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Galle
22 - 26 February 2001
Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first. England broke through early in the crucial first session of the Test, removing Jayasuriya (14) to have the home side 1 for 18. However, Sri Lanka recovered and went to lunch with the game evenly balanced at 1 for 70. England broke through again after lunch to dismiss Sangakkara (58) when the score was 2 for 110. However, Sri Lanka patiently batted through the rest of the day without further loss to be 2 for 221 at stumps and looking to post a large first innings total to avoid batting again on a pitch that will break up badly over the last days of the Test.
Sri Lanka continued on the second morning where they left off the night before and batted through to lunch with out loss while moving the score to 2 for 305. England eventually ran out de Silva (106) in the afternoon session when the total was 351. This was England's only success of the session as Sri Lanka moved to 3 for 407 at the tea break. England ran out Jayawardene (61) and then caught pinch hitter Vaas (8) before declaring at 5 for 470 with around half an hour's play remaining. England successfully negotiated the remaining eight overs without loss to have 27 runs at stumps.
Sri Lanka dropped each of the openers on the third morning before they settled to form a solid partnership with England going to lunch with 83 runs on the board. A mini-collapse occurred after lunch as both Atherton (33) and Hussain (3) were trapped leg before and Thorpe (7) was caught to make the score 3 for 117. Stewart stopped the collapse and managed to stay at the other end as Trescothick moved closer to his hundred and England went to tea at 3 for 146. Stewart (19) was trapped leg before late in the evening session for the score to be 4 for 197. Nightwatchman Croft (0*) then played out the rest of the day's play and at stumps England was 4 for 202 with Trescothick (119*) needing another 69 runs to avoid the follow on. The day's play has again shown England's safety first attitude as they have scored at 1.9 runs per over.
Sri Lanka broke through and caused another collapse early on the fourth morning catching Trescothick (122), Hick (5) and Croft (9) to have England at 7 for 239 still needing another 42 runs to avoid the follow on target. England struggled to find the necessary runs and finally fell 18 runs short to be all out for 253. Jayasuriya was the most successful bowler with 4 for 50 off 27 overs. Sri Lanka immediately enforced the follow on and the openers survived the two overs before lunch while adding four runs. England then fought back without losing a wicket in the afternoon session to be 73 without loss at tea. However, in the final hour of play Trescothick (57) was caught and then Hussain (1) was trapped lbw shortly afterwards and the score was 2 for 105. At stumps England was 2 for 118 still needing another 99 runs to force Sri Lanka to bat again with one day's play remaining.
The key to the final day was Atherton as he was the most likely Englishman to hold up an end for the day and force a draw. However, Atherton (44) was the first to fall when he was caught and the score was 3 for 121. Later in session, England lost Thorpe (12) and Hick (6) before lunch when they were 5 for 174 still needing 43 runs to make Sri Lanka bat again. However, Sri Lanka ended the fight in the afternoon session when they took the final five wickets for the addition of only 15 more runs as England collapsed to be all out for 189 runs. England lost the test by an innings and 28 runs. Muralitharan (4 for 66 off 42.3 overs) and Jayasuriya (4 for 44 off 32 overs) shared the bowling honours while Trescothick (57) again top scored for England.
Second Test
Kandy
7 - 11 Mar 2001
Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first. However, England dominated the session and crashed through the top four to have Sri Lanka 4 for 93 at lunch. Sri Lanka settled in the afternoon session and scored at around 4 runs an over as Jayawardene posted a century. At tea, Sri Lanka had moved the total into a respectable 4 for 216. England then struck back in the evening session to take the final six wickets in the session including Jayawardene (101) and Arnold (65). Sri Lanka lost their last five for 20 runs to be all out for 297 runs. England batted out the remaining two overs for one run without loss at stumps.
England was not so fortunate on the second morning as they lost both openers in the first hour while adding only 36 runs. After this, England batted through to lunch without further loss to be 2 for 115 having been assisted by two missed chances. Sri Lanka gave the English batsmen another life in the afternoon session as England added 73 runs without loss in the session to be 2 for 188 at the tea break. Sri Lanka finally dismissed Thorpe (59) in the hour after tea and then Hussain (109) and Hick (0) before stumps when the score was 5 for 249 needing another 48 runs to pass the Sri Lankan first innings total.
England moved past the Sri Lankan total on the third morning and were looking to set a large first innings lead in an attempt to level the series. Sri Lanka dismissed White (39) after the drinks break to have England 6 for 323. England continued on until lunch without further loss as they moved the total to 6 for 330 and a 33 run lead. Shortly after lunch Sri Lanka removed Stewart (54), Giles and Caddick as England lost the initiative at 9 for 346. The final wicket cost Sri Lanka a further 41 runs when England were all out for 387 at tea with a first innings lead of 90 runs. Sri Lanka started their second innings disastrously as they crashed to 3 for 3 before reaching 42 when the fourth wicket fell. England seized the initiative and thrust home their advantage by taking another two wickets before stumps when Sri Lanka was 6 for 98 with an 8 run lead over England.
England failed to capitalise on their strong position as Sri Lanka almost batted through the entire fourth morning session before losing Sangakkara (95) shortly before lunch. They went to lunch at 7 for 187 and a 97 run lead. It took England the entire afternoon session to get the final two wickets and they dismissed Sri Lanka for 250 runs leaving a final innings target of 161 to win the Test and even the series. Gough was the most successful English bowler with 4 for 50 off 22 overs. England lost Atherton (11) and Trescothick (13) in the seventh over to leave them at 2 for 25. Again Hussain (15) and Thorpe (46) batted patiently to steady the run chase and by stumps the game was evenly poised with England 4 for 91 needing 70 runs for victory.
Sri Lanka broke through three times on the final morning as they sent Stewart (7), Hick (16) and Croft (17) back to the pavilion. However, Sri Lanka could not prevent England from inching closer to the victory target and by lunch they were 7 for 152 still needing 9 more runs to win. England achieved victory soon after lunch without further loss to level the series. Vass was the best of the bowlers with 4 for 39 off 18 overs.
Third Test
Colombo
15 - 19 Mar 2001
Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first. The lost Apapattu (0) in the second over, but then batted through to lunch to be 1 for 88. England caught Sangakkara (45) and Jayasuriya (45) in the afternoon session as Sril Lanka took the advantage to be 3 for 158 at tea seemingly headed for a large first innings total. However, after Sri Lanka moved the total to 205 they lost five for 14 runs and were 7 for 221 as the Test returned to even terms.
Sri Lanka resumed on the second morning and lasted just under an hour before England had claimed the last three wickets for a total of 241 runs. Croft was the most successful English bowler with 4 for 56 off 32 overs. England then batted through to lunch without loss to be 0 for 44. Sri Lanka fought their way back into the Test after dismissing Atherton (21), Trescothick (23), Hussain (8) and Stewart (3) as England lost 4 for 46 before going to tea at 4 for 117. England then slowly fought back in the evening session adding 58 runs to end the day at 4 for 175 still 66 runs behind Sri Lanka's first innings.
Sri Lanka fought their way back into the Test on the third morning. While Thorpe (113*) securely held one end together, six wickets tumbled at the other end as England collapsed for only 74 runs and a total of 249 runs just after lunch. Vass was the main destroyer for Sri Lanka taking career best figures of 6 for 73 for 27.5 overs including the final five wickets. Sri Lanka erased the 8 run deficit and batted confidently until losing Atapattu (0) to be 1 for 21. After this, Sri Lanka suffered a mini collapse losing Sangakkara (0) and Jayasuriya (23) to be 3 for 24. The Sri Lankans then moved smoothly to 57 runs before again collapsing, losing de Silva (23), Arnold (0) and Jayawardene (11) to be 6 for 59. The English bowlers were rampant and by tea, Sri Lanka was 7 for 71. Sri Lanka was finally dismissed for 81 shortly after tea leaving a final innings target for England of 74 runs. Giles was the best of the bowlers with 4 for 11 off 9.1 overs.
England had similar problems in their run chase losing Atherton (13) and Trescothick (10) to be 2 for 24. They also lost Vaughan (8) and Stewart (0) to be 4 for 43 to give the Sri Lankans a glimmer of hope of a remarkable victory. However, Thorpe (32*) again held one end together and guided England to a four wicket victory. Jayasuriya was the most successful bowler with 4 for 24 off 8.3 overs.
