KANDY, Nov 14: Sri Lankan spinners claimed some big-name England wickets on the first day of the second Test on Wednesday before Jos Buttler and Sam Curran rescued the innings.
Buttler�s 63 and a crucial 64 from Curran at the end lifted England to 285 all out after they had been struggling on 89-4 on the turning Pallekelle stadium pitch.
Curran, fast becoming an England hero, said reaching near 300 was a �massive� achievement.
England spinner Jack Leach then strengthened England�s position, dismissing opener Kaushal Silva in the 12 overs Sri Lanka faced as the home side reached 26 for one at the close.
A day that saw Ben Stokes, batting at the key number three position, become the latest to fail also reinforced Buttler and Curran�s standing lower down the order. England were in trouble against spinners Dilruwan Perera who took four wickets, Malinda Pushpakumara (three) and Akila Dananjaya (two) when Buttler came in to counter-attack with five boundaries and a crucial 45-run stand with Adil Rashid who made 31.
Buttler�s 63 off 67 deliveries ensured Sri Lanka did not convert a good position into a dominant one, as he swept and reverse swept furiously and effectively.
SCORECARD
England 1st Innings: RJ Burns c de Silva b Dananjaya 43, KK Jennings c Dickwella b Lakmal 1, BA Stokes lbw b Perera 19, JE Root b Pushpakumara 14, JC Buttler c Karunaratne b Pushpakumara 63, MM Ali lbw b Pushpakumara 10, BT Foakes c de Silva b Perera 19, SM Curran c Karunaratne b Perera 64, AU Rashid lbw b Perera 31, MJ Leach b Dananjaya 7, JM Anderson not out 7. Extras: (b 4, lb 3) 7. Total: (All out in 75.4 overs) 285. Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-44, 3-65, 4-89, 5-134, 6-165, 7-171, 8-216, 9-225, 10-285. Bowling: RAS Lakmal 12-1-44-1, MDK Perera 24.4-5-61-4, PM Pushpakumara 23-4-89-3, DM de Silva 2-0-4-0, A Dananjaya 14-1-80-2.
Sri Lanka 1st Innings: FDM Karunaratne not out 19, JK Silva b Leach 6, PM Pushpakumara not out 1. Extras: 0. Total: (For 1 in 12 overs) 26. Fall of wickets: 1-22. Bowling: JM Anderson 3-0-8-0, SM Curran 2-0-5-0, MJ Leach 4-0-7-1, MM Ali 3-1-6-0. � Agencies