Second Test, SSC Colombo: (day four, close)
Sri Lanka 548-9 dec v England 351 & 48-0
| By James Standley |
England face a struggle to save the second Test after conceding a sizeable first innings lead against Sri Lanka on day four in Colombo.
When the tourists took their fourth wicket of the day soon after lunch they held hopes of restricting the lead.
But the hosts' ninth wicket pair of Prasanna Jayawardene (79) and Dilhara Fernando (36no) put on a defiant 98.
Mahela Jayawardene's 195 helped them declare on 548-9, a lead of 197, and England reached 48-0 at the close.
Sri Lanka's gritty first-innings display - they kept the tourists in the field for 13 and a half hours - effectively ends England's hopes of winning both the match and the series.
They lost the first match in Kandy by 88 runs and their best hope now is to avoid defeat in Colombo in order to go to Galle for the third and final Test with a chance of levelling the series at 1-1.
Sri Lanka, who resumed 28 ahead on 379-4, progressed serenely through the first 40 minutes and it was a surprise when England made the breakthrough.
Durham paceman Steve Harmison has shown signs of returning to form on his recall to the side following six months out with injury and he produced a brute of delivery to Jehan Mubarak which the left-hander could only fend to Ian Bell in the gully.
Prasanna Jayawardene turned the next delivery through square leg to take the hosts past 400 but his namesake and captain Mahela, who had looked completely unruffled, was soon back in the pavilion.
The Sri Lanka captain, who had resumed on 167, greeted Monty Panesar's arrival after an hour's play by merrily clumping his third delivery through deep mid-wicket to move within sight of a double century.
But his desire to dominate Panesar cost him dear when he tried to repeat his mid-wicket assault in the next over.
He succeeded only in skying the ball to slip, where Paul Collingwood pouched the chance to remove him for 195.
At that point the hosts' lead was 69 and when Broad followed up with his maiden Test wicket, Chaminda Vaas gloving a hook to Ian Bell at slip, the tourists were right back in it.
It could have been even better for England but Ravi Bopara and Bell failed to cling on to sharp chances at short mid-wicket and short extra-cover respectively off Prasanna Jayawardene - mistakes which were to prove costly.
Sri Lanka lunched on 439-7, a lead of 88, but Lasith Malinga's dismissal soon after the interval, trapped in front by Panesar, was a false dawn for England as Fernando joined Jayawardene.
Paceman Fernando rode his luck on occasion, twice edging between the keeper and the solitary slip and also surviving a good stumping chance when Matt Prior fumbled, but he dug in and provided Jayawardene with invaluable support.
Their partnership lasted more than 31 overs and it was just after tea before Jayawardene edged a short one from Harmison through to Prior and the hosts declared.
His 79 was his second highest score in Tests while Fernando more than doubled his previous highest Test score with an unbeaten 36.
Michael Vaughan got England's reply off to a rapid start and Mahela Jayawardene introduced his star turn Muttiah Muralitharan as early as the 10th over.
The all-time leading wicket-taker in Test history had time for just two overs before bad light brought a premature end.
However, because of the early close play will start at 0930 local time (0400 GMT) on Thursday and Muralitharan will have plenty of opportunities to weave his spell as Sri Lanka try to force victory on a final-day pitch which will turn.
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