England Lions propelled by a selfless 92* by Chris Woakes are on verge of a big victory against the hosts Sri Lanka ‘A’ at the end of the 3rd day’s play in their 1st unofficial test at Pallekelle International Cricket Stadium.
England Lions resumed today’s proceedings from their overnight score of 105/4. Moeen Ali failed to add to his overnight score as he was caught behind by Niroshan Dickwella off a Dhammika Prasad delivery. England Lions were in a spot of bother when Liam Plunkett and Jonny Bairstow were dismissed in the first hour of play as the Lankan bowlers restricted the visitors to 164/7. Skipper Chris Woakes and leg spinning all rounder Scott Borthwick combined well to put up an impressive 155 run stand for the 8th wicket as both players experienced no terrors in the Lankan bowling. Scott Borthwick was dismissed when he was 64 and Chris Woakes who was not out on 92 runs immediately declared the innings without waiting for his century, putting the team’s victory ahead. The Sri Lankan spinners were the pick of the bowlers as Chathuranga De Silva and Tharindu Kaushal shared 3 wickets apiece.
Sri Lanka ‘A’ started their 2nd innings with a daunting target of 479 runs to achieve in 4 sessions. England Lions new ball pair of Chris Woakes and Graham Onions struck early as Sri Lanka ‘A’ openers, Upul Tharanga and Udara Jayasundara were sent back in the first two overs.
Sri Lanka ‘A’ middle order battled hard to survive as the stellar bowling unit of England Lions chipped in to restrict the hosts to 164/5 in 41 overs at the close of 3rd day’s play. In-form all rounder Chathuranga De Silva made 43 runs while number 4 batsman Madawa Warnapura remained unbeaten on 49 runs together with Ishan Jayaratne who hurried onto 21 runs. Inspiring captain Chris Woakes took 2 scalps for the visitors.
Brief Scores :
England Lions (1st inn) – 330 all out in 90.1 overs : James Taylor 70, Moeen Ali 62, Varun Chopra 58, Scott Borthwick 35, Dhammika Prasad 4/68, Tharindu Kaushal 3/95, Chathuranga De Silva 2/44.
Sri Lanka ‘A’ (1st inn) – 171 all out in 48 overs : Dhammika Prasad 50, Chathuranga De Silva 47, Upul Tharanga 30, Chris Woakes 4/45, Moeen Ali 2/16.
England Lions (2nd inn) – 319/8 declared in 77.4 overs : Alex Lees 33, Varun Chopra 24, Chris Woakes 92*, Scott Borthwick 64, Liam Plunkett 29, Tharindu Kaushal 3/98, Chathuranga De Silva 3/64, Dhammika Prasad 2/51.
Sri Lanka ‘A’ (2nd inn) – 164/5 in 41 overs : Madawa Warnapura 49*, Chathuranga De Silva 43, Ishan Jayaratne 21*, Chris Woakes 2/10.
