Bowlers help England inch ahead in third Test
Nuwan Pradeep took three wickets as Sri Lanka continued to fight in the third Test at Lord’s on Saturday (June 11).
England, in its second innings, was 109 for 4 at the close of the third day, with a healthy but not impregnable lead of 237 runs. Alex Hales was 41 not out, with Steven Finn, the nightwatchman, unbeaten on 6.
England, 2-0 up in the three-match series, was on a precarious 50 for 3 before first-innings century-maker Jonny Bairstow helped Hales add 52 for the fourth wicket.
Hales launched the innings with two fours in as many balls off Suranga Lakmal. But he was dropped on 19 when Dimuth Karunaratne failed to hold a one-handed slip chance off Pradeep. However, it wasn’t long before Pradeep had Nick Compton out for 19 instead.
Compton had been promoted to open in place of Alastair Cook, the England captain, after the left-hander suffered a knee injury fielding close in earlier on Saturday.
England’s 45 for 1 quickly became 50 for 3 though. Joe Root (4) was bowled by an absolute shooter from Pradeep, and James Vince was out for a golden duck as he deliberately played no shot to a Pradeep delivery that nipped back down the Lord’s slope and knocked over his offstump.
Bairstow, in at 84 for 4 in the first innings before making a Test-best 167 not out, survived the hat-trick. But on 32 he too was clean bowled by Pradeep.
Hales then saw a tough one-handed chance down the legside off Pradeep dropped by Dinesh Chandimal, the wicketkeeper. Worse followed for Pradeep next ball when Chandimal didn’t move for a Finn edge. Pradeep ended the day with 3 for 25 in nine overs but his figures could easily have been better.
Earlier, Chris Woakes started and finished a collapse that saw Sri Lanka, 162 for 1 overnight, dismissed for 288. That gave England, who made 416 in its first innings, a lead of 128. Woakes, who took a wicket with his first ball Saturday, ended the innings with the opening delivery of a new spell when Eranga was caught in the slips. Woakes took 3 for 31 in 17.1 overs.
Sri Lanka resumed Saturday with Kaushal Silva 79 not out and Kusal Mendis batting on 25.
But they both fell for their overnight scores as Sri Lanka faced accurate fast bowling, with the overcast conditions making batting harder than had been the case on Friday.
Woakes had Mendis lbw with his first ball of the day before Silva was caught behind off Stuart Broad. Kusal Perera (42) and Rangana Herath (31) fought back with a seventh-wicket stand of 71. But Perera was eventually caught behind after wildly slogging at James Anderson to start a slump that saw Sri Lanka lose all its last three wickets on 288.
(Courtesy: International Cricket Council)
