COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka reached 74 for one in reply to England's first innings total of 336 all out at lunch on day two of the third Test match at the Sinhalese Sports Club grounds on Saturday. Sri Lanka trail by 262 runs with nine wickets in hand.
Resuming from the overnight score of 311 for seven, it took Sri Lanka 24 minutes to bowl out the opposition.
England's tail-enders had played a decisive part in their series win coming up with notable contributions with the bat, but the Sri Lankans were able to knock off the tail without much damage.
Bowler Lakshan Sandakan, playing his first game in the series, finished with a five wicket haul and he was well backed up by off-spinner Dilruwan Perera (three for 113) and left-arm orthodox spinner Malinda Pushpakumara (two for 64) as the spinners claimed all England wickets.
Openers Dimuth Karunaratne (28) and Danushka Gunathilaka (18) added 31 runs for the first wicket before Jack Leach made a breakthrough with Keaton Jennings pulling off a good catch at short leg to dismiss Karunaratne.
England should have dismissed Karunaratne as well but captain Joe Root at first slip dropped a catch with the batsman on two. Stuart Broad was the unlucky bowler.
Dhananjaya de Silva (28) joined Karunaratne after the fall of Gunathilaka and added an unfinished 43 runs for the second wicket.
England have already wrapped up the three match series 2-0 following their 211 run win in Galle and 57 run victory at Pallekele.
It was their first win in Sri Lanka after 17 years.
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