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Late on the fourth afternoon at Emirates Old Trafford, England overcame a spirited display with bat and ball from Sri Lanka to seal a five-wicket victory in the first Test. Joe Root provided the cool head during a crisis, while Jamie Smith capped a Player-of-the-Match-winning performance with a crucial late injection of impetus.
Following a 3-0 triumph over the West Indies in July, the victory made it four games in a row for the 2024 summer. However, as has occasionally been the case in that series, England was not permitted to impose terms with the authority that they would have anticipated halfway through the game.
With Kamindu Mendis scoring a magnificent century, most of which came during a stand of 117 runs with Dinesh Chandimal that took place during the morning session, Sri Lanka managed to establish a formidable goal of 205 to win.
And when Asitha Fernando and Prabath Jayasuriya led the bowling attack once more, dismissing all three of the top scorers in the first 16 overs of the chase, England had to swallow their Bazball pride in order to carve out a route to win at an exceptionally slow pace of 3.58 an over.
Though England’s target was fairly stiff, they would have been chasing even more if England’s seamers hadn’t, just after noon, docked Sri Lanka’s tail in a disciplined manner with the second new ball in hand. Sri Lanka’s innings concluded much like it had started (on the first day and third), losing their last four wickets in twenty-six balls, including the last three wickets for five in ten balls, but until then, their seventh-wicket stand had flipped the match virtually on its head.
With hardly a moment of concern throughout their 30-over partnership, Sri Lanka changed their match prospects thanks to Kamindu—who scored his third century in as many Tests—and Chandimal—who was last man out for 79 despite having retired hurt on the third afternoon.
Before Gus Atkinson forced Kamindu to concede 113 runs just after midday, they had more than doubled that lead, setting up a situation that Woakes and Matthew Potts were eager to seize.
Pope called for improvements for England, but none of them could address a growing opposition. After two centuries and an undefeated 92 in his three prior Test matches, Kamindu entered this match with an average above 100. His strokeplay was on display as he drove and pulled back-to-back boundaries off Atkinson and showed a vicious eye for anything loose from Bashir’s spin.
When Ben Duckett poked his third delivery down the leg-side on the second ball, Kusal expertly stopped him with his outstretched right glove, almost sending England’s reply into a tailspin. But as Kusal finished the catch, his palm was driving the ball into the ground, and the decision was reversed—a replay of Duckett’s reprieve against Mitchell Starc in the previous Ashes series.
Duckett played for the inswinger that had destroyed him in the first innings, but Asitha, the unlucky bowler, made up in style in his third over, turning the shiny side of his swinging new ball to graze a more regulation edge through to Kusal.
The next breakthrough, though, came from Jayasuriya. Pope, who had been very cautious early in his innings, attempted a reverse sweep on a purposeful leg-stump line, but he was only able to toe-end an easy opportunity to Dhananjaya de Silva at slip for his second six of the game. And shortly after, a nip-backer trapped 34-year-old Lawrence leg before wicket, sending England to a precarious 70 for 3.
In response, Root and Brook settled in for a traditional rebuilding job, putting up 49 for the fourth wicket at a rate of less than 3.4 an over. This was due to Sri Lanka’s well-organised attack as well as England’s rather shallow batting lineup without Ben Stokes.
The next opening was caused by Jayasuriya’s reversion to circle the wicket. On number thirty-two, Brook misjudged the ball’s drift back into his stumps and chipped a toe-ended drive back to the bowler, whose catch was upheld even though Root initially thought it had been grounded again.
Smith then emerged, needing 86 more. Ben Foakes was chosen over him primarily because of his perceived shortcomings as an aggressive batter, especially when marshalling the tail. The task at hand, however, was quite different: the defence had to be England’s most devoted and admirable matchwinner’s reliable companion.
Smith more than demonstrated himself worthy of the assignment. In the end, though, Root—whose senior status made him even more dominant in Stokes’ absence—was England’s key man.