http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 – 1st Test – Sri Lanka 318 & 214 – England 193 & 264 – Sri Lanka win by 75 runs
With 4 days witnessing 40 wickets fall, the Lankan Lions beat the touring Poms in the first match of the two-test series, played at the Galle International Stadium between March 26 – 29, 2012.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DPMD-Jayawardene-c1397 won the toss and chose to bat first, and sticking to his decision, proved that he truly is a class-act – leading from the front and contributing 180 valuable runs to ensure his side posted good total (318). He was the star of show in the
first innings, single-handedly steering the Lankan ship while no one else managed to reach the 30s.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SCJ-Broad-c2465 (1).
Coming in on Day 2, the English lost http://www.senore.com/Cricket/IR-Bell-c1597 reaching a fifty, before the whole side crumbled for 193 on the
same day.
Rangana Herath was the danger man for England, bagging 6 wickets, 4 of which were LBWs. He was supplemented nicely by spinner Suraj Randiv, who claimed two, while Lakmal and Welegedara bagged one each.
In their 2nd outing, the Lankans weren’t so lucky, and lost the first three wickets, including skipper Jayawardene, for only 14 runs. Luckily, Samaraweera and Chandimal were able to stand up to the English attack and contributed 36 and 31 respectively,
but it was wicketkeeper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/HAPW-Jayawardene-c1529 who backed the side at a crucial juncture with his 61-run knock, helping the side end at 214 all-out.
Finally, chasing 340, the English looked solid in the start, with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/GP-Swann-c1501 had proven earlier, the pitch favored spinners – a fact
further confirmed by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/HMRKB-Herath-c1559 and Suraj Randiv, as the duo scythed through the English batting lineup, claiming 10 wickets between themselves (Herath 6, Randiv 4) to send the Poms packing, 75 runs short of the target – their fourth consecutive Test defeat,
and a meritorious win for the Lankan http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Lions-c808.
The 2nd Test is scheduled to begin from April 3, at Colombo. The English need a win to draw the series, while the Lankans will be looking to get the better of the visitors a second time.
Tags: