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England Complete Clean Sweep Win Over Sri Lanka

England complete clean sweep win over Sri Lanka

England completed a clean sweep win over Sri Lanka in Galle after beating the hosts by 6 wickets in the second encounter. Chasing a small total of 164 runs, England went over the line on penultimate day of the match.

The visitors had few hiccups before Dominic Sibley and Joe Buttler held the fort and won the game for the side. Sibley remained unbeaten at 56 while Bairstow scored 46*.

Lasith Embuldeniya who scalped seven wickets in the first innings picked up three in the second to complete his ten-year in the match.

England spinners rattled the hosts in the second innings to scalp all the ten wickets. Dom Bess and Jack Leach bagged a four-for apiece while skipper Joe Root picked up a couple to bundle out Sri Lanka for 126. Embuldeniya top-scored with 40.

Earlier, the visiting team rode on Root’s 186 to put 344 in reply to Sri Lanka’s 381 on the board in the first innings. This was Root’s second ton on the trot in the series. For Sri Lanka, it was Angelo Mathews who notched up a hundred while Niroshan Dickwella scored 92. The England seamers shared all the wickets in the first innings with James Anderson bagging a six-wicket haul.

“It was nice to spend some time at the crease as I was just trying to build a partnership. Watching Joe, the way he has played in this series, it has been incredible. I have changed a couple of things about myself during this series, it takes a lot of courage to do few of these things. Just trying to work it out. Jos (Buttler) plays at a higher tempo and he took the pressure off me (during that partnership). It's a good win. Let's see what happens against India with a lot of guys coming back in. But scoring some runs has obviously taken some pressure off,” Sibley who scored a half-century in the second innings said.

England are now slated to travel to India for four Tests, five T20Is and three ODIs next month.

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Ajinkya Rahane reveals details about fightback after 36-all out

India’s stand-in captain for the Test series Down Under, Ajinkya Rahane has revealed the process behind the remarkable turn around in the series. Easily, India’s best victory in Test cricket history, Rahane spoke to Marathi daily Sakal about how it all unfolded till the final Brisbane Test. Rahane credited the leadership group of Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravi Ashwin and vice-captain Rohit Sharma for the win overseas and stated that the senior pros took additional responsibilities on themselves to instil belief in the Indian team that lacked experience. Rahane could not have taken over the captaincy at a worst possible time. Before Virat Kohli’s scheduled return to India for the birth of his first child, the team was bundled out for just 36 runs in the first Test match in Adelaide. India’s lowest score in Test history. Rahane told Sakal that his first message after getting the baton was that Adelaide was a closed chapter and nobody should discuss it. "I told them that topic should not be discussed at all. The fact that we got all out for 36 is not any mistake. We should just accept it and move on. No point going in-depth and thinking about it because the [next Test] match was immediately starting in three days. My only message was: it happened in one hour. They [Australia] played good cricket. Such things happen once in a century. The faster we accept this happened and move on, that is good for us." Leading from the front in the next game, Rahane score a magnificent 112 runs in the Boxing Day Test match at the MCG to set the tone for the rest of the series. And the rest was history. Battered, bruised and depleted, Rahane’s India played out a gladiatorial draw at Sydney which they had no right to win and then went onto breach fortress Gabba to chase down 324 runs in the final day. Cheteshwar Pujara, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant and Washington Sundar battled for every inch on the final day of the Test match to win the game with three overs to spare.

England announce new schedule

England have announced the schedule beginning from June 2021. The Joe Root-led side will face New Zealand for a two-Test series at home. The Test series will be followed by limited overs fixtures against Sri Lanka and Pakistan respectively. The English team will then face India in a five-match Test series. The Test series against the Blackcaps will begin on June 2 at Lord’s while the second Test takes place at Edgbaston from June 10. ECB Chief Executive Officer, Tom Harrison, said: “The prospect of our England Men’s team taking on the world’s two top-ranked Test nations in New Zealand and India this summer is something for us all to savour.” They are presently in Sri Lanka for the Test series and will travel to India for four Tests, five T20Is and three ODIs. Schedule England v New Zealand- Test Series Wed 2-6 June (11am) Lord’s Thu 10-14 June (11am) Edgbaston England v Sri Lanka T20I Wed 23 June Sophia Gardens, Cardiff Thu 24 June Sophia Gardens, Cardiff Sat 26 June Ageas Bowl, Southampton England v Sri Lanka Royal London Series Tue 29 June (11am) Emirates Riverside, Durham Thu 1 July (1pm) Kia Oval Sun 4 July (11am) Bristol County Ground England v Pakistan Royal London Series Thu 8 July (1pm) Sophia Gardens, Cardiff Sat 10 July (11am) Lord’s Tue 13 July (1pm) Edgbaston England v Pakistan T20I series Fri 16 July (6.30pm) Trent Bridge Sun 18 July (2.30pm) Emerald Headingley Tue 20 July (6.30pm) Emirates Old Trafford England v India -Test Series Wed 4-8 Aug (11am) Trent Bridge Thu 12-16 Aug (11am) Lord’s Wed 25-29 Aug (11am) Emerald Headingley Thu 2-6 Sept (11am) Kia Oval Fri 10-14 Sept(11am) Emirates Old Trafford

Ravi Shastri doesn't care one bit what people think about him: Sridhar

India made a strong comeback in the Test series against Australia after losing the first match. They were bowled out for 36 in the first innings of the first Test to eventually suffer a defeat but turned tables for themselves to win the series 2-1. India fielding coach R.Sridhar in an exclusive chat with Cricketnext talked about head coach Ravi Shastri’s roles and how does he react to criticism. “First of all, Shastri doesn't care about what people think. Ravi Shastri doesn't care one bit what people write about him or think about him. With Ravi Shastri, what you see is what you get. This is not the first series where his inputs have been invaluable to the Indian team. He's always been one of the best observers, it's outstanding,” he said. “Shastri's inputs have always been invaluable for the team. It's just that it has come to the fore in this series because the result is extraordinary and history has been achieved especially at the Gabba. He has been one guy who has always backed the players, made them feel good and given very very inputs. So many times he has given inputs about where to stand for batsmen, how to counter angles, which guard to take for which bowler... Virat has openly admitted once that Shastri asked him to stand a few steps in front of the crease,” he added. Sridhar also lauded Bharat Arun’s efforts and said, “We are also very very blessed to have Bharat Arun with us, he is one of the best readers of a cricket pitch I've ever seen. He can read pitches to perfection. In Jamaica, he said the ball would turn. We were like 'what are you saying paaji, turn in Jamaica?'. He said you wait and watch, the pitch will turn on the third and fourth days. Eventually in that match, Jadeja was unplayable.” “His knowledge of soil, grass, the way pitches are prepared across the world is outstanding because he has himself made grounds and pitches in Chennai in those days. So he has extreme knowledge of soil, ground and grass. Combine that with Shastri's cricket acumen, we have a potent force there in terms of tactical decisions,” the fielding coach added.

Joe Root's two wickets helps England etch distinguished record

England achieved a rare feat in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle after the pacers picked all the wickets in the first innings while spinners scalped all the ten wickets in the second innings. Dominic Bess and Jack Leach bagged a four-for each while captain Joe Root picked up a couple of wickets during the course. Leach gave the visitors the first breakthrough after trapping Kusal Perera in front of the stumps. His scalps included the dismissals of Lahiru Thirimane, Dinesh Chandimal and Ramesh Mendis while Bess removed Oshada Fernando, Angelo Mathews who scored a century in the first innings, wicket-keeper batsman Niroshan Dickwella and Dilruwan Perera. England had put 344, courtesy Root’s second ton of the series on the trot I reply to Sri Lanka’s 381 in the first innings. Lasith Embuldeniya scalped a seven-for the hosts. Later, Sri Lanka began the proceedings in a dismal fashion in the second innings and were left tottering at 78/8 when Embuldeniya and Suranga Lakmal chipped in with a partnership of 38 for the ninth wicket. Embuldeniya scored 40 off 42 including six boundaries and a maximum. They were eventually bundled out for 126 to hand England a target of 164. England lead the series 1-0.