England is poised to secure a victory over a resilient Sri Lanka in the first Test at Old Trafford. At the end of the third day, Sri Lanka had fought back to 204-6 in their second innings, trailing by a mere 82 runs.
Angelo Mathews (65) and Kamindu Mendis (56 not out) led a determined rearguard action, erasing the 122-run deficit from the first innings. However, England, who had earlier declared on 358 with Jamie Smith making his maiden Test century, remain favorites to take the lead in the three-match series on Saturday.
Resuming the day with a 23-run lead and four first-innings wickets remaining, Smith extended his overnight score of 72 to 111 off 148 balls, becoming the youngest wicketkeeper to score a Test hundred for England. Gus Atkinson departed for 20, caught behind off debutant fast bowler Milan Rathnayake’s first Test wicket. Smith followed three overs later, edging a delivery from left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya to wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal.
Tail-enders Mark Wood and Matthew Potts then shared a stand of 33 to bolster England’s lead. Sri Lanka, given a few overs to bat before lunch, made a disastrous start as Nishan Madushka was bowled by Chris Woakes for a duck. Atkinson then had Kusal Mendis caught behind by Smith, also without scoring, leaving Sri Lanka reeling at 1-2.
Dimuth Karunaratne and Mathews dug in after lunch, gradually reducing the deficit. However, Sri Lanka slipped to 95-4 when Chandimal retired hurt after a blow to the thumb. Mathews proved obdurate, but was eventually caught at point by Matthew Potts off Woakes’ bowling.
Milan Rathnayake was caught in the deep for 10, but Mendis remained unbeaten at stumps, giving Sri Lanka a glimmer of hope.
