England on Monday (January 25) inflicted a 2-0 whitewash over Sri Lanka as they registered a comprehensive 6-wicket victory in the second Test at Galle International Stadium.
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Even though England conceded a 37-run lead in the first innings, the visitors bounced back brilliantly, bowling out Sri Lanka for a paltry 126 in the second essay, with Dom Bess (4-49) and Jack Leach (4-59) claiming 8 wickets between them.
Chasing 164 to win in the fourth innings, England lost three wickets to Lasith Embuldeniya, who also claimed 7 scalps in the tourists’ first innings, but the duo of Dominic Sibley (56 not out) and Jos Buttler (46 not out) stayed there till the end to take the team over the line.
After the match, skipper Joe Root, who led England from the front with match-winning knocks of 228 and 186 in the first and second Tests respectively, said the team looks in good shape ahead of the four-Test series in India, starting February 5 in Chennai.
"We've got four very important games against arguably the best team in the world in their own conditions," AFP quoted Root as saying.
"We'll have to play right at the top of our game to win out there but we couldn't be in a better place to go and challenge them."
The England team will have to serve 6 days in quarantine upon reaching India, but Root said the COVID-19 protocols had not fazed the squad.
"We're gonna have seven or eight days with no cricket, six days in quarantine and then three very important days of prep ahead of the series," he said.
"But what we have got is a huge amount of confidence coming out of these two games."
England have now won five successive Tests away from home as they thrashed South Africa in the final three games of a four-match series in January last year.
"Definitely progress. As I mentioned before this game, we have in the past struggled in away conditions," said Root.
"For us to be able to turn that round, find ways of consistently taking 20 wickets is really impressive. We have just got to stay hungry and keep looking to get better."
England have rested in-form batsman Jonny Bairstow for the first two Tests against India as part of the team's rotation policy for its players amid the Coronavirus pandemic. Jos Buttler will also return home after the opening Test.
"We always want our best players there as often as possible, because of the world we're in right now it's not feasible and we have to manage that the best we can," said Root.
"But he's still got an opportunity to affect the series and sure he'll be desperate to keep up the good form."
(With AFP inputs)
