0
0
0
0
1
0
= 1
Match Details
ENG vs SL 1st Match, WTC 2023-25
ENG 358(85.3)
205-557.2
England won by 5 wickets 🏆
236(74.0)
SL
89.3326-10
+
Commentary
All
Highlights
Overs
W
6s
4s
Inn 1
Inn 2
Inn 3
Inn 4
Milestone
England get an early lead in the series and the action now shifts to Lord's for the second Test. It begins on Thursday. It was pleasure bringing you all the updates from this Test. It's time for us to take your leave. Keep joining us for more cricketing action all around the globe. For now, this is Akshay Bhide, signing off, on behalf of my co-commentator Arjun Bhalla, and scorer Vishnu Verma. Until next time, cheers and good bye.
Ollie Pope (England Captain): "Yeah, absolutely. I think it was the kind of pitch that suited the new ball, and we knew that once it got past 15 to 20 overs, we could really cash in. Credit to the bowlers for leading from the front.
I think Wokesy and Gus early on managed to get them two or three down in both innings, which I think was crucial. (On Root) He's a greedy Yorkshireman, isn't he? I think everyone feels reassured when he's walking out to the crease. There was a sense of calmness when he came in to bat as well, so credit to him for the way he played. But, yeah, I think everyone had full confidence that he was going to take it home.
(On Jamie Smith) Yeah, I had no doubt that he would. There are always a few nerves early on in your Test career, and I think he'd admit that too, but I had no doubt that he had the calmness and the game to handle that step up. The way he's been playing for Surrey this year, he's just translated it straight into the Test arena. So I couldn't be happier for him, especially getting his first hundred, and I'm sure it'll be the first of many.
(On captaincy) Yeah, it was good. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed being in the field, reading the game, and trying to find different ways to take 20 wickets on that pitch. Like I said, once you got past 15-20 overs, it was pretty tough to bowl on. But, yeah, we really enjoyed it. The first day was a bit more taxing than I expected, but I think that's always going to be the case."
I think Wokesy and Gus early on managed to get them two or three down in both innings, which I think was crucial. (On Root) He's a greedy Yorkshireman, isn't he? I think everyone feels reassured when he's walking out to the crease. There was a sense of calmness when he came in to bat as well, so credit to him for the way he played. But, yeah, I think everyone had full confidence that he was going to take it home.
(On Jamie Smith) Yeah, I had no doubt that he would. There are always a few nerves early on in your Test career, and I think he'd admit that too, but I had no doubt that he had the calmness and the game to handle that step up. The way he's been playing for Surrey this year, he's just translated it straight into the Test arena. So I couldn't be happier for him, especially getting his first hundred, and I'm sure it'll be the first of many.
(On captaincy) Yeah, it was good. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed being in the field, reading the game, and trying to find different ways to take 20 wickets on that pitch. Like I said, once you got past 15-20 overs, it was pretty tough to bowl on. But, yeah, we really enjoyed it. The first day was a bit more taxing than I expected, but I think that's always going to be the case."
Dhananjaya de Silva (Sri Lanka Captain): "I would say that the way we played in the second innings was good. We didn't do well in the first innings and that was the reason we lost the game.
In the bowling, we didn't put the balls in the right areas. Jamie played well for England and put them ahead.
We are confident of the batting line-up but they have to execute their plans in the English conditions. We have to tighten up in the next game.
Kamindu was among the runs in the last few games. He is averaging 108 now and he is a key player for us. We have to support him.
We have two chances now. If we can execute our plans well, we can certainly bounce back in the series."
In the bowling, we didn't put the balls in the right areas. Jamie played well for England and put them ahead.
We are confident of the batting line-up but they have to execute their plans in the English conditions. We have to tighten up in the next game.
Kamindu was among the runs in the last few games. He is averaging 108 now and he is a key player for us. We have to support him.
We have two chances now. If we can execute our plans well, we can certainly bounce back in the series."
Jamie Smith (Player of the Match): "It's a great milestone to tick off, I guess. And having missed out by five runs in the previous series, it's nice to finally get over the line. I guess it was slightly attritional at times.
I think a lot of credit goes to the way they bowled. There wasn't much in the wicket, but they stuck it out all day, so it was about grinding a little bit more. It wasn't always the most glamorous, but, yeah, getting over the line and putting us into the lead was the main thing.
I think it's when you come off after a day's play, and you see your phone and the messages you receive from everyone who's played a part in your journey, whether it be in your early cricket days or through the county pathway. So, yeah, very proud moments.
I was just trying to think of getting out of it as quickly as possible and finding any way I could to hit a boundary. But, yeah, it's a relief to get over the line and, as I said, to put us in that position to allow us to bowl. We knew it would be tricky, bowling in the second innings on a pretty good wicket, so being able to do that was very pleasing.
I think they bowled nicely, set straight fields, and made it difficult to score, so it was quite attritional at times. Rooty (Joe Root), obviously, anchored the innings quite nicely and allowed others to play around him. But, yeah, thankfully we got over the line in what was a pretty hard-fought four days.
It's obviously a really enjoyable team to be a part of. There are a lot of lessons to learn and experiences to come, but, yeah, being out there and representing your country is a great honor. I'm really enjoying it, and hopefully, it can continue."
I think a lot of credit goes to the way they bowled. There wasn't much in the wicket, but they stuck it out all day, so it was about grinding a little bit more. It wasn't always the most glamorous, but, yeah, getting over the line and putting us into the lead was the main thing.
I think it's when you come off after a day's play, and you see your phone and the messages you receive from everyone who's played a part in your journey, whether it be in your early cricket days or through the county pathway. So, yeah, very proud moments.
I was just trying to think of getting out of it as quickly as possible and finding any way I could to hit a boundary. But, yeah, it's a relief to get over the line and, as I said, to put us in that position to allow us to bowl. We knew it would be tricky, bowling in the second innings on a pretty good wicket, so being able to do that was very pleasing.
I think they bowled nicely, set straight fields, and made it difficult to score, so it was quite attritional at times. Rooty (Joe Root), obviously, anchored the innings quite nicely and allowed others to play around him. But, yeah, thankfully we got over the line in what was a pretty hard-fought four days.
It's obviously a really enjoyable team to be a part of. There are a lot of lessons to learn and experiences to come, but, yeah, being out there and representing your country is a great honor. I'm really enjoying it, and hopefully, it can continue."
Player of the Match: Jamie Smith
11:54 PM IST, 7:24 PM Local Time: Let’s recap this Test. Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bat first. They had a disastrous start in the morning session of day one, being reduced to 6/3 in the seventh over. The middle-order batters tried hard to resurrect the innings but failed to do so. They were reeling at 113/7 before skipper Dhananjaya de Silva (74) and debutant Milan Rathnayake (72) took them out of the hole.
Both showed great composure and kept the English side at bay. 50+ run stands for the eighth and ninth wicket helped Sri Lanka get to 236. Chris Woakes and Shoaib Bashir picked up three wickets each for England. Gus Atkinson also chipped in with a couple of scalps.
Both showed great composure and kept the English side at bay. 50+ run stands for the eighth and ninth wicket helped Sri Lanka get to 236. Chris Woakes and Shoaib Bashir picked up three wickets each for England. Gus Atkinson also chipped in with a couple of scalps.
In reply, the English batters contributed and kept going strong. The Lankan batters failed to contain runs and looked clueless on the field. Jamie Smith played brilliantly with the lower-order batters and didn’t allow the Lankan side to get back into the game.
Smith’s scintillating ton helped England get past Sri Lanka’s first-innings total. His 111 helped England get a first-innings lead of 122 as they got knocked over on 358 in 85.3 overs. Asitha Fernando was the visitors' pick of bowlers. He grabbed a four-fer. Prabath Jayasuriya also picked up three scalps.
Upcoming star batter Kamindu Mendis scored a magnificent century, while experienced Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal showed their class in Sri Lanka’s second innings. They held the innings nicely to take Sri Lanka’s total to 326 runs, giving England a target of 205 runs.
Asitha Fernando, the hero from the last innings, provided Sri Lanka its first breakthrough in the form of Ben Duckett. Jayasuriya got rid of the English skipper soon. Meanwhile, Rathnayake took Dan Lawrence’s wicket.
However, then, Joe Root and Harry Brook stabilised the innings for the hosts, taking them to 82/3 at Tea. But Jayasuriya removed the latter soon after the Tea break, giving Sri Lanka another opportunity in the match.
Root, alongside Jamie Smith, decided to trust their defensive game and tear down the Lankan bowlers.
They carried on with their defensive approach for an hour or so. However, the drinks break in the last session on Day 4 recharged their batteries. Smith was the first to attack, while Root soon joined the forces.
But another and final twist awaited them when Asitha Fernando ripped off Smith with a beautiful reverse-swinging nip-backer. Although the stand between Root and Chris Woakes was enough for England to get home as they won the first Test by five wickets to take a 1-nil lead in the three-match series.
57.2 P Jayasuriya to J Root
4 Finally, Root finishes things. Tossed up by Jayasuriya on leg, Root skips down the wicket to get to the pitch of the ball and lifts it straight over mid on for a boundary. Nice way to finish the game. England beat Sri Lanka by five wickets and get an early lead in the series.
57.1 P Jayasuriya to J Root
0 Tossed up on the stumps, Root forward defends it to covers.
Four runs needed for England to win. Prabath Jayasuriya to bowl the over!
OVER 57
England
201/5
Chris Woakes
8(18)
Joe Root
58(126)
Milan Rathnayake
1-31(12.0)
56.6 M Rathnayake to J Root
1 Rathnayake sprays this one on the pads and Root clips it to fine leg for a single.
56.5 M Rathnayake to J Root
0 Short of a length on leg, Root tries to be innovative as he goes for a reverse scoop over the second slip fielder but gets an inside edge on his body. The ball lobs in front of short mid wicket.
56.4 M Rathnayake to J Root
0 Full on the stumps, Root clips it to square leg.
56.3 M Rathnayake to J Root
0 Good length on the stumps, Root shuffles and looks to flick it but gets a leading edge straight to the left of mid on.
56.2 M Rathnayake to J Root
0 Length and sliding in on the pads, Root misses the flick and wears it on the front pad. An appeal from Rathnayake but turned down by the umpire. It was sliding down leg. Sri Lanka don't have any reviews left.
200 runs up for England! They are just in touching distance from the victory.
Commentary