tossed up and finished with a six - a shot that almost hits a member of the Barmy Army as he invades the pitch at deep square leg - and England have won a Test for the first time this winter
Sri Lanka vs England, 2nd Test at Colombo, Apr 03 2012 - Ball by Ball Commentary
RESULT
2nd Test, Colombo (PSS), April 03 - 07, 2012, England tour of Sri Lanka
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ENG 2nd Innings
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2.10pm: Time for the presentations. A statement from the Sri Lankan board, read out by Tony Greig, thanks the Barmy Army ... Obviously he's been looking at the figures.
Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene: "We knew it was going to be tough coming into the second match and we think we made quite a few mistakes. Against a team of this quality and with their fans, it was going to be tough. This has been the largest following for an English touring side, so it's been good, I've enjoyed it. We needed to pick up three or four wickets up front but Alastair played very well and KP finished it off. It's disappointing. But thank you, from Sri Lanka, and we'll see you again."
Kevin Pietersen is named Man of the Match: "Definitely, it's always nice to get some runs. It's been a tough winter for the batters but the hard work we've put in paid off, we deserve this one. The practice and hours you put in, when you're in some sort of nick you've got to try and get some runs ... and when it's 40-42, I can't block too many!"
Jayawardene is named as the Man of the Series, after scoring 354 runs at 88.50.
England captain Andrew Strauss: "Yeah, absolutely, it was was amazing to have that support away from home. In the end it seemed like a comfortable victory but we had to work hard. Jimmy Anderson was superb on an unresponsive wicket, Graeme Swann was outstanding and Kevin Pietersen took the game away from them. At the top of the order it was all very stodgy, then Kevin came in and showed us how to play. It was good to get a few runs, I would like to have got more but winning the match was the most important thing. Still No. 1 for a while yet."
That, folks, is it from Sri Lanka. Hands up who would have liked to see a decider? Well, write to your local MP. There's not even a one-day series to grumble about ice the cake. David Hopps' report is on the site and there'll be more from our man Andrew McGlashan later in the day, as well as Two Chucks, stats and more. Thanks for all your comments, it's been fun. Catch you on the flip side. Laters!
1.55pm: Victory by eight wickets squares the series at 1-1 and ensures that England retain their No. 1 status for a while longer. They haven't played like the best team in the world recently but that could be a significant win in their attempts to crack Asia. Excluding Bangladesh, that's only England's second Test victory on the subcontinent in the last 10 years. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, couldn't hang on and are denied a first series win since beating New Zealand in 2009. They've got their problems (hasn't everyone?) but there are certainly signs of encouragement for Mahela Jayawardene and his team.
Jayawardene has had a magnificent series from a batting point of view, though his captaincy was sometimes a little conservative. He got it spot on with that review against Trott earlier, though. Rangana Herath led the bowling well but he lacked support. For England, Graeme Swann, Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott and, of course, KP dusted off the cobwebs to pull England together after a ropey couple of months. Pietersen stamped his mark on this match with characteristic flair ... just in time for the IPL you might say, with a wink and a nudge.
19.4
6
Dilshan to Pietersen, SIX runs
19.3
2
Dilshan to Pietersen, 2 runs
flighted, gets an outside edge defending and it runs past the slip for a couple
Pietersen pulls up in Dilshan's delivery stride this time ...
19.2
4
Dilshan to Pietersen, FOUR runs
shorter, flatter and this time Pietersen hammers a cut in front of square
19.1
4
Dilshan to Pietersen, FOUR runs
tossed up on the stumps and Pietersen clears his front leg to smash an imperious boundary over midwicket
end of over 195 runs
ENG: 81/2CRR: 4.26
Alastair Cook49 (69b 6x4)
Kevin Pietersen26 (24b 2x4 1x6)
Rangana Herath 9-0-37-1
Tillakaratne Dilshan 7-1-27-1
18.6
•
Herath to Cook, no run
on the stumps, defended
18.5
2
Herath to Cook, 2 runs
tossed up on the stumps and Cook top-edges a sweep over the head of Dilshan behind square on the leg side, who does well to stop a boundary with his feet
18.4
•
Herath to Cook, no run
length ball, outside off and BIG turn for Herath, the ball spitting off the surface, surprising Cook, who moves to kick the ball away as it drops near this stumps
18.3
1
Herath to Pietersen, 1 run
full, on the stumps, clipped aggressively through midwicket
18.2
2
Herath to Pietersen, 2 runs
flighted, towards the blockhole, punched through extra-cover, where it is half-fielded and they take two
18.1
•
Herath to Pietersen, no run
tossed up on middle stump, Pietersen steps out and drives to extra-cover
Here's Malcolm, with an astute point: "Don't want to foul things up, but it looks like Bresnan's record of not playing in a losing Test match is secure." Not only not losing, Malcolm, but winning every one. Anyway, they're taking drinks in the middle. Strauss's dismissal seems a long while ago now, doesn't it?
end of over 185 runs
ENG: 76/2CRR: 4.22
Alastair Cook47 (66b 6x4)
Kevin Pietersen23 (21b 2x4 1x6)
Tillakaratne Dilshan 7-1-27-1
Suraj Randiv 3-0-16-0
I think, tentatively, I can rule out a collapse from here. There, I said it
17.6
•
Dilshan to Cook, no run
width, pushed into the covers
17.5
•
Dilshan to Cook, no run
tossed up and this time Cook defends
17.4
•
Dilshan to Cook, no run
again slashed through point but this time there's a fielder in the way
17.3
4
Dilshan to Cook, FOUR runs
short and wide from Dilshan and Cook tucks in, cutting with the enthusiasm of a 70s film censor
17.2
1
Dilshan to Pietersen, 1 run
flat again, flicked off the pads through square
17.1
•
Dilshan to Pietersen, no run
drags it short as Pietersen advances, hit on the pad and short leg almost runs the batsman out. Actually, he would have jut got back. Tight
Dilshan to come back on. Hope ebbing away for Sri Lanka, as well as the chances of a first series win since 2009 ...
end of over 178 runs
ENG: 71/2CRR: 4.17
Alastair Cook43 (62b 5x4)
Kevin Pietersen22 (19b 2x4 1x6)
Suraj Randiv 3-0-16-0
Rangana Herath 8-0-32-1
16.6
•
Randiv to Cook, no run
wide of off and cut hard to backward point
16.5
1
Randiv to Pietersen, 1 run
length ball outside off, Pietersen sits back and cuts through point
16.4
1
Randiv to Cook, 1 run
tossed up and tickled through the covers
16.3
1
Randiv to Pietersen, 1 run
flighted on leg stump and punched to mid-on
16.2
4
Randiv to Pietersen, FOUR runs
length outside off and now Pietersen reverses his grip and and paddles to third man - as audacious as it is completed expected from him in this sort of form
16.1
1
Randiv to Cook, 1 run
on the stumps and worked towards midwicket
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