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| Second test, Galle (day three of five) |
| Sri Lanka 381 (139.3 more): Mathews 110, Dickwella 92; Anderson 6-40 |
| England 339-9 (114.2 overs): Root 186, Buttler 55; Embuldeniya 7-132 |
| England trail for 42 runs |
| Scorekeeper |
Joe Root hit a superb 186 but his final ball ejection on the third day left Sri Lanka with a slight lead in the second round at Galle.
Root, who scored 228 in the first round, was superbly beaten by Oshada Fernando on the short stage to leave England 339-9.
England’s skipper had led the tourists’ recovery from 132-4 to a position where they closed just 42 drift races from Sri Lanka.
Left arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya posted a remarkable 7-132 for the hosts.
The 24-year-old, playing alone in his ninth test, fired Dom Bess and Mark Wood in the final half hour as Sri Lanka finished strong on a day dominated by Root.
The right-hander posted 97 with Jos Buttler, who made 55, and shared a crucial position of 81 for seventh with Bess.
Root’s innings, one of the best of his career, saw him become the first England Test player since David Gower in 1985 to follow twice a hundred with a score of over 150.
He prevented England from conceding a significant deficit in the first inning but, with him fired, Sri Lanka could still take a useful lead in his second inning.
England leads the series of two tests 1-0.
Exciting test on the scale
Root, who battled cramps and stiffness throughout Sunday afternoon, had to crawl off the field following his firing. He was four balls away from hitting all day.
The 30-year-old clipped a Dilruwan Perera ball off his pads, but Fernando turned it off brilliantly, who then threw the stumps from close range and Root came up short with a tired jump.
Thirty minutes earlier, Root was hitting calmly and Bess was doing well for 32. England looked ready to go into the close at contact distance from Sri Lanka with four fields still intact.
An advantage in the first inning seemed possible, but an entertaining test turned again.
Embuldeniya had Bess caught on a slide with a spinning ball and Wood took a headlong sweep to hit the ball to the same fielder.
Jack Leach and James Anderson now face the task of bringing England as close to Sri Lanka’s 381 as possible.
Any advantage, in a field that is beginning to turn for spinners, could be crucial.
The root grows back
Had it not been for Root, England would have been in even more trouble. He has scored 415 points in both tests, almost half of England’s overall total of 836.
The Yorkshire hitter resumed at 67 and started when the second day ended, hitting positively but apparently without risk.
The rest of the England line-up have struggled to deal with Embuldeniya, with Bairstow and Lawrence their first two victims on the third day.
Bairstow was caught in the ravine by 28 from an inside edge across the platform and Lawrence hit one that turned to slide by three, having survived a missed opportunity.
| Cook Alastair | 12,472 |
| Graham gooch | 8900 |
| Alec stewart | 8,463 |
| Joe Root | 8,238 |
| David gower | 8,231 |
| Kevin Pietersen | 8,181 |
| Boycott Geoffrey | 8,114 |
By contrast, Root calmly moved into his 19th-century 139-ball test before slowing down in the company of Buttler. Buttler hit fluently until it touched the bottom edge of his boot and reached the hands of the short leg.
Root returned to his more expansive shots as his association with Bess grew. He performed two ambidextrous sweeps for four that are reminiscent of his former teammate Kevin Pietersen.
It took until Root was at 172 before offering a serious opportunity, a lead that went low to the left of the first slip, again in front of the Embuldeniya bowling alley.
He played primarily on the leg side and proved himself to be an expert spin player, a key attribute with England heading to India for a four-Test series after this match.
‘Sri Lanka is clear favorite’ – reaction
Buttler, England goalie-hitter: “We are in awe of what Joe Root has just accomplished. He barely took one wrong step in the space of two days. It’s fantastic to watch.
“Root is one of the best spin players in the world and for all of us in the locker room he is a great strength and someone to learn from.”
Former England captain Michael Vaughan: “Sri Lanka is a clear favorite in my mind with all three fields at the end, but I really think England deserves some praise.
“Two years ago, this was probably a day that England would have collapsed and would be staring down the barrel of a 150-race deficit. They just held on and smelled.”
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