England resumed their second innings on 25-1, a lead of 256 runs, with the intention of extending their dominance over Sri Lanka at Lord’s. Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, and Harry Brook were looking to put some runs on the board. Duckett had been inconsistent since his century in Rajkot, Pope had struggled in the series, and Brook had been unable to convert good starts into big scores.
Pope survived a huge appeal for caught behind early on, with replays showing it was a good decision not to review. Duckett and Pope pushed the score to 26-1 before Duckett was caught in the slips off Milan Rathnayake for 16. Pope was joined by Joe Root, who was looking to build a partnership to push England towards a declaration.
Brook was the next to fall, caught at deep midwicket off the bowling of Jayasuriya for 37. Pope continued to take his time at the crease, scoring 17 from 37 balls before being dismissed in a strange and ugly manner, swatting a short ball straight to the fielder at deep backward point.
Root and Brook looked to accelerate the scoring rate as England pushed towards a declaration. With Sri Lanka looking to contain the run rate, Root and Brook took advantage of loose deliveries to increase the lead. England eventually declared on 197-7, setting Sri Lanka a target of 428 for victory.
Sri Lanka faced a tough task ahead of them to save the Test match, with England well-placed to secure victory and the series. The final day promised to be an exciting contest between bat and ball as both teams looked to come out on top.
Source
Photo credit www.theguardian.com