Eng vs SL: James Anderson fires England to massive win over Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, following on, were bowled out for 119 on a rain-interrupted third day.
Leeds (England): James Anderson piled on the agony for Sri Lanka as England scored crushing win, by an innings and 88 runs, in the first Test at Headingley on Saturday.
Sri Lanka, following on, were bowled out for 119 on a rain-interrupted third day, thanks in large part to Anderson’s 5 for 29, his second five-for of the match.
Anderson’s Saturday haul included Kusal Mendis, who rode his luck to make 53 — an innings where he gave four chances.
Sri Lanka had resumed on Saturday on 1/0. The overcast conditions that greeted Sri Lanka were similar to those in which they collapsed on Friday when they were undone by the new ball-pairing of Anderson and Stuart Broad (four for 21), ably supported by wicket-keeper Jonathan Bairstow, who held five catches to add to the 140 he made on his Yorkshire home ground in England's first innings 298.
Dimuth Karunaratne avoided a pair on Saturday but fell for seven when caught head-high by Bairstow after the left-hander got an outside edge to a near-unplayable Anderson ball that bounced and cut away off the seam.
The same combination then accounted for Kaushal Silva (14). Either side of the wickets, Mendis, who like Karunaratne made a first-innings duck, drove the bowlers for well-struck fours.