England’s tour of Sri Lanka 2021, consists of two test series from 14th Jan – 18th Jan and 22nd Jan – 26th Jan respectively. It was a long-awaited tour. Sri Lanka after their tour of South Africa, was looking to redeem themselves at their home ground whereas England looked forward to start the year with a win. The motive for both the teams were strong and it was time for them to test themselves against each other.
In the first test match, Sri Lanka did not have an ideal start as they had a collapse in the very first innings and on day 1 of the 5-day test. The team was bowled out at 135 runs in the second session itself of Day 1. Despite Chandimal (28), Mathews (27) and Shanaka (23) putting their best foot forward and hitting some good shots, their innings were short lived. Sri Lanka looked in a difficult position after that as their bowling unit had to do a lot of work and England on the other hand was looking for a big total on the board and take a good lead. Joe Root (228) was their star performer in the first innings. Key bowlers for England in the first innings were Bess (10.2-3-30-5) and Broad (9-3-20-3). Key bowlers for Sri Lanka in the first innings were Dilruwan Perera (36.1-2-109-4) and Embuldeniya (45-4-176-3).
At the end of 1st innings England were 421-10. It was a huge total to complete and take a lead. Sri Lanka squad showed a great resilience as they came back stronger than the first innings. They not only completed the target score but went on to take a lead. However, they lost their wickets too soon and could only put a lead of 75 runs. England needed 76 runs to win the test match. Sri Lanka was not in the mood to give it easily to them and picked up 3 early wickets which kept them in the game for a while. However on the fifth day of the Test, England sealed the match with a win, taking the series 1-0.
With one more match in the series, Sri Lanka would look to level the series while England will look forward to seal the series 2-0.
Special mention: There was a beautiful sight to witness in this Test Match. They always told us about how much fans play a role during the game. One such incidence took place when one of the passionate fan from England stayed back in Sri Lanka since March as the series was postponed. Joe Root, who had noticed his presence on all days, after scoring his double hundred acknowledged the fan’s presence near the stadium by waving the bat to him. Such moments tell us about how cricket is more than just two teams fighting it out for a win. It warms our heart to see how cricketer acknowledge the fans who stand by them and support them in their journey.
Stadium: Galle International Stadium, Galle. SL won the toss and chose to bat
Scores at Glance :
Ekantika Iyer & Urvi Shah (Beyond the Matches)