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Sri Lanka tour of England 2016

Scorecard - 2nd Test, England vs Sri Lanka at Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street, England (27 May 2016)

England

498/9 (132) RR:3.77

80/1 (23.2) RR:3.43

England won by 9 wkts

MOM: James Anderson
Sri Lanka

101/10 (43.3) RR:2.32

475/10 (128.2) RR:3.7

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127.3 - Lakmal to Moeen Ali, FOUR, well, nothing has gone right for the Lankans today. Kaushal Silva leaps to his left and tries to pouch a very difficult chance at deep mid-wicket but to no avail. Slightly shorter in length, Ali brings out the front foot pull, Silva jumps in the air, but can't get a hand on it

126.0 - Herath to Anderson, FOUR, this time, the 'Burnley Lara' uses the reverse sweep and cracks a boundary to the third man fence

125.0 - Lakmal to Finn, FOUR, this time, Finn decides to take on the Lankan pacer with a dash of fearlessness. Banged in ball, but Finn is a tall batsman. Hence, gets his front leg out and swats it wide of mid-wicket

123.2 - Herath to Moeen Ali, FOUR, another fired in delivery, Ali lofts it to deep mid-wicket, where the fielder (Lakmal) makes a mess of it and the ball goes through him for a boundary. Danger time for the visitors

123.0 - Eranga to Finn, leg byes, FOUR, another short delivery from Eranga and he bowls it with decent wheels, Finn gets into two minds and looks to pull in the end. However, it comes off his arm and the ball flies over the first slip fielder and into the fence. The 50-run stand is up between the two

121.1 - Herath to Moeen Ali, FOUR, Moeen Ali is not sparing Herath either, clears his front leg and whips it towards deep mid-wicket fence

120.4 - Eranga to Moeen Ali, FOUR, consecutive boundaries for Moeen Ali, flays a cut to this back of a length delivery and threads the gap between sweeper cover and backward point

120.3 - Eranga to Moeen Ali, FOUR,shortish again, sits up nicely to Moeen Ali who nails the pull through mid-wicket

119.1 - Pradeep to Moeen Ali, FOUR, There it is! Moeen Ali brings up a well deserved Hundred. It's his second in Test cricket and he surely notched up in style with a boundary. Picks the full ball early and lifts it through the line over mid-off. couple of bounces and into the fence.

116.2 - Eranga to Moeen Ali, FOUR, full and angling in on off and Ali won't miss out on those, twirls his wrists and whips it through mid-wicket. The mid-on fielder gives the chase but to no avail

109.4 - Pradeep to Broad, FOUR, edged and past a diving gully! Broad looks to flirt with this away swinger as he swishes a horizontal bat on a cut. Feeds a thick outside edge which dies down on its way to first gully, he dives but couldn't quite get his timing right

108.4 - Lakmal to Moeen Ali, FOUR, absolute circus from Dasun Shanaka - The sub. He sprints to his left from deep square, slides full length and lets the ball pass despite getting into a tangle with his awkward moves. Short and sat up nicely for Moeen Ali who pulls along the ground, but the filder makes a meal of it

108.0 - Herath to Moeen Ali, FOUR, excellent from Moeen Ali, he is unleashing now. Waltzes down the pitch, gets to the pitch of the delivery and lets his hands through a fluent drive, through extra cover and there she goes...

107.4 - Herath to Moeen Ali, FOUR, short and well wide of off, Moeen Ali makes him pay with a crrrunching drive through the covers, all the way

106.1 - Mathews to Moeen Ali, FOUR, flash and flash hard seems to be Moeen's mantra! Plenty of room on offer on this fuller delivery, Ali throws the kitchen sink and the booming outside edge goes up and over the slip cordon. Streaky, but he will get four!

105.2 - Herath to Moeen Ali, FOUR, fifty for Moeen Ali! Well played Moeen, he needed this badly, ain't it? Hasn't been in the best of forms of late and it couldn't have come at a better time. Raises his willow and gets a grand round of applause from the crowd. Gets there with an aerial drive over cover

102.5 - Mathews to Woakes, FOUR, fuller and jagging away off the deck, Woakes was squared up in his defence, squirts out a soft outside edge which runs away towards gully and into the fence in a hurry

101.4 - Lakmal to Woakes, FOUR, pitches it up and swerves in a touch, Woakes gets forward and drives it on the rise past the bowler who despite streatching his right hand, can't reach for it. The ball runs away to the fence

97.2 - Eranga to Woakes, FOUR, lovely shot! Short and width on offer, Woakes cracks the cut wide of backward point and the ball races to the fence in a jiffy

93.1 - Eranga to Woakes, FOUR, can you believe it? One more chance has been put down and Chandimal is the culprit. A straight forward chance has been shelled. This was an outstanding delivery from Eranga, hits it on a length and gets it to shape away off the deck, Woakes has poke at that, gets a thick outside edge but Chandimal doesn't cling onto it. The ball runs away into the fence

90.2 - Pradeep to Moeen Ali, FOUR, edged and four! on a length and just a hint of width on offer, Ali flashes at that, gets it off the toe-end and the ball runs away in front of cordon and into the fence

89.5 - Eranga to Woakes, FOUR, leading edge goes past a diving second slip! Good length aiming for off, Woakes gets into a bit of tangle as he came forward to drive, goes through with his shot with a closed bat face. The edge flies low and skims past a diving Karunaratne

88.4 - Pradeep to Moeen Ali, FOUR, that's loose from Moeen Ali, but he gets away with that. Short and well wide of off, the ball bounces higher than he expected as he leant into a back foot punch. Skewed it off the toe-end, in the air.....but there's no one in the point region, he'll get a boundary though

87.4 - Eranga to Woakes, FOUR, shot sir! That flew off the blade... Pitched up asking to be spanked, Woakes obliges as he drills the drive off the full face of the blade, between the stumps and mid-off. Raced away!

85.5 - Lakmal to Bairstow, FOUR, very full delivery outside off, Bairstow gets forward and clubs the drive to deep extra cover

84.2 - Pradeep to Bairstow, FOUR, fuller in length on the pads, Bairstow whips this wide of the deep mid-wicket fielder who had no chance to stop it

80.4 - Eranga to Moeen Ali, FOUR, pitched up delivery outside off, Moeen slashes hard, he gets a thick outside edge which goes in the gap between slip and gully

80.2 - Eranga to Moeen Ali, FOUR, hint of swing into the left hander, bowls this very full, Moeen drills the drive down the ground and into the fence in a hurry

72.2 - Lakmal to Bairstow, FOUR, fuller length delivery that is angled in, with a concoction of timing and placement, Bairstow essays the on-drive into the downtown territories

70.4 - Lakmal to Bairstow, FOUR, this one cuts back in sharply from back of a length, Bairstow, though, is able to adjust for it and stays slightly leg-side of the ball to dab it between gully and the slip cordon for a boundary. Expertly played by him

69.5 - Siriwardana to Moeen Ali, FOUR, nice timing and placement from Ali. Overpitched and outside off, Ali crunches the drive and it zooms away to the sweeper cover fence. The fielder in the deep runs around the circumference, but can't prevent the boundary

68.4 - Pradeep to Bairstow, FOUR, from wide of the crease, Pradeep drifts it down leg, Bairstow flicks it in the air over mid-wicket and off she goes

63.5 - Herath to Root, FOUR, sliding down leg, Root sinks on one knee and paddles it to the fine leg fence. Street-smart cricket from him

62.5 - Pradeep to James Vince, FOUR, this one, seams back into the right-hander from good length, Vince prods half forward and pushes at it with soft hands and it vrooms away to the third man fence. The third slip fielder gives the chase but to no avail. Remember, there is no third man in place

58.3 - Eranga to James Vince, FOUR, short delivery aiming at the badge of the batsman, was totally surprised with the bounce and gets a top edge on the pull that flies to the vacant fine leg region and into the boundary

57.5 - Herath to James Vince, FOUR, well flighted delivery just outside off, Vince leans forward and times the drive well past the mid-off fielder who had no chance of stopping it

51.0 - Siriwardana to James Vince, FOUR, tossed up well wide of off, Vince drills the drive and finds the gap between cover and extra cover, no stopping that

46.1 - Pradeep to Hales, FOUR, pitched up on the stumps, Hales leans forward and drives it along the ground towards mid-on. The ball races away into the fence

37.4 - Herath to Root, FOUR, nicely played! Slightly overpitched, Root leans forward and drives it through extra cover. The ball runs way into the fence

33.4 - Herath to Hales, FOUR, beautiful execution! Sees the tossed up delivery early, gets underneath and lifts it over mid-on. One bounce and into the fence. He also brings up his fifty

32.3 - Eranga to Root, FOUR, easy pickings for Root! Drifted it on his pads, Root gets behind the line and clips it off his pads through mid-wicket. The fielder gives the chase but to no avail

28.1 - Pradeep to Root, FOUR, that's Joe Root for you! He can create opportunties to get boundaries, sees a smidge of width and steers it late with an open bat face, behind backward point for an eye-pleasing boundary

27.2 - Herath to Hales, FOUR, lovely flight but too full, Hales strides forward and spanks the cover drive

27.0 - Pradeep to Root, FOUR, short and down the wrong line, Root half-swivels and unleashes a short-arm jab behind square leg, off the mark with a boundary

24.5 - Pradeep to Hales, FOUR, the runs keep coming! Hales sees this half-volley dip in, bends the front knee and lets his blade go through the line of the delivery. All arms and elbows as the stroks races past mid-off. Top-stuff sir!

22.3 - Pradeep to Hales, FOUR, short, wide and punished, Hales jumps onto the back foot and crunches a beautiful cut shot square on the off-side

16.2 - Pradeep to Hales, FOUR, 88ks pitched up with a hint of swing back into the right-hander, Hales sees width and goes chasing after it - Leans into a classic off-drive and skims it past a helpless mid-off. He has looked good so far...

10.2 - Eranga to Hales, FOUR, slightly fuller and width outside off, Hales chops it off the toe end of the bat and runs away towards third man. Consecutive boundaries for Hales. In fact, the third slip fielder dived to his left, but to no avail

10.1 - Eranga to Hales, FOUR, top shot! Half-volley just outside off, Hales leans forward and laces the drive through extra cover. The ball just about reaches the fence

7.2 - Lakmal to Cook, FOUR, nicely played. Sees the length a touch short and nails the pull towards mid-wicket. No need to run for those.

5.0 - Eranga to Hales, FOUR, loses radar and slips it on middle and leg, Hales tickles it fine and the fielder at fine leg can't get to it as the ball races away into the fence. First boundary of the innings.

129.2 - Lakmal to Moeen Ali, SIX, Moeen has the habit of getting to milestones in style. He amassed his fifty with a boundary and now cracks his 150 with a six. Length delivery that is angled in, Ali clears his front leg a touch and pulverises it over the mid-wicket fence. He raises his bat and acknowledges the crowd. This is the fifth time, an Englishman has crunched a 150 batting at No.7 in Tests

123.1 - Herath to Moeen Ali, SIX, very full and darted in from round the wicket, Ali lifts it into the downtown territories and it goes all the way. He did not lose the shape of the shot there

48.4 - Siriwardana to Hales, SIX, tossed up on the stumps and Hales dismisses of his presence over the bowler's head for a maximum

125.3 - Herath to Finn, out Caught&Bowled!! The man from Kurunegala, Herath, finally has his 300th scalp in Tests. He has largely been a lone warrior for Sri Lanka since the retirement of Muralitharan. Remember him making his Test debut against Australia way back in 1999 in Galle. He has come a long way since then. Herath holds the ball and shows it to the pavilion and gets a good round of applause. It was nothing but a flatter delivery, Finn tried to slog-sweep and got it off the toe-end. Herath took a rather simple return catch. Finn c and b Herath 10(37) [4s-1]

111.2 - Pradeep to Broad, out Caught by Kusal Mendis!! Broad nicks one and Pradeep is just one short of a fifer. Second grab for Kusal Mendis in the space of 13 balls. This was drifted in around middle from a length, just a slight away movement and that's all enough to produce an edge from Stuart Broad. Pushes with hard hands, no feet again....a regulation catch for the keeper. Broad c Kusal Mendis b Pradeep 7(9) [4s-1]

109.0 - Lakmal to Woakes, out Caught by Kusal Mendis!! Nicked and gone! Woakes has looked tentative in that fifth, sixth stump zone and he perishes trying to chase one. Pitched on a perfect length and probing away outside off stump, Woakes feet is stuck in blob. He goes fishing with a vertical bat and nicks it to Kusal - No jitters from Mendis. FYI: Dinesh Chandimal is off the field and Kusal Mendis has taken eth keeping duties. Woakes c Kusal Mendis b Lakmal 39(76) [4s-6]

86.2 - Pradeep to Bairstow, out Caught by Chandimal!! Everytime England get a partnership, Sri Lanka find a way to comeback into the game, Bairstow misses out on his fifty. Short delivery outside off that keeps slightly low, Bairstow goes for the cut but gets an under edge that goes to the keeper who takes an easy catch. Bairstow c Chandimal b Pradeep 48(57) [4s-5]

67.4 - Siriwardana to James Vince, out Caught by Thirimanne!! Sri Lanka are fighting back. It is Thirimanne, who has taken a stunner at short-cover. Vince drives it on the up and through the line to a flighted delivery and as a result, could not keep it on the ground. Thirimanne flew to his right and then put in a full-length dive to snaffle it air-borne. Vince has a tendency to get in and throw his wicket away in County cricket and here, too, he has done something similar. James Vince c Thirimanne b Siriwardana 35(59) [4s-4]

64.5 - Pradeep to Root, out Caught by Kaushal Silva!! Well, that is a prized scalp for the visitors. Short in length and it is angled in, Root looks to work it through the on-side, but the ball gets big on him. It hits the bottom of the bat and lobs up in the air. Kaushal at cover snaffles an easy catch. Root looked in prime form and would be disappointed that he could not convert it into a big one. Root c Kaushal Silva b Pradeep 80(119) [4s-5]

48.5 - Siriwardana to Hales, out Caught by Mathews!! Superb catch by the skipper!! Slightly short of length outside off, Hales goes for the cut hard and gets an outside edge that flies to the right of Mathews who takes a one handed blinder diving across full length. Hales c Mathews b Siriwardana 83(145) [4s-9 6s-1]

26.1 - Pradeep to Compton, out Caught by Lakmal!! Whoa! Whatttay grab from Suranga Lakmal - He was almost emotionless for a couple of seconds, then churns out a huge grin as he hurls the ball in the air. Has to be one of the best catches of this Summer. Compton never looked settled and he perishes after a scratchy 34-ball 9. DISMUMSSAL - Dug in short and drifting in just outside off, Compton had to fetch the pull. Does so and skews it off the thick toe-edge and now comes the drama. Lakmal at deep backward square sees the ball swirl, toddles back, back ....and back. Watches the ball nearly sail over his head. Leaps a touch and snaffles it with his palms over his head. Tumbles down the pitch but ensures he is in complete control of the catch. Compton c Lakmal b Pradeep 9(34)

14.0 - Lakmal to Cook, out Caught by Karunaratne!! edged and taken! The change of angle has worked for Lakmal. Pings it on a length and nips it away outside off, Cook has a tentative poke and gets an outside edge which flies wide of second slip where Karunaratne dives to his left and pouches a brilliant catch. Went with both hands, but managed to cling it on with his right hand. Cook c Karunaratne b Lakmal 15(42) [4s-1]

120.2 - Eranga to Moeen Ali, 2 runs, There goes yet another chance begging. Siriwardana is the man who has dropped it. Moeen Ali mistimes a pull and skies it towards deep square leg, Siriwardana moves to his left and steadies himself, but lets it burst through his hands. Sri Lanka have been awful in the field today dropping as many as three catches.

101.5 - Lakmal to Woakes, no run, length delivery nipping in a touch, Woakes was late to bring his bat down, in the process gets an inside edge onto his pad, there was a stifled appeal for an LBW but Ravi wasn't interested. Sri Lanka went upstairs for a referral but replays showed there was an inside edge. Woakes survives

84.3 - Pradeep to Bairstow, no run, Sri Lanka go for an LBW review, there is nothing on the RTS, pitching in line, impact in line but wickets missing. So the umpire's call stays, this nipped back in and rapped on Bairstow's pads, the visitors go up for an appeal for LBW, but rightly turned down. The batsman was looking to clip it around corner, but was beaten by the sharp inward movement

47.4 - Lakmal to Root, 3 runs, 20th Test Fifty for Root, again Lakmal bowls this back of a length outside off, Root rocks on the back foot and puches it to deep extra cover and gets three this time

39.0 - Mathews to Root, no run, goodish length delivery which nips back in a touch, Root was looking to flick, misses it and is struck above the knee roll. An ambitious appeal for an LBW from the Sri Lankans but umpire Aleem Dar was not interested. Height was an issue and it went past the leg-stump, so the on-field call remains. Root survives.

41.5 - Anderson to Thirimanne, FOUR, this is one way of dealing with the pressure. Thirimanne charged down on this length delivery and larupped it over the bowler's head. The ball bounced just inside the ropes

36.5 - Broad to Herath, FOUR, brilliant response from Rangana Herath. Short ball aimed at his helmet, he rocks back and nails the pull through mid-wicket. Got on top of the bounce and rolled his wrists over the stroke

26.4 - Finn to Herath, FOUR, short of length delivery and again that wicked bounce from Finn, Herath hangs back and gets an outside edge that races away in the gap between the third slip and gully to the fence. How many times we have seen that today?

19.3 - Woakes to Kusal Mendis, FOUR, back of a length delivery and Woakes extracts extra bounce on it, Mendis hangs back and gets an outside edge that races between the third slip fielder and the gully fielder (Anderson) into the fence. He played it with soft hands

14.4 - Anderson to Chandimal, FOUR, wonder what has Anderson got to say about this? The edge on this length delivery rolled between the third slip and the man at gully. He was not pleased with the field in the previous over and then this happens

10.3 - Anderson to Kaushal Silva, FOUR, poor Vince, this time he is not able to cut it off. He reached the ball but was not able to flick it back, chased it all the way from point. It was a back of a length delivery and Silva smartly opened the face of the bat to find the gap through gully

9.2 - Broad to Kusal Mendis, FOUR, aha! One of the best so far from the Lankans. Mendis leans into the drive on this half-volley and found the gap through extra cover, there were two men interested in a chase but the ball had enough legs to touch the fence

5.5 - Broad to Kaushal Silva, FOUR, fabulous shot from Silva. The idea from Broad was to make him drive a half-volley. There was not much swing and that helped Silva to drive through cover

3.1 - Broad to Kusal Mendis, FOUR, half-volley on off, Mendis might have mumbled 'thank you' while effecting this extra cover drive with ease. The ball did not quite race to the fence but just about managed to kiss the rope

0.4 - Anderson to Karunaratne, FOUR, too straight and that will help Karunaratne get the monkey off his back. Gets tall and tucks this one softly which rolls along the ground to the deep mid-wicket fence

43.3 - Anderson to Thirimanne, out Caught by Compton!! That is the end of Thirimanne. There was not much he could do. He had to throw his bat with only Pradeep for company. He went for the slog on this length delivery, got a thick outside edge and it skied high towards backward point, where Compton did not take it that comfortably but somehow managed to hold onto it. Sri Lanka will bat again, England have decided to enforce the follow-on.Thirimanne c Compton b Anderson 19(80) [4s-1]

40.3 - Broad to Lakmal, out Caught by Bairstow!! Three deliveries it took Broad to send Lakmal back. It was coming, one could see that. Duck for Lakmal. It was a back of a length delivery just outside off, Lakmal poked at it, the ball might have held its line a bit. Thick edge and it carried to Bairstow. Broad did not even appeal much, just a customary confirmation from the umpire. Follow-on on cards? Lakmal c Bairstow b Broad 0(5)

38.5 - Broad to Eranga, out Caught by Root!! Blimey! Fantastic team work from England. Vince and Root combining to cling onto an absolute bonzer of a catch. Fullish and wide, wobble seam and Eranga went slashing after that. No feet and he feeds a thick outside edge which swirls in the air and to the left of third slip. But, wait! Here comes the moment... Vince (At 3rd slip) leapt high and could only get a hand to it. Ends up parrying the rebound to the right of Root who turns around, dives full length to gobble that up. Superb reflexes from the Yorkshireman at second slip... Eranga c Root b Broad 2(3)

38.2 - Broad to Herath, out Caught by Anderson!! Jimmy ain't dropping that, he has bucket hands. Herath's resistance comes to an end, finally. It was short and rose sharply into Herath, he was taken aback by the extra bounce Broad generated. Hops and tries to fend with a slightly angled bat. With the bat face pointing towards slip cordon, the ball thuds the splice and flies to the right of Anderson at third slip. He pouches it safely... Herath c Anderson b Broad 12(46) [4s-2]

22.0 - Woakes to Siriwardana, out Caught by Bairstow!! The procession continues. This time, Siriwardana has been chugged down. Back of a length delivery and it nips away a touch, Siriwardana pushes at it with his feet stationed in clay and ekes out an outside edge. It perhaps stayed a touch low and the keeper snaffled the catch with both hands, inches above the ground. Siriwardana c Bairstow b Woakes 0(5)

21.1 - Woakes to Kusal Mendis, out Caught by Anderson!! Woakes is on a roll. He took 9 for 36 the other week against Durham in County Championship and he has continued to bowl with good form, here. Back of a length delivery and Woakes gets good bounce on it. Maybe it nipped away a touch, too. Mendis stays back and tries to keep it out. However, the ball gets big on him, resulting in it hitting the splice of the bat and Anderson at gully plucked the catch to his left. Mendis was opened up in his defence and he could not have done much there as that was a cracker of a delivery. Kusal Mendis c Anderson b Woakes 35(62) [4s-3]

18.0 - Woakes to Mathews, out Caught by Bairstow!! And that's the fourth one. Or is it not? Mathews has gone for a review and he has wasted one. When a batsman edges something, does he not get an idea that he has edged it? I wonder what propelled Mathews to review it. Anyway coming to the dismissal. It was a great delivery, came in with the angle and straightened pretty late, almost when it reached the batsman. Mathews was opened a bit and edged it, in fact the bat hit his pad also. That might have confused him a bit. The umpire and the fielders were in no doubt though. Aleem Dar raised his finger almost instantly and the third umpire confirmed it with the hotspot. Mathews c Bairstow b Woakes 3(8)

15.0 - Anderson to Chandimal, out Caught by Cook!! Why would he push hard at it? It is beyond me! Chandimal went with hard hands on this one. It was a typical Anderson delivery, the dreaded one. Pitched in and then changed its path. The thick edge carried at a nice height to the captain at first slip, who was smiling even before he grabbed it. That will calm Anderson. Is he happy with the field now? Chandimal c Cook b Anderson 4(11) [4s-1]

12.0 - Broad to Kaushal Silva, out Caught by Bairstow!! See I wanted Kusal Mendis's luck not Silva's for he is going back to the pavilion now. I am sure had it been Kusal Mendis, the edge won't have carried to the keeper. This was a length delivery outside off, it might have straightened a bit and that led to Silva's dismissal as he poked at it. Got a thick outside edge that just about carried into Bairstow's glove. 25 minutes into the session and England have got the second one. Kaushal Silva c Bairstow b Broad 13(22) [4s-2]

2.4 - Anderson to Karunaratne, out Bowled!! Of all the ways a batsman loses his wicket in a Test match, this has to be one of the most heartbreaking one. He has lost his wicket round the legs, that too to a pacer. He would have preferred getting out trying to drive the ball rather than losing his stumps round the legs after moving way too across to tuck this one. The ball shaped back in a touch and eluded his bat and every gear, which means that Karunaratne had moved way too across. Anderson is on the board! Will it open the floodgates? SL fans may want to avoid the last line. Karunaratne b Anderson 9(14) [4s-1]

33.5 - Moeen Ali to Herath, no run, this arm-ball from Moeen dipped right in front of Herath's toes as he misses on the swipe, there was a raucous appeal for lbw but umpire Aleem stays unmoved. There was a bit of confusion regardiing bat-first or pad-first. After a mini confab Cook goes for a referral but it proved to be in vain. This is the first time England have made an unsuccessful review this summer. Review part: "Front foot is fine, front-on vision please. Rock and roll a bit that for me. Can you show me the HotSpot. I got a HotSpot on the toe there, so it has hit the toe first. Spilt screen please. Yeah! It's cleary showing that it's hit the toe first. When you are ready to go for the ball-tracking, please lemme know. Meanwhile keep the viewers entertained. Super! You're still showing the HotSpot. If you probably want me to sing a song, I'm not gonna do that. (ROFL)We are still waiting for the ball tracking. Pitching - In-Line, impact - In-Line. Wickets - Missing (sliding down leg). Not Out it will be. Aleem You are on screen now, you can stick with your decision. Well done, mate!" chirps an ever-cool Rod Tucker. Superb analysis clubbed with a bit of fun...

128.1 - Woakes to Lakmal, FOUR, length ball on his torso, digs deep into the crease for some room and hacks his away through mid-wicket. Slow roll across the green grass to earn him a boundary

127.3 - Broad to Pradeep, byes, FOUR, through everyone, like Salman Rushdie's words. Stays low, gets under Pradeep's bat swing and almost hobbles across, through the keeper's legs, to the fences behind

127.1 - Broad to Pradeep, FOUR, an outside edge that periscopes over the slip cordon, which just looked up and mourned. Full delivery, Pradeep fetched it for a slog only to end up looking not beautiful

126.0 - Broad to Pradeep, FOUR, that's picturesque from Ali. Runs across at fine leg, slides and then shaves the grass with his right leg to carrom-kick the ball in. But hold on.. the left leg is already hugging the ropes, eh? Yes. An inside-edge tickle from Pradeep this was

124.5 - Woakes to Lakmal, FOUR, my screen showed no one behind square until a fine leg came rushing across. Where's the bodyline spirit? Short ball down leg, Lakmal is not in control. Off the gloves.. wide of the keeper and to the fences

118.5 - Moeen Ali to Chandimal, FOUR, straight down the ground. As simple as that. Ali tosses this up, like a pancake in the making, and Chandimal is suctioned out of the crease for a hammer downtown. Full flow of the bat. One bounce and into rundom

116.3 - Moeen Ali to Herath, FOUR, yes, yes. How old is he? A 38-year old slashing grass with a sweep. This time with a conventional one. Rubbers himself forward, the length's there and chaperones it through mid-wicket

116.2 - Moeen Ali to Herath, FOUR, this looks like fun. He's getting adventurous. Stretches forward, uses the good bounce and ushers out a reverse sweep to third man

112.3 - Moeen Ali to Herath, FOUR, ah, that sweep has been knived. Stretches forward, gobbles up the flight and brooms it through mid-wicket

112.0 - Woakes to Chandimal, FOUR, last ball of the session and Chandimal has gloriously driven it through the covers. Another half-volley, England have been guilty of straying it on either side. Sri Lanka keep fighting..

110.0 - Woakes to Chandimal, FOUR, Chandimal gets there! He leaps and hollers, punches the air and looks on as his teammates rise in applause. Jayasuriya is a delighted man in the balcony. Length ball just outside off, Chandimal opens the bat-face after pressing across and runs it to the third man fence. Nobody there. Well played!

105.4 - Woakes to Herath, FOUR, oh, wristy! Back of a length outside off, Herath twirls his wrists to control the bounce and cuts it past backward point

100.4 - Moeen Ali to Herath, FOUR, runs galore in this second hour of play. Ali drifts one into middle and leg and is swept away to the deep backward square fence

100.0 - Finn to Chandimal, FOUR, 15 off the Finn over, I think he's bounced himself out of the attack with this bumper. Not a lot of venom and in line with off, Chandimal swivels across fluently and pulls it fine of long leg

99.3 - Finn to Herath, FOUR, there's hardly any extension of the arms and the ball has raced away. Although in the air, but that off-side is poorly populated so no immediate danger. Back of a length outside off, Herath opens the bat-face while on the hop and steers it through the covers

99.1 - Finn to Herath, FOUR, Finn is all over the place. Either too short (which is mostly the case), or too full. No rhythm at all which is evident by the speed gun. On a short of length and slanting in towards off, Herath has lots of time as he lifts his front leg and short-arm pulls through mid-wicket. The ball sluggishly rolls across this heavy outfield and only about kisses the cushions

96.5 - Woakes to Herath, FOUR, short on the stumps, Herath rocks back and pulls it nonchalantly through backward square leg fence

95.1 - Finn to Chandimal, FOUR, poor delivery, short and width on offer, Chandimal rises on his toes and carves it over the in-field on the off-side. Couple of bounces and into the fence

91.0 - Anderson to Chandimal, FOUR, half-volley outside off and Chandimal is not going to miss on those. Leans forward and caresses it past cover. The ball races to the fence in a hurry

90.1 - Anderson to Chandimal, FOUR, nicely timed! The short of length outside off, Chandimal waits for it, opens the bat face and steers it wide of backward point. No need to run for those

89.3 - Broad to Chandimal, FOUR, cracking shot! Sees this fullish delivery outside off and spanks the drive through cover region. The ball races away to the fence in a jiffy

83.5 - Broad to Siriwardana, leg byes, FOUR, oh, it came off the pad of Siriwardana as he tried to glance this one fine. Bairstow got his hand to it, had it come off the bat, England would have been left disappointed and it is not nice to end the day in such a way

81.5 - Broad to Chandimal, FOUR, half-volley outside off and that will help Chandimal get to his fifty. Chandimal leans into the drive and beats a diving man at extra cover with ease

77.3 - Root to Siriwardana, FOUR, tossed up but wide of off, Siriwardana goes for the square drive and finds the gap, the ball races away to the fence

77.1 - Root to Siriwardana, FOUR, welcome delivery from Root. Short and wide and Siriwardana cuts it away to the sweeper cover fence

75.5 - Finn to Siriwardana, FOUR, this has been sweetly timed. Siriwardana just punched this length delivery off the front foot and found the gap through cover, there was no point giving it a chase as it raced along the turf

74.2 - Moeen Ali to Chandimal, FOUR, Chandimal is not going to hold back. Once again he decides to take Moeen Ali on and flogs him through mid-wicket. It was in the air for a while but there was no man in the deep

73.3 - Finn to Siriwardana, FOUR, short ball and it did not rise enough to trouble the batter. He rocked back and pulled it with disdain to the deep square leg fence

73.0 - Moeen Ali to Chandimal, FOUR, and again! Chandimal decides to go over the top and just about gets enough bat behind it to clear a leaping man at mid-on. His heart would have been in mouth on that occasion

72.5 - Moeen Ali to Chandimal, FOUR, he decides to take the aerial route and flogs this one over mid-wicket, there is no one in the deep and the ball races away

69.5 - Broad to Chandimal, FOUR, Chandimal gets across and gets an inside edge onto his pads, and the ball rolls away to the fine leg fence, stifled appeal for lbw turned down

66.2 - Woakes to Siriwardana, FOUR, full and on pads, asking to be hit, Siriwardana clears his front leg and flicks it to deep square leg and finds the fence

65.0 - Woakes to Siriwardana, FOUR, full length delivery angling away, Siriwardana gets forward and drives it hard, gets a thick outside edge that flies to the right of the diving gully fielder who doesn't get a hand on it and the ball hits the fence

62.3 - Woakes to Mathews, FOUR, from wide of the crease, Woakes hurls in a low full toss, Mathews nicely clips it to the deep mid-wicket fence. He was aiming for the yorker, but missed the target by a few inches

54.3 - Moeen Ali to Mathews, no ball, FOUR, Mathews shows pluck by using the reverse sweep to a delivery that was bowled slower through the air and off she goes into the third man fence. What I see? There were three fielders behind square on the leg-side. The umpire has called a no-ball for it

52.1 - Moeen Ali to Mathews, FOUR, Mathews skips down the track, takes it on the half-volley and lifts it to the mid-wicket fence. Powerful blow from the Lankan skipper

50.5 - Moeen Ali to Mathews, FOUR, now that was biffed. Mathews charges down the track, takes it on the half volley and pulverises it into the downtown territories

50.1 - Moeen Ali to Mathews, FOUR, Mathews sits on one knee and sweeps it to the deep backward square leg fence. He kept it all along the ground

46.2 - Moeen Ali to Mathews, FOUR, tosses this outside off, Mathews shuffles down the ground and times the loft well over the mid-off fielder for another boundary

45.0 - Moeen Ali to Mathews, FOUR, tossed up again, Mathews is quick to use his feet and gets to the pitch, lofts it wide of mid-off and finds another boundary, Mathews is not letting Moeen settle in here

41.2 - Broad to Mathews, FOUR, short and wide outside off, Mathews climbs on it and cuts it hard, finds the gap to perfection and the ball raced away to the boundary. There are three manning the cover-region for Mathews. Interesting captaincy that. They are looking to catch him on the drive

39.1 - Broad to Mathews, FOUR, very full and on the stumps, Mathews gets across this one and clips it in the gap between mid-wicket and mid-on, the ball raced away to the fence

38.5 - Finn to Kaushal Silva, FOUR, 10th Test fifty for Sliva, Finn slides this down leg, Silva gets across and flicks it fine and the ball races away into the fence. This is only the second 50 by a Lankan in this series. Silva raises his bat and acknowledges the crowd

32.3 - Finn to Kaushal Silva, FOUR, Finn kept it a touch fuller than his natural length and it was enough for Silva to flay the drive past the man at mid-off

29.5 - Anderson to Kaushal Silva, FOUR, Anderson served this one full just outside off, Silva was waiting for any such opportunity, leaned into the drive and found the gap through cover with ease

29.0 - Moeen Ali to Thirimanne, FOUR, this time he finds gap through the cover-point region with a square drive. The ball races away to the fence in no time

28.4 - Moeen Ali to Thirimanne, FOUR, short and wide and Thirimanne mumbled thank you before cutting this one square of the wicket on the off-side

26.2 - Moeen Ali to Kaushal Silva, FOUR, rankest of long hops from Moeen Ali and Silva is not going to miss out, camps back and pulls it through mid-wicket

21.5 - Anderson to Kusal Mendis, FOUR, outside edge and it has run away to the third man fence. It was a length delivery that held its line outside off, Mendis's bat came down a touch late and the edge off the toe of the bat beat the chase of the fielder from gully

21.2 - Anderson to Kusal Mendis, FOUR, ball's same, result's same the execution was a little different with the bat coming down a touch vertically. But the shot was so well timed that the man at backward point could not do much despite putting a dive to his left

21.1 - Anderson to Kusal Mendis, FOUR, short, wide, punished. Mendis cuts it uppishly but away from the man at backward point, the ball races away towards the fence in no time

19.3 - Finn to Kusal Mendis, FOUR, Mendis shows his aggressive intent by whipping this half volley on leg-stump. It zooms away to the mid-wicket fence

18.3 - Woakes to Kaushal Silva, FOUR, England are so far ahead in this game, but there is no third slip in place. Baffling really. Fullish and a hint of outswing for Woakes, Silva cracks the drive with his feet stationed in clay and gets a thickish outside edge. Root leaps in the air at second slip, but it flies past him and into the boundary boards

18.2 - Woakes to Kaushal Silva, FOUR, Silva was not in control of that drive, but adds a boundary to his tally. Good length delivery that might have swung away a touch from Silva, he drives it on the up. As a result, he plays away from the body and it goes in the gap between cover-point and backward point and into the fence. His bottom hand came off the bat handle, on that occasion

14.3 - Woakes to Karunaratne, FOUR, is that the shot of the morning? Nicely executed by Karunaratne for sure. Karunaratne takes a small stride forward and punches it past the mid-on fielder. The ball vroomed away to the fence

11.3 - Broad to Karunaratne, FOUR, fuller length delivery and outside off, Karunaratne drives it rather uppishly towards the sweeper cover fence and off she goes. The first boundary of the innings for the tourists

119.0 - Moeen Ali to Chandimal, SIX, again. Goes with the spin this time. Keeps himself put, slog-sweeps and shames the deep mid-wicket fence

44.3 - Moeen Ali to Mathews, SIX, tossed up delivery outside off, Mathews uses his feet to get to the pitch of the delivery, lofts it over mid-off and times it well enough to get a maximum

128.2 - Woakes to Lakmal, out Caught by Broad!! Cook rushes back into the pavilion, he's a job to do. Anderson leads the pack back. Sri Lanka's overwhelming resistance runs out of fuel.. at least 78 runs more than what they were expected to. Lakmal slogs across the line to this fullish delivery, ushers a top edge out and a floppy-hatted Broad shuffles across at mid-on to digest this overhead. Lakmal c Broad b Woakes 11(15) [4s-2]

125.5 - Broad to Chandimal, out Bowled!! End of a lovely innings from Chandimal. The crowd gets up, applauds robotically before waning down ridiculously in sync. But a horror shot to get out, this from Chandimal. Premeditates the slog on this, wields his bat across the line but Broad had done well to stick to the stumps. English bowlers always do. Chandimal misses, Broad hits. Cook's one wicket and 5 runs away, uff. Chandimal b Broad 126(207) [4s-13 6s-1]

121.5 - Anderson to Eranga, out Bowled!! Anderson continues to harvest wickets. This time of Eranga's to get to yet another five-for. Kohli's fifties and Anderson's wickets.. and mentioning them in a sentence was intentional, I fear. The minutiae of this delivery: brute. Too good. Skids on from a fullish length, the angle in tempts Eranga into a clip through the on-side but the ball just straightens enough to martyr the off-stump. Eranga b Anderson 1(18)

117.1 - Anderson to Herath, out Lbw!! This looked plumb the moment it hit the pad. 61 runs of awesomeness, 91 balls of genius resistance ends. The inswinger from Anderson this time, Herath was stuck on the crease trying to second-guess which way the ball will move. Comes shooting in with the angle, raps the pad and a referral, albeit a formal one, confirms a plumb LBW. 1-0 to technology. Herath lbw b Anderson 61(99) [4s-8]

89.0 - Anderson to Siriwardana, out Caught by Hales!! Early strike from Anderson and a brief resistance from Siriwardana comes to an end. Beautifully set-up by Anderson, hits it on a length from round the wicket and seams it away just a touch, Siriwardana played it with hard hands, the ball shaves the outside edge and flies towards gully where Hales nicely pouches it. Siriwardana c Hales b Anderson 35(72) [4s-6]

63.4 - Anderson to Mathews, out Caught by Bairstow!! The veteran pacer from Lancashire has done the trick. He has troubled Mathews throughout the series with subtle changes of wrist to get it to move in and out from him. Here, he angles it in on a length and then it nips away from Mathews, he is opened up slightly and has a flirty poke at it. It takes the outside edge and Bairstow moves to his right to grab the catch with both hands, inches above the ground. Lovely channel in that corridor outside off from Anderson. Mathews c Bairstow b Anderson 80(105) [4s-9 6s-1]

52.0 - Finn to Kaushal Silva, out Caught by Bairstow!! Oh! That was close to being called a no-ball. However, Finn was just about fine there as he perhaps had a wee bit of his back-heel behind the line. Dar referred it to the TV umpire, but Finn just about escaped. The banged in delivery from Finn, Silva tries to pull and it gets a touch big on him. Eventually, ekes out a top-edge, Bairstow moves across and snaffles it. Finn got slightly irritated with Sliva. Maybe that made Finn to bend his back and extract more bounce on the short delivery. On the other hand, end of a gritty innings from Silva. Kaushal Silva c Bairstow b Finn 60(145) [4s-6]

30.4 - Moeen Ali to Thirimanne, out Bowled!! Moeen Ali cannot be kept out of the game for a long time. Perfect dismissal from an off-spinner. Thirimanne played inside the line of the delivery which turned away a soupcon to ping back the off-pole. Just when England were hoping that Anderson will get them one, their centurion has struck. What a ball this was! Thirimanne b Moeen Ali 13(27) [4s-2]

22.0 - Anderson to Kusal Mendis, out Caught by Bairstow!! This is by far the best I have seen in this Test match. I am sure, it was unplayable. There was not much Mendis could have done about it. Came in with the angle and then moved away, just as much as was needed for the edge. For a moment I thought it came off the pad but it was not the case to be. England have struck early and they have got the man who was looking good in the middle. Kusal Mendis c Bairstow b Anderson 26(22) [4s-4]

16.3 - Woakes to Karunaratne, out Caught by Root!! It is Woakes who eventually breaks through the gritty opening stand. Good length delivery that seams away a touch from Karunaratne, he falls for it by tentatively pushing forward and gets an outside edge to Root at second slip, who moves to his left and snaffles it. On replays, it is clear that was his change-up scrambled seam ball. He has been using that delivery quite frequently today. Karunaratne c Root b Woakes 26(55) [4s-2]

113.4 - Anderson to Herath, 3 runs, James Vince has dropped Herath! What a cardinal sin but at least we get to watch Herath for longer. Looks to hoick this fuller delivery on the leg-side, gets an outside edge which loops behind. Vince is there, backtracking at point. Went a little too far to see the ball pop out of his hands. Oh!

90.3 - Anderson to Chandimal, no run, dropped! Got to say it was a straightforward chance but Bairstow doesn't hold on to it. The inswinger from Anderson, Chandimal gets forward to defend, the ball also nips in sharply, there was a gap between bat and pad, the ball takes the inside edge but the keeper moves to his left and shells it

74.5 - Moeen Ali to Siriwardana, 2 runs, outside edge and it does not carry to Anderson at slip. Moeen Ali bowled this one slow and lured Siriwardana into pushing at it, he did so but with soft hands and that made the edge drop to the right of Jimmy at slip. He got a hand to it and that took the pace of the ball

58.3 - Moeen Ali to Mathews, 2 runs, hard to call that as a chance as the keeper had very little time to pouch it. Mathews tries to cut and it spins back in sharply, Mathews gets an inside edge, but even before Bairstow could move across to his left, the ball had gone past him towards fine leg. Not even a technical chance I say

126.5 - Woakes to Pradeep, 1 run, Lakmal has to hurry in. Pradeep tamely tapped it at where a silly point would have been.. runs. Woakes runs forward and shies at the stumps, misses as the commentators on air critique Lakmal's raised bat dragging into the crease

114.5 - Moeen Ali to Herath, 1 run, ah, here's a fifty. Yes. Gets forward to this flighted delivery and taps it open-batted to cover-point

96.4 - Woakes to Chandimal, 1 run, back of a length and swinging into the pads, Chandimal misses his flick and is struck on the pads, there was a ambitious appeal but umpire Ravi wasn't interested. England asked for a review but replays showed there was bat involved. The pair sneak a leg-bye

69.4 - Broad to Chandimal, no run, back of a length delivery that jags back in sharp from outside off, Chandimal gets across and fails to flick it off his pads, loud shout for LBW turned down by the umpire. England decided to review the decision but on field umpire's call stayed.

51.0 - Moeen Ali to Mathews, 2 runs, slower through the air and just outside off, Mathews sweeps it to fine leg for a brace. With it, he also notches up a fifty. Important half-century for Mathews and his country

34.1 - Finn to Mathews, 1 run, Finn bowls this back of a length on the stumps, Mathews gets an outside edge that rolls to point, Vince attacked the ball to stop the single and had a shy at the striker's end but missed. If he had effected the direct-hit that might have been curtains for Silva. It is hard to fathom why was Mathews looking to pinch a single there?

31.3 - Anderson to Mathews, no run, another rozzer from Anderson. There was an appeal from the keeper. England have gone upstairs to review it and believe me they have wasted the review for sure. Anderson did not even appeal, it was Hales who convinced Cook to go for it. What was he even thinking? Wasted a review . It was again a length ball that beat Mathews's bat as he decided to defend this one from his crease

23.2 - Siriwardana to Compton, FOUR, there's the cherry on the top - What a way to cap off the Test match! "Another Test match, another series and another win for England and Alastair Cook," Mic. Holding wraps it up in his simple words. Cook collects a couple of stumps as Compton joins the victory walk back to the pavilion. England have won the series with one more to go. Joe Root and Co. hug the skipper and ackowledge the landmark, brilliant scenes in the dressing room as both teams exchange handshakes. Compton looks a bit relieved and why not - He has hit the winning runs by punishing yet another short delivery through mid-wicket. Deal sealed!

23.1 - Siriwardana to Compton, FOUR, that's a help me delivery and Compton has nicely put it away. Short at the stumps, went back and murdered the pull past FSL

21.3 - Eranga to Cook, FOUR, flicked for four! Too straight from Eranga and he has been served the punishment by Cook who has looked progressively fluent

20.1 - Lakmal to Compton, FOUR, this should give Compton some confidence. His Dad knows and appreciates from the stands, drifting into the pads - Compton timed the pants off a flick, all the way through mid-wicket

18.4 - Siriwardana to Compton, FOUR, short and Compton had ample time to rock back and clobber the pull through mid-wicket, does so by adjusting to the variable bounce

16.2 - Siriwardana to Cook, FOUR, low full toss and this has been dispatced into the same region, more of a flicky whip this time

16.1 - Siriwardana to Cook, FOUR, high full toss and that's an early Christmas gift for captain Cook. Smites across the line and sends it soaring over mid-wicket

9.1 - Lakmal to Cook, FOUR, a boundary. He's starting to flow now. That's a weight weighing 10K off his shoulder. Short wide delivery barreled with a cut through point

7.2 - Siriwardana to Hales, FOUR, short ball and the turn gives Hales the room to fetch and place the pull through mid-wicket. Scoots away

7.0 - Herath to Cook, FOUR, teases a chase and then beats him. First bad ball from Herath. Wide and with the length shortened, allows Cook to rock back and slash it well in front of square

3.4 - Pradeep to Cook, FOUR, short and wide - cricket's ugliest twosome. Cook rocks back and siphons the cut through backward point

1.2 - Pradeep to Cook, FOUR, 10,000 Test match runs for Cook. Sports a wide grin as the paltry crowd feets up to clap and cheer the 'Gavaskar moment'. First Englishman to get there, 12th overall and the youngest ever to reach the mark. And what a symbolic way to get there. With a ball that's been his chum for all his career - fullish on the pads, Cook half-turns and shames it away with a clip.. that's rolling.. is slowing.. and just about trickles away to the deep mid-wicket fence

11.0 - Siriwardana to Hales, out Bowled!! The man with the golden arm - How many times has he done it? Milinda Siriwardana has nipped out Alex Hales. Slowed it up in the air and drifted it into Hales' pads, the batsman was stuck on the back foot. Wanted to flay it away through the off-side and is late to bring his bat down. The ball slams the pad and rams into middle and off - Timbaaaah! Alex Hales vents out his frustration as he toddles to the dressing room. Hales b Siriwardana 11(37) [4s-1]

16.5 - Siriwardana to Compton, 1 run, punched off the back foot wide of cover

15.1 - Herath to Compton, no run, Sri Lanka have gone up for a review - for lbw - against Compton. The frontfoot is fine, pitched on off and that might be missing leg. An easy call for the telly ump. and I'm sure the verdict will remain the same. Nothing on the Snicko, so no inside edge. Pitching - in-line, impact - ump' call, wickets - ump's call (Just about clipping leg). Compton goes back and fails to put bat to ball, but you know what happened next...