England spinner Jack Leach claimed his second Test five-wicket haul to help his team win the first Test by 7-wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the two-Test series against Sri Lanka on Monday (January 18) at Galle.
After Captain Joe Root’s heroics with the bat – hitting double hundred to take England to 421 in the first innings, Sri Lanka made a brilliant comeback in their second innings, scoring over 300 runs and were close to scoring 400 but it was Leach who turned out a game-changer for the tourists, as the spinner returned with the figures of 5/122 from 41.5 overs to bowl the hosts out 359.
With chasing mere 74 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the ongoing two-match Test series, England stumbled to 38 for three before Jonny Bairstow’s unbeaten 35 helped the tourists to chase down the total and secure a 7-wicket win in the first Test at Galle on Monday.
After England’s comfortable Galle Test win, Leach was elated to be able to contribute to his team’s cause when they needed the most after a horror 15 months with illness and misfortune that threatened his Test career, though, he still chose to take things one day at a time.
SL v ENG 2021: England thrash Sri Lanka by 7 wickets in Galle Test to take 1-0 lead in the series
Leach told reporters about his match-winning spell in Galle: “I expect quite a lot of myself. Today was nice to get the five wickets, but at times I didn't bowl as well as I would have liked in this game.
I think it’s been hard graft out there and I’ve certainly felt a little bit rusty at times and felt like I could have done a little bit of a better job, but I think the pleasing thing is I felt like I got better as the game went on so hopefully, that’s a good sign.”
The 29-year-old further added, “It is a slow wicket, so I felt my pace needed to be a bit quicker. I wanted to be faster and more direct at the areas I want to bowl. It was always going to be a tricky period with the new ball against the Sri Lanka spinners and we have consolidated well.”
After his memorable home Test series against Australia in 2019, Leach has endured a series of set-backs having suffered from sepsis on a tour of New Zealand and then was forced to opt-out of England's tour of South Africa because of illness in winter.
Then, the spinner was gearing up for a Test return in Sri Lanka last March, but the two-Test series was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, though, he is now eyeing to make the most of each opportunity that comes his way.
Leach signed off by saying, “If I'm healthy and fit and able to play, then that is a great thing and I don't take it for granted. I'm just taking it a day at a time and a game at a time. You never know what is around the corner, so I'm just trying to enjoy each day and see what happens.
The last 12 months haven’t been ideal but good to be out there definitely.”
(With Reuters Inputs)
