England’s collapse continued as Sri Lanka’s bowlers dominated the morning session of the second day of the test match. At 261 for 3, England quickly lost wickets and found themselves at 307 for 8 at lunch. Ollie Pope’s brilliant innings of 154 runs came to an end with a sloppy shot, giving Sri Lanka an unexpected wicket.
Josh Hull, England’s debutant, managed to get a couple of runs but fell quickly to Dhananjaya with a poor shot. Olly Stone joined Pope at the crease, but England was struggling at 307-8 at lunch.
Sri Lanka’s bowlers, especially Vishwa Fernando, bowled excellently this morning and were rewarded with crucial wickets. Pope’s heroic innings kept England somewhat afloat, but with the tail-enders in, Sri Lanka were well poised to wrap up the England innings.
The collapse saw England lose 5 wickets for 28 runs and eventually 6 wickets for 57 runs. Pope’s innings was crucial for England as he scored more than half of the team’s runs before falling just before lunch. Sri Lanka will be looking to quickly finish off the innings and get their turn to bat on a helpful Kennington pitch.
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