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Murali spins
Lanka back in the Test Match |
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Scorecard
England were forced to
squander their advantage of having bowled Sri
Lanka for just 188 on the first day. The English
batsmen had to bow down to Muttiah Muralitharan
as the off spinning wizard took four out of the
six wickets that fell to draw level with Shane
Warne's 708 test scalps. England are on the edge
at 186 for 6 with all hopes wrested on Paul
Collingwood to give them a decent first innings
lead.
Just the 46 overs were
possible on the second day because of the
Asgiriya Stadium getting hit by heavy rain. One
and a half sessions were lost because of the
rain but the match has already made lot of
progress. England resumed the day's play at 49
for 1 which was a solid looking 107 for 1 before
Michael Vaughan became the first victim of
Muralitharan. Vaughan made 37 in 108 balls with
5 fours as he put on a 107-run stand with Ian
Bell. By lunch, Sri Lanka removed the impressive
Ian Bell, who was also consumed by the
combination of Chamara Silva and Muralitharan.
Bell made a smooth flowing 83 from 125 balls
with a dozen boundaries. England were looking
alright at lunch with a score of 145 for 3.
The post lunch session
had all the action with wickets falling and the
rain hitting the stadium. Kevin Pietersen (31
from 57 with 6 fours) and debutant Ravinder
Bopara (8) were removed by Murali just minutes
before the rain had arrived to get Sri Lanka
strongly back in the game. Dilhara Fernando
provided a perfect finish for the day by sending
back Matt Prior for a duck to make it 185 for 6.
England finished the day's play at 186 for 6 in
63 overs with Collingwood on 14 and Sidebottom
on 1. The third day's play will surely be part
of history as Muralitharan is just a wicket away
from being the highest wicket taker in the game!
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