England will need 205 for victory in the first Test at Emirates Old Trafford, after a brilliant fightback from Kamindu Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal ended in a collapse of four wickets in 26 balls against the second new ball.
The innings may have ended much as it had begun, with Sri Lanka’s last three wickets falling in the space of ten balls as Matthew Potts ended as the pick of a hard-worked attack with 3 for 47. But in between whiles, the contest was turned on its head by a superb stand of 117 in 30 overs between Kamindu, who recorded his third hundred in the space of four Tests, and Chandimal, who was last man out for 79 despite having retired hurt on the third afternoon.
Between them, the pair powered through the morning session with scarcely a moment of alarm. Having let a promising position slip with the ball on the third morning, Sri Lanka’s focus was unwavering as they resumed on 204 for 6, with a slender lead of 82, and had more than doubled that advantage before Gus Atkinson prised out Kamindu for 113 shortly after lunch, to create an opening that Chris Woakes and Matthew Potts were primed to pile through.
From the outset, England’s problems had been compounded by the absence of their fastest bowler, Mark Wood. He left the field after feeling a twinge in his right thigh on Friday evening, and may now be a doubt for the rest of the series.
There had been some controversy overnight about the advantageous nature of a ball-change after the 41st over that allowed England’s seamers to obtain significant swing on the third evening. However, after 20 further overs of wear and tear, there was little lateral movement on show as Kamindu seized on a hint of width in Woakes’ first over to flash his first boundary of the day through point.
That set the tone for a proactive half-hour, with Chandimal following his partner’s lead as he built on his overnight 20 not out. He soon picked off two boundaries in a 13-run over off Atkinson, neither of them quite timed, though the intent was plain as he focused on seizing his scoring opportunities while the ball was offering little.
The fact that Chandimal was there at all was remarkable, given the gruesome blow to the thumb that Wood had inflicted on the third afternoon. He had retired hurt on 10, but after an X-ray had given him the all-clear, returned with no ill-effects, although he did later relinquish the wicketkeeping duties, with Kusal Mendis taking over behind the stumps.
Ollie Pope rang the changes for England, but none of them had any answer to a burgeoning stand. Kamindu came into this contest with an average in excess of 100 after two centuries and an unbeaten 92 in his three previous Tests, and the range of his strokeplay was apparent in back-to-back boundaries off Atkinson, driven and pulled respectively, plus a ruthless eye for anything loose from the spin of Bashir.
By the time of a heavy cloud burst, he had moved along to 90 not out, and when play resumed with an over of spin apiece from Dan Lawrence and Joe Root to hasten the arrival of the new ball, Kamindu was waiting to cash in, with a nudge for two off his pads and the decisive slash through deep third, to send England into lunch with a real battle on their hands.
Their immediate prospects after the resumption didn’t look much better. Kamindu surged onto the offensive after the break with a trio of off-side boundaries as Atkinson struggled with his line, but after an intervention from Pope, he switched to round the wicket with instant success. Kamindu fenced at the new angle, shaping into his left-handed stance, and Root at first slip held on a sharp low chance.
Atkinson was immediately yanked from the attack, with Potts adding his second of the innings courtesy of a juggled take from Harry Brook at second slip, who parried Prabath Jayasuriya’s punch off the back foot, but recovered well to snaffle the rebound. Potts celebrated with a pat of his fluttering heart, having watched two key chances go down during his excellent but under-rewarded spell on day three.
Chris Woakes added his third when Vishwa Fernando played down the wrong line to be struck in front of middle and leg, and though Chandimal attempted to cut loose with only Asitha Fernando for company, the substitute fielder Harry Singh stayed cool at deep cover to end a superbly gutsy innings.
