90 overs Sri Lanka were 238 for six at the close on the first day of the second Test against England on Tuesday with Angelo Mathews (41*) and Suraj Randiv (5*) on crease.
79.3 overs: Jayawardene departed!!
After pulling Sri Lanka out of the wood, Jayawardene departed for 105. Graeme Swann had him in front of the wickets.
72.1 overs: Hundred for Jayawardene!!
Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene’s superb form with the bat continued as he scored back-to-back hundreds. His century came off 195 balls with 11 fours and a six. Sri Lanka were 202/4.
70.3 overs: Sri Lanka reached 200. Jayawardene on the brink of yet another century.
52.5 overs: Samaraweera’s gritty knock of 5Sri Lanka were 155/4 at tea on Day 1. Skipper Mahela Jayawardene was going strong at 74 while Angelo Mathews was unbeaten on 1.
4 finally came to an end when he was trapped lbw by Tim Bresnan to break a solid stand of 124 runs between him and Jayawardene. His innings came off 129 balls with 7 fours.
38.5 overs: Jayawardene hits 50!!
Mahela Jayawardene completed a fighting fifty to rescue Sri Lanka after they were reduced to 30/3 at one stage. His half-century came off 113 balls with 7 hits to the fence.
34.6: 100 up for Sri Lanka.
Samaraweera took 3 off Anderson and Sri Lanka reached 100 run-mark.
27 overs: Lunch was taken.
At lunch, Sri Lanka were 82/3. Skipper Jayawardene was unbeaten on 40 while Samaraweera was not out on 20.
8.6 overs: Anderson struck again. Got Thirimanne this time!!
Anderson trapped the batsman lbw for a 26-ball 8. Sri Lanka were 30/3.
4.6 overs: Sangakkara goes for a first-ball duck!! Two for Anderson in two balls!!
In the very next ball, No. 3 batsman Sangakkara gave a simple catch to Andrew Strauss in the first slip. Sri Lanka were 21/2.
4.5 overs: Dilshan out!!
Opener Tilakratne Dilshan became first Sri Lankan batsman to depart as he was removed by pace bowler James Anderson by inducing an outside edge which went straight to wicketkeeper Matt Prior. Dilashan made 14 off 16 balls with 3 fours.
Toss Report: Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene won the toss and decided to bat first against England in the second and the last Test at the P Sara Oval in Colombo.
Sri Lanka made two changes. Paceman Dhammika Prasad replaced injured left-arm seamer Chanaka Welegedara while Angelo Mathews came in for Dinesh Chandimal.
England also made two changes as Tim Bresnan took injured Stuart Broad’s place while fast-bowler Steve Finn was chosen ahead of struggling spinner Monty Panesar.
England would like to end their losing streak as they take on Sri Lanka in the second and final Test on Tuesday in Colombo.
England, who lost the first Test by 75 runs, would look to improve their batting as they were repeatedly found wanting in the spin-friendly conditions.
After losing 0-3 to Pakistan, they lost the first Test at Galle comprehensively. Apart from Jonathan Trott, who scored a fighting hundred in the last innings, no other English batsman was able to put up fight.
England captain Andrew Strauss, who has been under attack in the media for his lack of form with the bat, came out fighting on the eve of the second and final Test against Sri Lanka.
England must win this Test to avoid losing their No. 1 ranking to South Africa.
The visitors have lost four Tests in a row, having been whitewashed 3-0 by Pakistan in their previous series in the Middle East, and Strauss is without a Test century since 2010.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, are doing well under Mahela Jayawardene. They have a good spin-attack with Rangana Herath troubling the English batsmen. In the first Test, he was the wrecker-in-chief by picking up 12 wickets. He was ably supported by off-spinner Suraj Randiv.
Squads
Sri Lanka: 1 Lahiru Thirimanne, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Kumar Sangakkara, 4 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 5 Thilan Samaraweera, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), 8 Suraj Randiv, 9 Rangana Herath, 10 Dhammika Prasad, 11 Suranga Lakmal
England: 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ian Bell, 6 Matt Prior (wk), 7 Samit Patel, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 James Anderson, 11 Steven Finn