Date: Jan 22, 2021 Venue: Galle International Stadium, Galle
VS
381 (139.3)
344 (116.1)
126 (35.5)
164/4 (43.3)
Toss: Toss won by Sri Lanka
Man of the Series: Joe Root
Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena (SL) and Ruchira Palliyaguruge (SL)
TV umpire: Lyndon Hannibal (SL)
Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SL)
04 Mar, 2021 09:30 IST
Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
West Indies vs Sri Lanka - 1st T20I
04 Mar, 2021 03:30 IST
Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua
West Indies vs Sri Lanka - 2nd T20I
06 Mar, 2021 03:30 IST
Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua
West Indies vs Sri Lanka - 3rd T20I
08 Mar, 2021 03:30 IST
Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua
New Zealand vs Australia - 5th T20I
07 Mar, 2021 08:30 IST
Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui
New Zealand vs Australia - 3rd T20I
03 Mar, 2021 11:30 IST
Westpac Stadium, Wellington
New Zealand vs Australia - 4th T20I
05 Mar, 2021 11:30 IST
Eden Park, Auckland
Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe - 1st Test
02 Mar, 2021 11:30 IST
Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe - 2nd Test
10 Mar, 2021 11:30 IST
Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
West Indies vs Sri Lanka - 1st ODI
10 Mar, 2021 19:00 IST
Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua
West Indies vs Sri Lanka - 2nd ODI
12 Mar, 2021 19:00 IST
Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua
West Indies vs Sri Lanka - 3rd ODI
14 Mar, 2021 23:00 IST
Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua
New Zealand vs Australia - 3rd T20I
03 Mar, 2021 11:30 IST | 06:00 GMT
Westpac Stadium, Wellington
04 Mar, 2021 09:30 IST | 04:00 GMT
Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
New Zealand vs Australia - 4th T20I
05 Mar, 2021 11:30 IST | 06:00 GMT
Eden Park, Auckland
New Zealand vs Australia - 5th T20I
07 Mar, 2021 08:30 IST | 03:00 GMT
Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui
12 Mar, 2021 19:00 IST | 13:30 GMT
Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
New Zealand vs Australia - 2nd T20I
New Zealand beat Australia by 4 runs
India beat England by 10 wickets
New Zealand vs Australia - 1st T20I
New Zealand beat Australia by 53 runs
India beat England by 317 runs
Pakistan vs South Africa - 3rd T20I
Pakistan beat South Africa by 4 wickets
COMMENTARY
England beat Sri Lanka by 6 wickets | Vs 2nd Test match
More...
Right, that wraps an enthralling series. Collapse seemed to have been a common factor to Sri Lanka this series (the first innings in the 1st Test and second innings in the 2nd Test). England though, would be happy with this strong showing, as they head north to take on an Indian side brimming with sky-high confidence now. They go there for a 4-match Test series, followed by 5 T20Is and 3 ODIs. The first Test is at Chennai and starts on 5th February, 2021, at 0930 Local (0400 GMT). Do join us then and until that time, take care and goodbye...
England skipper Joe Root is also the Man of the Match and Series. Says that it was a fine performance to come out on top after losing the toss where they had the worst of the conditions for the majority of the game. Adds that it's a testament of the character of the boys and in the second innings, it was all about dealing with pressure and the guys showed a lot of maturity. On Englands plans this morning on Day 4, Root replies that they wanted to narrow down the deficit. Regarding the bowling plans, Root shares that they wanted to create some chaos by drying out the boundaries and build some pressure. Root further says that they had very little preparation and it's very pleasing to get the results. States that they are happy with their achievements and he wants his team to keep on improving. Joe wants his team to keep the same attitude and desire to keep improving. On areas that they want to improve before the Indian tour, Root replies by saying that they want to improve in all departments as they weren't entirely clinical in this series. On his most memorable win as a captain, Root says that it's hard to look past this win and there are a lot of positives to take forward.
Sri Lankan skipper, Dinesh Chandimal, says that they were outplayed today after doing all the hard work in the last three days. Feels that they did the same mistake as a batting unit that they did on the first day of the first Test. Wants to learn from Root and admits that they played good in patches and it's not good against a team like England. Adds that he himself played a rash shot in the second segment and no one took the responsibility. Mentions that 250-plus would have been a good target on this track. Thinks that they need to step up as a batting unit. On the positives, Chandimal says that Lasith was outstanding throughout the series and he does the hard work and always comes and asks how to improve. Feels that he will be a good asset for Sri Lanka going forward. On his own batting, Chandimal wants to learn from his mistakes and come back stronger.
Dom Sibley comes up for a quick chat! Smiles and says that he had a bit of a stinker in this series. Shares that he has prepared well against the spinners before the series, so was starting to doubt himself a bit. Admits that he was a bit lucky with the umpire's call in this innings. Tells that he just tried to spend time in the middle and build partnerships. Praises Root and adds that he played incredibly well, the way he swept, he made it look so easy. Says that he changed a few things and it worked for him. On facing spinners with the new ball, Sibley says that this is something he has never faced in England. Mentions that Buttler plays with a little higher tempo than him and he took the pressure off him. Regarding the tour of India, Sibley wants to wait and see with a few senior guys returning but he is happy to get some runs under his belt.
The England openers made their way out, for one last time, for the chase. Once again, Crawley fell early but Sibley and Bairstow did well to put England back on track. But then, 3 quick wickets fell, including Root, and the hosts thought they were in with a chance. But Sibley and Buttler managed to steer England home and helped clinch a 2-0 series victory. For the hosts, overall, Embuldeniya had a 10-fer to show, in the match. But it has been a disappointing performance from them.
For Sri Lanka, Embuldeniya starred with the ball, picking up 7 wickets, with Dilruwan and Ramesh getting 1 each. And then, the Lanka batsmen stepped out to consolidate on that lead, with a plan in mind, get England to chase 240-250 (as their skipper had stated). However, there was a collapse and courtesy, Embuldeniya, this time with the bat, they were able to put up something to defend. Their batting was questionable, with the skipper himself throwing away his wicket. There was not much positive intent from the batsmen at all. 164 was England's target. And unlike in the first innings, in the second, it was England's spinners who shone.
Stepping out to bat in response to that, England themselves were in early choppy waters but Root and Bairstow were back to doing the rescue work. There was a 111-run partnership between Jonny and Joe Root, before the former fell. But Root marched on, and with assistance from Buttler and Bess, started shelving the deficit as much as possible. At the end of Day 3 though, he fell, 14 runs shy of his double ton, and the deficit was reduced down to 37.
Earlier, Sri Lanka had won the toss and chose to bat. The top order faced a mild collapse before Mathews combined with Thirimanne and Chandimal to take his side to safer shores. Dickwella and Perera would carry on the good work later and in the end, the Sri Lankans finished with 381, a good first innings total. For England, the seamers nabbed all the wickets, with Anderson getting six, Wood, three and Curran, one.
England have done it very nicely. They did not need Root at all, in the second innings. Many positives for them in the second innings itself, Buttler remaining not out on 46 and Sibley returning to form with a 50, just before the India series. Fitting that Dom Sibley gets the winning runs and seals the series in England's favour, 2-0! 5 wins in 5 Test matches in Asia, for Root.
End of over 44 ( 4 Runs )ENG 164/4 43.3Dilruwan Perera to Dom Sibley. 1 run, ENGLAND WIN BY 6 WICKETS! Full and floated around middle, Sibley presses forward and flicks it through square leg for a run. Smiles in the English camp, they have done it!
43.2Dilruwan Perera to Jos Buttler. 1 run, Tossed up ball landing full around off, Buttler reverse sweeps it to deep backward point for a single. SCORES LEVEL!
43.1Dilruwan Perera to Dom Sibley. 1 run, Loopy and full on off, Sibley helps it towards square leg and steals a quick run.
End of over 43 ( 9 Runs )ENG 161/4 42.6Lasith Embuldeniya to Dom Sibley. 1 run, A single and just 3 more are required for the Englishmen here. Shortish length delivery around the off pole, Sibley clips it to the mid-wicket region and takes one.
42.5Lasith Embuldeniya to Jos Buttler. 1 run, Motors the fuller length delivery through the covers and picks up a single.
42.4Lasith Embuldeniya to Jos Buttler. no run, Loopy and on off, blocked.
42.3Lasith Embuldeniya to Jos Buttler. FOUR, FOUR! HAMMERED! Gets down to the loopy ball and nails his slog sweep through the mid-wicket carpet for a boundary. England are just one hit away from a win. So too is Buttler, from his fifty.
42.2Lasith Embuldeniya to Dom Sibley. 3 runs, Smart shot there from Dom. He was aware of the fact that there was no fielder at short fine leg. Paddles the fuller ball nicely through that region and picks up three as Suranga fields that.
42.1Lasith Embuldeniya to Dom Sibley. no run, Fuller in length ball, on off and middle, a big stride forward to defend it back to the bowler.
End of over 42 ( 1 Runs )ENG 152/4 41.6Dilruwan Perera to Jos Buttler. no run, Turn and bounce from around off, Buttler moves back and taps it down to backward square leg.
41.5Dilruwan Perera to Jos Buttler. no run, Gets back and flicks it on the leg side, finds the fielder.