Sri Lanka vs England – 2nd Test – Match Update – http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 on 275
England made full use of a deteriorating pitch at the P Sara Oval to limit Sri Lanka on 275, with the pick being http://www.senore.com/Cricket/GP-Swann-c1501, who added three wickets on a drowsy first session on Day 2, April 4, 2012.
The hosts had built well on the opening day, following the loss of three early wickets. Their skipper, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DPMD-Jayawardene-c1397 scored another imposing ton but his dismissal in the final session meant that English contingent remained the much happier camp at stumps.
The morning session on Day 2 further provided a fair reflection of how the pitch will play for the rest of the remaining days. The pacers had little joy on a surface which had opened up considerably, allowing Swann to dictate terms.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AD-Mathews-c913 began the proceedings, alongside his overnight partner Suraj Randiv but looked subdued in his stroke making. He managed to reach his half-century with a powerful pull off Anderson, despite mostly dealing in singles.
Swann caused problems all morning and got his just rewards after Randiv was holed out at deepish mid-wicket for 12. It was a result of some shrewd field placement by skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/KP-Pietersen-c1806 in a deep position.
A second strike soon followed after Mathews was caught by Strauss at short mid-wicket. It was a clever piece of bowling from the spinner, who tossed the ball up and invited the Sri Lankan vice-skipper to go at it, who unfortunately found the English captain
and departed for a sluggishly paced 57.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/TT-Bresnan-c2711. The last pairing managed to add 5, which included a four by Dhammika Prasad, before Swann got his fourth scalp, and the best of the lot,
to end the host’s resilience.
It was another tossed up delivery which turned sharply and managed to creep past the vacant gap between bat and pad. It meant that the home side added just 37 from 21 overs but looking at the nature of the track – 275 certainly seems competitive.
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