England finish just eight runs off Sri Lanka's dismal 135 with EIGHT wickets in hand

England knocked over a haphazard Sri Lanka for just 135 to take immediate control of the first Test in Galle, with Stuart Broad outstanding and Dom Bess riding his luck all the way to a five-wicket haul.

The tourists were wary of making a sloppy start to the tour after just one day of intra-squad warm-up action since touching down in Hambantota, but instead found themselves cashing in on a dreadfully loose performance from their hosts.

They were all out in just 46.1 overs, losing their top three in the morning session and a cluster of seven for 54 between lunch and tea, with Bess the chief beneficiary of good fortune and rank strokeplay. 

England are firmly on top after dismissing Sri Lanka for a lowly 135 by tea on day one

England are firmly on top after dismissing Sri Lanka for a lowly 135 by tea on day one

Dom Bess took five wickets as he rattled through the lower-order putting the tourists in control

Dom Bess took five wickets as he rattled through the lower-order putting the tourists in control

Captain Joe Root reached 50 as England closed on 127-2, just eight runs off Sri Lanka's total

Captain Joe Root reached 50 as England closed on 127-2, just eight runs off Sri Lanka’s total 

TOP SPIN 

  • When Sri Lanka’s No 3 Kusal Mendis edged his second ball from Stuart Broad through to Jos Buttler, it was his fourth successive Test duck, following three in South Africa. It means Mendis has now fallen to five of the last 13 deliveries he has faced in Test cricket. Another duck in the second innings, and he will equal the Test record of five in a row, held by Australia’s Bob Holland, India’s Ajit Agarkar and Pakistan’s Mohammad Asif.
  • Sri Lanka’s 135 all out was the lowest first-innings total in a Test at Galle, beating their own 181 against Pakistan in 2000.
  • Three previous Tests in Sri Lanka had brought Stuart Broad a grand total of three wickets at 83 apiece. His figures of three for 20 yesterday took him to 517 in Tests, only two behind West Indies legend Courtney Walsh, who is sixth in the all-time list.
  • Broad almost feels like an all-rounder in this England side. His Test tally of 3,335 runs is the team’s third-highest, behind Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow. And, in this side, his left-handedness makes him an oddity: for the first time since 1994, all England’s Test top six are right-handers.

By Lawrence Booth 

Captain Joe Root (66*) and the returning Jonny Bairstow (47*) then compounded the situation, sharing a 110-run stand to bring their side to the brink of parity on 127-2. 

Both men negotiated conditions considerably better than the locals and will now fancy building towards a major lead on day two.

Bess would surely admit to being flattered by career-best figures of five for 30, with the dismissal of Dilruwan Perera arguably the only one of the bunch that he could claim as a genuine victory.

Elsewhere Kusal Perera reverse swept his second ball to slip, Niroshan Dickwella carved a long hop to point, Dasun Shanaka was caught after a deflection off Bairstow’s ankle at short leg and Wanindu Hasaranga hit fresh air after leaving all three stumps exposed.

The day began with home captain Dimuth Karunaratne ruled out with a fractured thumb, a blow that should have been softened when his deputy Dinesh Chandimal won the toss and eagerly chose to bat.

That meant an immediate test of England’s decision to go in without record wicket-taker James Anderson, whose absence left Broad to steer the attack.

With no seam movement or swing on offer it looked like it might be a thankless task but he carried on his fine form from 2020 to open up the game. An early chance went begging when Jack Leach misread a top-edge from Kusal Perera at fine leg but he rallied to strike twice in his fourth over.

Lahiru Thirimanne sprung a trap set by Root, flicking Broad off his pads and straight into the hands of the alert Bairstow at leg gully, leaving the seamer prodding his finger in the skipper’s direction by way of thanks. 

Next up was Kusal Mendis, fresh from three straight ducks against South Africa. 

Stuart Broad took three wickets as England made a strong start to the first Test in Sri Lanka

Stuart Broad took three wickets as England made a strong start to the first Test in Sri Lanka

Broad needed just two balls to make it four in a row, hanging a leg cutter outside off stump and watching as the number three lunged at it and edged to Jos Buttler. 

Worse was still to come when Kusal, who had scored 20 of his side’s first 25 runs, knelt for a pre-meditated reverse sweep against Bess’ second ball on the sub-continent and gloved to slip. 

Leach’s opening spell was more threatening than his partner’s but when he drew a mistake from Chandimal, debutant batsman Dan Lawrence dropped the chance at cover. 

The England seamer dismissed Lahiru Thirimanne early before Kusal Mendis failed to score

The England seamer dismissed Lahiru Thirimanne early before Kusal Mendis failed to score 

Chandimal and Angelo Mathews had seen the score to 65 for three at lunch and their partnership was worth 56 when Broad had the latter caught at slip slashing with fixed feet. From there, Sri Lanka sank without a trace.

Top-scorer Chandimal (28) drilled Leach straight to Sam Curran and Dickwella turned a boundary-ball off a loosener from Bess into a simple catch at point. 

Shanaka was unlucky to see a sweep billow up of Bairstow’s ankle as he took cover, leaving Buttler to scoop the rebound, and Bess finally had cause for real celebration when Dilruwan’s ambitious drive saw him bowled through the gate.

Jack Leach inadvertently ran out Lasith Embuldeniya after getting a tip of the finger on the ball

Jack Leach inadvertently ran out Lasith Embuldeniya after getting a tip of the finger on the ball

A run-out at the non-striker’s end, via Leach’s fingertip, did for Lasith Embuldeniya as the innings lurched towards it grim conclusion – a botched reverse sweep from an overbalancing Hasaranga.

England’s fell to 17 for two in reply, Embuldeniya nipping out Dom Sibley on the outside edge and persuading Zak Crawley into a mis-hit down the ground, but would soon converge around their Yorkshire-born engine room.

Root and Bairstow both settled into the conditions, favouring back and front foot respectively as they carefully negated a trio of spinners. 

Root looked assured as he built a partnership with Jonny Bairstow to close out the day's play

Root looked assured as he built a partnership with Jonny Bairstow to close out the day’s play

An overturned lbw decision against Root on 20 proved something of a turning point, with the sedate scoring rate picking up thereafter.

Root began picking the gaps more regularly and increasingly trusted his sweep as a release shot. He dashed through for fifty in 94 balls to leave himself a strong foundation on Friday morning, with Bairstow’s first Test innings in over a year increasingly assured.

He had only two boundaries in his stay but with Root in good touch, he was content to be the reliable anchor at number three.

source: dailymail.co.uk