England wrapped up a six-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second Test match at Galle International Stadium on Monday. This was the sixth consecutive win in SL for England and fifth consecutive win in Asia for skipper Root.
The morning of the fourth day noted Dilruwan Perera claiming his first wicket in the first innings and England were bundled out for 344 when there was still a deficit of 37 runs. Coming out to bat in the morning session, Sri Lanka never looked settled in their second innings and tottered at the crease. In the second innings SL could only manage 126 and set the target of 164. Dom Bess and Jack Leach had four apiece and skipper Root got two wickets in his 1.5 overs.
But England completely outplayed Sri Lanka on the fourth day. Coming out to chase the target, England had some mild wobbles. Mirroring the first Test, they had some hiccups while chasing 164 as they lost three wickets cheaply. But Jos Buttler and Dom Sibley made it all smooth for England.
Zak Crawley fell early but Sibley and Jonny Bairstow put England back on the track. Bairstow seemed aggressive before he perished. He survived 28 balls for 29 runs and smashed three boundaries and one over boundary. After skipper Joe Root (11 off 16) departed early, SL might have envisioned slim chances for them to win the final Test but Sibley (56 off 144) and Buttler (46 off 48) steered England home. They hemmed a partnership of 75 runs to clinch the 2-0 victory.
Sibley clubbed his third Test fifty after just nudging a delivery from Perera through the square leg for one run. The winning run also came from Sibley’s bat after he flicked the fuller from Dilruwan Perera through the square leg for a run.
Root received the Man of The Match and Man of The Series award. In the second match he scored 186 in the first innings and 11 in the second. In two Tests he has scored 426 runs. He has been outstanding with the bat in the series after an arid 2020.
