickwella fell just eight races away from a maiden test century

However, Dickwella was hitting well, displaying the temperament that has often been lacking to match his undoubted talent, and dropped to a sixteenth test fifty.

Dilruwan Perera, who stopped England for a time in the first test, was proving to be a useful partner, defending solidly before occasionally leaping into action to hit the visiting spinners on top.

The pair had added 70 for lunch and Dickwella, with a previous record of 83, moved to his highest score on the test two more times in the afternoon.

The southpaw entered the 1990s and was playing with such confidence, a particularly striking series of offside impulses, that three figures seemed safe.

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However, he fell short in eight agonizing runs as Anderson again found the breakthrough for England, tempting Dickwella with a wider derailleur to put two receivers on the line right in front of the squad. The batter dodged them, but couldn’t pass the ball to Jack Leach in the middle of the field.

That wicket gave the 38-year-old the dubious honor of being the oldest bowler to hit a five in Asia and two balls later, five turned into six when Suranga Lakmal handed one to Zak Crawley, near ravine.

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With only the tail for company, Dilruwan went on the offensive and threw Leach to the ground for six on his way to his seventh test fifty.

Embuldeniya (7) stayed with him for 12 overs until he outscored Root on the first slip to give Wood (3-84) his third wicket, but it was another seven frustrating overs before innings could finish, Dilruwan finally got focused on giving Sam Curran (1-60) his first window.

He had his tea, which was delayed while Root’s men tried to finish things off, but the break was of little use to Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley.

After four maidens to start the innings, a Crawley boundary pushed England away, but Embuldeniya caught Sibley lbw with a ball that skidded into the next over and quickly added Crawley’s wicket, caught in a slip after pushing forward to a rotary delivery.

Neither starter has reached double figures in the series, meaning Root was again early to join Bairstow on rebuilding work.

The England captain was able to rotate the strike against Embuldeniya well, using the sweeping shots that brought him so much success in the first game of the series to great effect once again, the pressure eased and a good four-stroke sweep brought up the pair. from the 50s in a quick time.

Bairstow overcame some initial issues against Dilruwan’s spin, which included him surviving a very close lbw review, spinning into the sweep to knock the bowler out of line, after having done so and forcing him around the wicket, jumping down the track and hitting his on the ground.

Root, meanwhile, looked noticeably even more impressive than when he scored 228 last week, certainly the runs were coming faster with 10 limits, largely made up of sweeps and reverse sweeps, putting pressure on Sri Lankan bowlers again. .

The third wicket tier had reached 93 on stumps, but England will demand much more from the two Yorkshiremen on the third day as they try to surpass Sri Lanka’s first inning total.

Watch the third day of the second round between Sri Lanka and England from 4.25am Sunday on Sky Sports Cricket.