England v Sri Lanka 2nd Test – 5 Talking Points

England took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match Investec Test series after they defeated Sri Lanka by 9 wickets in the 2nd match at Chester-le-Street. It was an easy walk in the park for the home side as they chased the paltry 79 runs target set to win by the visitors. The start of the Test was pretty identical to the first test at Headingly. England went on to pile on a huge total of 498/9d in the first innings after winning the toss and opting to bat first. Moeen Ali was the top performer with the bat with his strokeful 155 runs innings. Joe Root (80) and Alex Hales (83) also played comprehensive knocks. Sri Lanka, in reply, managed just 101 and were asked to follow-on. The Lankans were on a verge of yet another innings loss. But, surprisingly, centuries Dinesh Chandimal (126) and fighting half-centuries Kushal Silva (60), Angelo Mathews (80) and Rangana Herath (61) allowed the Lankan to avoid the humiliation.

1. Moeen Ali – The beard that is feared

Moeen Ali hit his career best knock of 155 to completely floor the visitors and put England in a position to push for another innings win. It was entertaining knock from the all-rounder. He came in to bat at No.7 in the 68th over of the day one and set the evening session on fire before the end of day one, finishing at 28. The following day, Ali could have been dismissed cheaply when he was on 36 after he nicked one behind to Chandimal. But, luckily for him, Chandimal failed to get hold of the simple regulation catch and gave him a lifeline. He made the Lankan pay dearly for the mistake and went on to smash the second century of his career, guiding England to a formidable score. Incidentally, his first also came against Sri Lanka, at Headingley in 2014. He finished unbeaten at 155 after Alastair Cook declared England’s innings 40 minutes before tea on day two.

2. Wickets fall in heaps once again:

The start for Sri Lanka was pretty identical to the first Test. Cook gave Sri Lanka a session and 40 minutes to play on the second day. But, the Lankans made a mockery of themselves in reply.  The visiting batting subsided to 90 for 8. Follow-on was set to be enforced on them in the next morning. The Lankans could add only 11 runs in the next morning as Anderson and Broad snapped the last two batsmen standing – Lahiru Thirimanne and Suranga Lakmal – to fold Sri Lanka for just 101. The pace bowling trio of James Anderson (4/40), Stuart Broad (3/36) and Chris Woakes (3/9) gave no opportunity to the Lankan whatsoever. Kusal Mendis (35) and Thirimanne (19) were the only batsmen who spent some time at the crease.

3. Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews lead fight back:

After getting rattled cheaply in the first innings, Sri Lanka showed some resistance in the second innings. Skipper Angelo Mathews (80) and Kaushal Silva (60) were fought back wonderfully. Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis, and Lahiru Thirimanne all departed after getting starts. But, the Mathews- Silva pair got together soon and the English bowlers grind a bit for the 5 the success with their 80 run stand. The partnership was broken eventually after Karunaratne fell to Woakes. Mathews however, continued batting grittily and added valuable runs to the scoreboard. But, his time at the crease was cut short by James Anderson soon.

4. Dinesh Chandimal helps Lankans avoid another innings defeat:

The quest to avoid another embarrassing inning defeat continued after the fall of Karunaratne and Mathews as Dinesh Chandimal then took charge of the happening in the middle. After batting briefly with Mathews initially, he forged two important stands with Milinda Siriwardana and tail-ender Rangana Herath. Together with Siriwardana, he added 92 runs for the 6th wicket and took Sri Lanka close to England’s total. Later, after the fall of Siriwardana, he found an unlikely partner in Herath, who struck his 2nd test fifty and put up 116 runs for the 7th wicket before departing for 61 runs. Chandimal also reached his 6 Test hundred in the meanwhile as Sri Lanka avoided an innings defeat.

5. Alastair Cook finally reaches the 10,000 mark:

Sri Lanka eventually managed a lead of 78 runs after Anderson and Woakes cleaned up the wagging Lankan tail. With two full days and a session to go, the chase was just a formality for England and a win was in sight. English fans, however, were more anxious for Cook to come out and reach the 10,000 runs milestone. The English skipper had been postponing the special moment since the last three innings. He required only 5 runs to overtake Sachin Tendulkar and become the youngest batsman to reach the landmark. The left-hander did not wait much long and quickly reached there withing a matter of a couple of overs.