England wrapped up the first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle International Stadium early in the morning session. England won the match by seven wickets. Jonny Bairstow and Dan Lawrence were unbeaten on 35 and 21 respectively. Their partnership of 52 runs ushered tourists to the victory. They did not have many hiccups to erase the deficit on the final morning.
Joe Root’s dismissals on day four battered England after losing both the openers early. After the three wickets scare yesterday England swam smoothly and chased down the remaining 36 runs without losing any wicket on day five.
The winning shot came from Bairstow’s bat. He played a sweep shot; the ball glided through the square leg and went for a boundary. Bairstow making a comeback in Test, came down the track early in both the innings. He missed a half-century by three runs in the first innings.
Lanka opted to bat first after winning the toss but had a blurry first innings being bowled out for 135. The boot was on another foot in the second innings where they put 359 on the board. Yet they fell short of runs and posted a target of 74.
Dom Bess’ five-for and Root’s 228 paved England’s way in the first innings and Jack Leach’s 5-122 in the second innings set up the path in the second innings where SL looked dominating.
The second Test begins on Friday, January 22.
