The first of 2 Test Matches to be played at Galle started today 04.30 (GMT) Sri Lanka won the toss & elected to bat. The hosts injury worries continued, losing captain Karunaratne , who sustained a broken finger in training. Chandimal with skipper in his absence.
England have given a debut to Dan Lawrence, Broad gets the nod over Anderson, with the 2 expected to rotate throughout the 6 Tests in Asia this winter. Sam Curran takes the allrounder spot with Woakes short of match practice. The former Somerset spin-twins will need to take the bulk of the wickets, with Wood providing extra pace.
Only 4 members of the winning side from 2018 are in the starting XI.
With 2 soft dismissals & one piece of good bowling to Mendis, who has now recorded an Audi , (0000) that's four consecutive Test match ducks, Sri Lanka were is all kinds of trouble at 25-3, on a slow-paced pitch that should be at it's best for batting on day 1 & 2, before it will start to deteriorate. Chandimal was badly missed by Lawrence of the bowling of Leach before tea.
The wickets of Mathews to Broad & now Chandimal to Leach, after the pair had added 56, has put England firmly on top.
It's been a farcical Sri Lanka innings.
The 7th, 8th and 9th dismissals in particular
1st Test Match Sri Lanka v England Galle Day 1 Close
Sri Lanka won the toss & elected to bat
Sri Lanka 135 all out (46.1 overs) Chandimal 28 Mathews 27 Bess 4-30 Broad 3-20
Eng 127-2 (40.1 overs) Root 66 no Bairstow 47 no Embuldeniya 2-55
England trail Sri Lanka by 8 runs
Root & Bairstow have added 110 runs for the 3rd wicket, unbroken, which is an England record for any wicket at Galle.
Day 2 started 1 hour & 10 minutes late, after light rain prevented play.
Root has hit a century
Roots has started 2021 with a ton, last year was the first time he failed to score a Test match century. Promising debut half-century from Dan Lawrence, who looked at home at this level. Competition far places in the batting line-up is stiff, with Stokes, Pope & Burns set to return for the India series which follows.
1st Test Galle Day 2 Close
Sri Lanka 135 all out
England 320-4 (94 overs) Root 168 no Lawrence 71 Bairstow 47 Embuldeniya 3-131
England lead Sri Lanka by 185 runs with 6 wickets remaining
^ That’s the highest score ever by an Englishman in a test in Sri Lanka