Twitter Reactions: Adil Rashid and Ben Stokes share eight wickets to leave Sri Lanka in a strife

England are well and truly on their way to affect a historic away series whitewash over Sri Lanka. The home side seemed to be putting up a decent score thanks to the half-centuries from Dimuth Karunaratne and Dhananjaya de Silva until tea. But an inexplicable collapse has left them reeling in the third Test as well and it will be extremely tough to chase down any kind of total in the fourth innings.

Kaushal Silva’s replacement Danushka Gunathilaka also couldn’t play well as he was sent back by Adil Rashid courtesy of an exceptionally judged catch by Keaton Jennings at short leg. However, Karunaratne and Dhananjaya joined hands then and batted decently. They didn’t give England’s spin trio any chance to dominate and their footwork of top class whenever the ball was flighted.

The Sri Lankan opener, especially, looked fluent who was missing to convert his starts. The duo suscessfully added 142 runs for the second wicket. Not that they didn’t offer a chance to the visitors as Joe Root dropped two catches and that played into Sri Lanka‘s hands.

Stunning collapse

Things were looking good and one felt that England were finally going to be put under some pressure while batting in the third innings. The island nation was threatening to overhaul their first innings total and any lead on this pitch would’ve been crucial. However, what transpired in the final session left the home fans stunned with utter disbelief. Sri Lanka lost their last nine wickets for just 67 runs.

After being comfortably placed at 173/1, De Silva’s wicket at the stroke of tea proved to the game-changer. Karunaratne was dismissed soon after the play was resumed and then Ben Stokes’ barrage of bouncers worked wonders. His marathon spell on either side of Tea turned the game on its head as the all-rounder picked key wickets of Angelo Mathews, Niroshan Dickwella and Dilruwan Perera.

The tail-enders were never going to keep on defending and Adil Rashid made the most of it. He scalped a sensational five-wicket haul and returned with the figures of 5/49. Stokes was also superb with the ball in hand and he ended with 3/30 during his 10-over burst.

England’s openers were left with facing tricky four overs with a lead of 99 runs in the bag. Rory Burns and Keaton Jennings looked determined in that period and added three runs to the total only.

Earlier in the day

Earlier in the day, England resumed the play and lost the remaining three wickets in no time. They stretched their score to 336 runs in the first innings with Moeen Ali scoring 33 runs while Lakshan Sandakan picked a five-wicket haul to end with 5/95. The score looked a decent one at that stage and then one felt it wouldn’t be enough when Karunaratne and Dhananjaya were going great guns. But then, Sri Lanka being Sri Lanka, gave away a great position with some headless batting in the last session.

Here’s how Twitter reacted during the day:

You just can’t beat a collapse … One of the beauties of Cricket … #SLvENG #3-0

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) November 24, 2018

This is how the game can change if you are not careful #SLvENG 32 runs for 4 wickets. And all this since Stokes took the ball started his usual barrage.

— Russel Arnold (@RusselArnold69) November 24, 2018

Think we’ll look back on this series and see it as the true start of the Root era… this is a new team and looks like there’s loads to come from them in the years ahead. #SLVENG

— Adrian Morris (@11AMdeclaration) November 24, 2018

Sri Lanka continue to embarrass themselves and its fans. 9 wickets fell for 67 runs off 111 balls. Since that successful tour in West Indies this year, things have not gone according to expectations. #SLvEng

— Faisal Caesar (@faisalyorker2) November 24, 2018

What a Sri Lankan collapse at the SSC. Adil Rashid's best spell in Test cricket? Brilliant catching by Keaton Jennings and a significant intervention from Ben Stokes. England well placed for 3-0…

— Paul Newman 🌈 (@Paul_NewmanDM) November 24, 2018

Keaton Jennings pulling out stunners for fun in short leg. Making it look ridiculously easy every single time #SLvENG

— Manivannan (@manivannan14889) November 24, 2018

Keaton Jennings could catch Donald Trump's tweets before they are sent. #bbccricket

— marc sepetowski (@sepo_efc) November 24, 2018

Well that all worked out very nicely with the light saving England an awkward half hour so they can come back tomorrow and bat with little pressure. Great chance for Burns to cash in… #SLvENG

— Jonny (@Leathernwillow) November 24, 2018

Great session for England – game changers took over #SLvEng

— Sue Greening (@greeningse) November 24, 2018

At Tea I was anticipating the Test would last long into the 5th day on Tuesday, but that shocking Sri Lankan collapse means it probably won't go past Tea on the 4th. #SLvENG

— Julian Croker (@jcroker2) November 24, 2018

Well, that escalated quickly… #SLvENG

— Ritchie (@MattRitchie68) November 24, 2018

Keaton Jennings – take a bow! #SLvEng

— Amos Kemp (@AmosKemp) November 24, 2018

we have 11 players but NOT a team #SLvENG

— Thilan (@thila794) November 24, 2018

Sri Lanka with a collapse of English proportions thanks to Golden Arm Stokes and Twister Rashid.
Magnificent stuff#SLvENG

— Peace Love and Understanding (@DonaldMcBride) November 24, 2018