The Sri Lanka Indoor Cricket team managed wins in their 3rd and 4th Tests at the Austasia Indoor Cricket Complex earlier today to take an unassailable 4-0 lead in their 6-match series against the visiting English team.
Sri Lanka vs England (3rd test)
The hosts started the 2nd day of competition in style as they defeated the England indoor team by 64 runs in the 3rd Test. The Englishmen came into this match under immense pressure because of their first two defeats on the opening day of the series. Sri Lanka skipper Kamal Kuruppu won the toss and showed no hesitation to bat first as the batsmen scored consistently and ended with 83 runs in their allocated 16 overs. Salman Faris top-scored for Sri Lanka with 17 runs and got good assistance from Ruwan Thalagalage and Chrishantha Peries as they scored 16 and 15 respectively. Anish Patel picked 3 wickets in his full 2 over quota and just conceded -9 runs.
Read More: Sri Lanka dominant on opening day against England
The Sri Lanka bowlers never let the opposite team settle into a groove as they kept picking up wickets on a regular basis. In the end, England could only score 19 runs in their full quota of overs. Kamal was the pick of the bowlers for the Sri Lankan team as he picked up 5 wickets and conceded -23 runs in his two overs. Thomas Roe scored 13 for England as the remaining batsmen failed to go past two-digit scores. Kamal was awarded the Man of the Match trophy for his all-round efforts
Scores
SL – 83 runs (4 Skins) S.Faris 17, R.Thalagalage 16, A.Patel 3 for -9 runs
ENG – 19 runs (0 skins) T.Roe 13, K.Kuruppu 5 for -23, R.Thalagalage 2 for 0
Sri Lanka vs England (4th test)
The Sri Lankan team once again displayed their skills as they clinched the nail-biting series decider held today. This match was competed evenly by the two teams, but the home team held their nerve to take the game and with it the series.
England won the toss and chose to field first and the Sri Lanka players continued their good form with the bat as they put on 96 runs in their allocated 16 overs. Tharindu Mendis top-scored for with 21 runs. His last skin partnership of 39 runs with Andy Solomons eased the pressure for the home team’s bowlers. Sam Stuckes looked threatening as he claimed 4 wickets for -12 runs. He got good support from Mubeen Rashid who picked up 3 wickets for -2 runs.
Unlike the 3rd test, the English boys took on the bowlers from the beginning of their chase. Stuckes, who excelled in his bowling contributed with the bat too, top scoring with 27 runs. The last skin pair of Rashid (18) and Luke Gunn (17) tried their level best to chase down the score but were unable to do so. England managed 91 runs in their 16 overs to lose by a slender margin of 5 runs. Stuckes was named Man of the Match.
The last two games of the series will be played tomorrow.
Scores
SL – 96 (2 Skins) T.Mendis 21 , Fonseka 20 , S.Stuckes 4 for -12 , M.Rashid 3 for -2
ENG- 91 (2 Skins) S.Stuckes 27 , M.Rashid 18 , M.Rodrigo 2 for 3 , T.Mendis 2 for 15
- OTHER MATCHES
Sri Lanka Masters vs England Masters (2nd match)
ENG MASTERS – 17 runs (0 Skins) Gary Poulten 15, Sachithra Siribaddana 3 for – 5, Gamini Perera 3 for – 9, Thushara Lakshitha 3 for -10.
SL MASTERS – 124 runs (4 Skins) Sachithra Siribaddana 25, Chaminda Rajapakshe 25, Gavin Bishop 3 for 7
Sri Lanka Masters vs England Masters (3rd match)
SL MASTERS – 96 runs ( 2 Skins ) Sithila Senaratne 25, Nishantha Kumara 17, Tariq Ali 2 for – 2, Steve Bulger 2 for 7
ENG MASTERS – 86 runs (2 Skins) Jamie Jhonson 26, Greg Noonan 25, Nishantha Kumara 3 for – 4, Priyantha Samaradiwakara 3 for -9
Sri Lanka Development vs England Lions (2nd match)
SLDP – 83 runs (2 Skins) Sheehan Wijetunga 19, Ravindu Siriwardane 17, Will Roobottom 2 for 0, Umayr Iqbal 2 for 7
ENG LIONS – 63 runs (2 Skins) Sachin Patel 20, Gav Huskinson 14, Thiwanka Dabare 3 for 2, Ranushka Perera 2 for 1
Sri Lanka Development vs England Lions (3rd match)
SLDB – 65 (2 Skins) Ranushka Perera 14, Sheehan Wijetunga 14, Thiwanka 12, Umayr Iqbal 3 for 0, Will Roobottom 2 for 1
ENG LIONS- 62 (2 Skins) Raja Shazeb 23, Qasim Tanvir 17, Thiwanka 3 for – 7, Thiwanka Dabare 3 for 0
