Thursday was day 1 of the first test involving Sri Lanka and England and the tourists managed to have control of the day. Joe Root made 66 not out while Jonny Bairstow had an unbeaten 47 to make England end the day with 127-2 from 41 overs.
Sri Lanka put up a performance that is agreed in many corners as one of the worst batting display in Test history at Galle, the venue of the test. They were able to end the first inning with 135 as Dom Bess posted 5-30.
Bess managed to take a five-wicket haul but was unable to shine through a greater part of the match. Three of his wickets may have been pure luck, especially when Kusal Perara reverse swept his second ball to slip. A joint effort from Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews helped to lift Sri Lanka from 25-3 to 81-3. Kusal Mendis was dismissed and this earned him his fourth straight Test match duck, recently earning three in South Africa this past December.
The English side had it a bit easier. Root, who was also skipper when England beat Sri Lanka 3-0 back in 2018, scored 66 from 94 balls, earning him his 50th Test half-century. He was helped by Bairstow and their effort was key in helping their side win the day with Stuart Broad making 3-20. England suffered a bit when Dan Lawrence, who was making his Test debut, dropped a catch, but that did not cost them a lot.
England’s success was a joint contribution of their hard work and the host team’s sloppiness. England managed to be amazing even though the last time they played a test match was over 5 months ago. Sri Lanka is just coming from playing South Africa this past Christmas. England was better disciplined and seemed more coordinated, unlike their opponents. Sri Lanka’s performance was more disappointing seeing that they won the toss
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