England hammer SL in 1st Test to take lead: Stats
England took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series after beating Sri Lanka by five wickets at the Old Trafford, Manchester. This was the first instance (since 2013) of England winning their first four Tests of home the season. England successfully chased down 205, with Joe Root smashing a match-winning 62*(128). Jamie Smith set up England's win with an incredible first-innings ton.
How did the match unfold?
SL folded for 236 in the first innings after electing to bat. Skipper Dhananjaya de Silva and Milan Rathnayake slammed fifties, while Chris Woakes and Shoaib Bashir took three-fers. England managed 358, riding on Smith's ton. Asitha Fernando's four-fer helped SL. Kamindu Mendis's ton and fiftes from Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal powered SL to 326 (second innings). However, England chased down the target.
Maiden Test ton for Jamie Smith
Smith came to the crease when England were 125/4 in the first innings. He shared a valuable half-century-plus stand alongside Harry Brook, who was dismissed for 56. Two more fifty-plus stands followed alongside Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson. Smith, who had a memorable debut series against the West Indies, scored a 148-ball 111 (4s: 8, 6s: 1). He slammed his maiden Test ton.
Smith bags this unique record
At 24 years and 42 days, Smith became the youngest England wicket-keeper to score a century in Tests, as per Cricbuzz. He surpassed Les Ames, smashed a ton against the West Indies in 1930, aged 24y 63d.
Root plays match-winning knock, surpasses these legends
Root played a match-winning knock in England's second innings as they chased down 205. Root, who scored 42 runs in the first innings, chipped in with an unbeaten 62(128) later on. Root's 64th fifty saw him surpass Allan Border and Rahul Dravid (63 each) in terms of half-centuries in Tests. He is now only behind Sachin Tendulkar (68) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (66).
Another feat for Root
As per Cricbuzz, Root now owns 10 fifty-plus scores in 4th innings (Tests) for England. Only, Mike Atherton and Alastair Cook own more such scores with 11 each. Root equaled Geoffrey Boycott (10) on this list.
A rare ton at number seven
Kamindu Mendis floored England with a crucial century on Day 4. Mendis resumed on an unbeaten 56, with the visitors plunging to 204/6 in their second innings. The Lankan batter eventually ended up with 113 off 183 balls (15 fours and a six). As per Cricbuzz, Mendis became the first SL batter with a hundred in England batting at number seven or below.
Chandimal slams his 27th Test half-century
Sri Lanka's Chandimal made his presence felt in the first Test with a valiant 79-run knock in his side's second innings. Chandimal's knock consisted of seven fours. He has raced to 5,575 runs in Tests at 43.21. This was his 27th fifty. He also owns 15 tons. Chandimal completed 500 runs versus England (521 at 30.64). He hit his second fifty (100s: 1).
Angelo Mathews does well in the 2nd innings
Veteran Mathews scored 65 in the 2nd innings for Sri Lanka. In 110 matches, he owns 7,673 runs. Mathews brought up his 42nd fifty in the format for the Lankans.
Brook slams his ninth Test half-century
England batter Brook scored a solid 56-run knock from 73 balls on Day 2 of the first Test. He managed 32 runs in the 2nd innings. Brook now owns 1,466 runs at an average of 58.64. In addition to 5 tons, he has nine fifties. It was his maiden match versus the Lankans.
Milan Rathnayake registers this unique Test batting record
Sri Lanka's Milan Priyanath Rathnayake played a composed knock on his debut. Rathnayake, who came in at number nine, managed 72. As per ESPNcricinfo, Rathnayake's 135-ball 72 is now the highest score by a debutant at No. 9 in Test history. He broke the record of India's Balwinder Sindhu, who scored 71 runs versus Pakistan in 1983. He managed 10 runs in 2nd innings.
Key numbers for England's bowlers
Chris Woakes claimed successive three-fers in the match. He took 3/32 and 3/58 to end with six wickets. Woakes owns 166 scalps for England. He is closing in on 600 First-Class wickets (591). Shoaib Bashir managed a three-fer in the 1st innings with Matthew Potts taking the same (2nd innings). Gus Atkinson took 4 scalps in the match. He has raced to 26 wickets.
Asitha Fernando completes 50 Test wickets for Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan pacer Asitha Fernando has completed 50 Test wickets. He attained the milestone on Day 4. Fernando was Sri Lanka's top wicket-taker in England's first innings. He claimed 4/103. In England's second innings, Fernando dismissed Ben Duckett to get to 50 Test wickets. He finished with two wickets (2/25) and currently has 51 wickets under his belt.
Jayasuriya shines with the ball for SL
SL spinner Prabath Jayasuriya took 5 wickets in the match, including a three-fer in the 1st innings. He now owns 76 scalps for SL at 28.56.
Dhananjaya de Silva hits valiant half-century versus England
Sri Lankan Test team captain Dhananjaya de Silva bailed his side out from a position of bother on Day 1 of the first Test. Dhananjaya hammered eight fours in his knock of 74. He struck at 88.10. In SL's 2nd innings, he scored a 25-ball 11. He now owns 3,667 runs in Tests.
