SL vs ENG: Five most memorable Test matches between Sri Lanka and England

Sri Lanka and England are set to face off in a 2-match Test series starting this week which will be part of the World Test Championship. This series was rescheduled after it was called off last year owing to COVID-19 fears. The clash between the two teams has a rich history when it comes to Test cricket as Sri Lanka played their first-ever Test match against England only in 1982.

Here are the top five matches between Sri Lanka and England in Test cricket:

3rd Test match, 2001 at SSC-Colombo:

During the series-decider in 2001, England and Sri Lanka faced off at the SSC ground in Colombo. The home team collapsed to 241 in the first innings after they lost their last seven wickets for 36 runs. The English team finished with 249 with a lead of 8 runs.

Sri Lanka’s misery with the bat continued in the 2nd essay where they were bundled out for only 81 runs after losing their last seven wickets for only 24 runs. Despite the target being only 74 runs, the Lankans fought with the ball as Sanath Jayasuriya bagged a 4-wicket haul. England reached the target losing six wickets to register a series win.

1st Test match, 2014 at Lord’s:

Sri Lanka invited England to bat first at the Lord’s in the 2014 series opener. An unbeaten 200 from Ian Bell guided England to finish with 575/9. Centuries from skipper Angelo Mathews and Kumar Sangakkara saw the Lankans finish with 453 in their first innings. With a 122-run lead in hand, England declared their 2nd essay on 267/8 which they got via Gary Ballance’s unbeaten ton.

Sri Lanka walked out to bat on the final day morning with a target of 390. They moved to 123/1 by 42nd over before losing wickets at regular intervals. England were only two wickets away for a win in the last three overs. Stuart Broad, who bowled the last over, dismissed Rangana Herath but the last batsman Nuwan Pradeep saw through the next 5 balls to hang on to a draw.

1st Test match, 2011 at Sophie Gardens:

The 2011 3-match Test series between England and Sri Lanka began in Cardiff where the visitors posted a huge score of 400 in the first innings. England gave a strong reply as Jonathan Trott scored a double century while Alastair Cook and Ian Bell also scored tons. The game had interruptions from rain as half of the first day and morning sessions on 3rd and 4th days were lost. This made England declare their innings at 496/5 on the final day with a lead of 96 runs after Bell got to his century.

With a session left in the game, Sri Lanka lost two wickets for 33 runs in 12 overs. But the rest of 8 wickets fell in 12.4 overs after the break as Graeme Swann claimed a 4-wicket haul and so did Chris Tremlett. Sri Lanka finished at 82/10 in 24.4 overs. With that, England won the match by an innings 14 runs to take 1-0 lead in the Test series.

ON THIS DAY…

May 3️⃣0️⃣, 2011

England roll Sri Lanka for just 8️⃣2️⃣ to win first Test of series in Cardiff as @Swannyg66 and @ChrisTremlett33 share eight wickets ? pic.twitter.com/gHMSiQz0nk

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) May 30, 2020

1st Test match, 2007 at Asgiriya Stadium:

The series opener between Sri Lanka and England in 2007 was played at the Asgiriya Stadium in Kandy. Sri Lanka were bundled out for only 188 in the first innings after electing to bat first. In reply, England got to 281 and earned a lead of 93 runs thanks to an 83-run knock from Ian Bell. Kumar Sangakkara led the fightback of the home team with a huge hundred in the 2nd essay.

Sangakkara scored 152 as Sri Lanka declared on 442/8 to set a target of 350 for England. The hosts lacked resistance this time and were bowled out for 261.

2nd Test match, 2014 at Headingley:

#OnThisDay in 2014, Sri Lanka ?? won a Test with a ball to spare in Headingley against England.
Shaminda Eranga dismissed James Anderson with penultimate ball of a gripping final day at #Headingley#LKA #SriLanka #Cricket #EngvSL
https://t.co/hAfmegNKTshttps://t.co/oYg7L197MO pic.twitter.com/vkV3Ovc6ne

— Sri Lanka Tweet ?? (@SriLankaTweet) June 24, 2020

After surviving to a draw in the first Test, Sri Lanka were made to bat in Leeds after the home team won the toss. On a seaming track, Lankans did well to make 257 before being bowled out on the first day. England were 311/3 in the final hour of the 2nd day’s play but got bowled out for only 365 by 3rd day morning. Sri Lanka batted out long in the 2nd innings after conceding a 108-run lead.

They were precariously placed at one stage at 277/7. But a gritty innings from captain Angelo Mathews made the difference for the visitors who finished with 160 and declared the innings at 457. England who walked in with a target of 350 on 4th day evening found themselves at 57/5 as Dhammika Prasad nipped out England’s top four.

Moeen Ali fought for a draw but was left with the last batsman James Anderson with 20.2 overs to survive. The duo did well to take the game into the last over and Anderson had batted 50 balls by then without scoring a run. Shaminda Eranga bowled the final over of the game where Anderson survived first four balls before the penultimate ball took the edge off Anderson and went into the hands of the backward square. This win also helped Sri Lanka to seal a rare Test series win on English soil.