England tour of Sri Lanka: Andrew Strauss lauds trio for the win in second Test match – Cricket News Update
England’s Test skipper, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AJ-Strauss-c964, was jubilant after securing a win in the second Test match against Sri Lanka, played at P Sara Oval, Colombo. With the win, the tourists not only ended their four match losing streak but
they also levelled the series 1-1.
Strauss lauded the efforts of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/JM-Anderson-c1705, Graeme Swann and star batsman Kevin Pietersen, the three cricketers who played a key role in the eight wicket win over the Lankans.
Lavishing praise on the three http://www.senore.com/Cricket/GP-Swann-c1501 was outstanding and
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/KP-Pietersen-c1806 took the game away from them.”
Anderson laid the foundation for English victory, when the pacer dislodged top three batters of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 cheaply in first innings. Swann, on the other hand, ripped through the Lankan middle order in both innings and finished the
match with figures of 10 for 181 runs.
However, the biggest contribution came from Pietersen, who continued his good run with the bat and propelled England to 460 in first innings with a swashbuckling innings of 151 runs and later in second innings played an unbeaten
knock of 42 runs to chase down a target of 94 set by the Sri Lankan.
Strauss laid special emphasis on Pietersen and how he inspired England to victory. He said, “At the top of the order it was all very stodgy, then Kevin came in and showed us how to play. It is demoralising for the opposition team
to see KP in full flight. It was an outstanding innings and obviously gave us the impetus and momentum to go on and win the game.”
The Test match at Colombo was a must win game for England, as they had lost the opening fixture by 75 runs and their number on Test status was under threat. But with the win, the Poms have retained their top spot and will now look
to build on this win, as they host http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 in May for a series comprising of three Test matches.
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