Player of the Match
Player of the Match

END OF OVER:
74 | 2 Runs 1 Wkt | SL: 243/10

  • Akila Dananjaya8 (28b)
  • Jack Leach28-2-83-5
  • Moeen Ali19-2-72-4

10.41pm So, that is the end of the presentations. What a remarkable series performance from England. And there's still the finale in Colombo to come. Thanks for all your comments. From all of us here, thanks for tuning in. George Dobell's match report will appear here shortly, and come back later for all the post-match analysis.

Meanwhile, over in Abu Dhabi, there's another thriller just starting to take shape. What are you waiting for? Nothing left to see here!

Joe Root is the Man of the Match. "A brilliant Test match, we were very good for the whole game, at times under pressure but I couldn't be more proud. We lost clusters of wickets but stayed calm and got control back in our favour. We came through some close games in the summer against India.

"Our guys have worked hard on their close catching, some dynamic guys in Ben and Jos and the others have followed suit."

"We've came out saying we wanted to play some bold, courageous cricket, and we've worked extremely hard. We've got to keep looking to improve, we are not the finished article, we want to get to No.1 in the world, keep that drive, and harness that."

"You've seen teams in the past ease off [after a series win], but we want to back it up."

10.36am Time for some presentations. Here's Suranga Lakmal. "A good game on a challenging wicket. It was a turning wicket in both innings, but we were unlucky in this match. The last three wickets was very good cricket.." Afraid my Sinhalese can't keep up with his next answer, but he's keeping his chin up, it's fair to say.

10.30am CricViz chips in with a killer stat: "England's spinners took 19 of the 20 wickets in the match. It's the fifth time in Tests that England have taken so many wickets through spin and the first time since Mumbai in 2012. It's only the 11th time in Test history that no England seamer has taken a wicket in a match (excluding matches in which England didn't bowl). This match is the first time since 1973 in Karachi that no seamer has taken a wicket in a Test for England."

More to the point, it is the third time that no seamer has taken a wicket in an England win

10.27am ss: "Man of the Match - JImmy Anderson for adding 101 runs with Curran/Foakes across both innings! :)" Can't argue with his contribution with the bat. A rare blank in the wickets column for England's old stager. Wonder if he'll be given a blow for the final match?

10.24am England's players are off on a lap of honour. "It's been a blast," says Ben Foakes. "It's going alright so far, as long as we win games, I'm happy. It's a really relaxed environment, you come in and get told to do it your own way."

10.22am England's three spinners are speaking to Sky Sports. "There were periods I found it good and some were hard," says Leach. "There were tougher moments, but that's Test cricket."

"Things change quickly," says Rashid. "I'm pleased to be part of this team."

"It was a good team performance," says Moeen. Can't argue with any of those sentiments.

10.19am A maiden five-wicket haul for Jack Leach, four for Moeen Ali - a grand total of 38 wickets to the spinners in this match, which is the most in history. And shockingly, it is England who have prevailed!

Handshakes all round as the teams leave the field. What an achievement for England - Sri Lanka are not the force of old, it is true, but they devastated South Africa on home soil not so long ago, and they have been a force to be reckoned with on their own pitches for years. But England's ambitious Test line-up, with more allrounders than they sometimes know what to do with, has given them the depth and the options to do a job on their hosts, and in some style!

73.6
W
Leach to Pushpakumara, OUT, Leach thinks he has his five! Looked for all the world like a bump-ball, but the soft signal is out as Pushpakumara pushes a full length ball straight back to the bowler! Sure enough, that's straight off the toe, a puff of dust as the ball scrapes the turf in doing so, and England have won the Test, and the series, in terrific style!

PM Pushpakumara c & b Leach 1 (9b 0x4 0x6) SR: 11.11

Hammad : "The difference is Curran's innings. Had he been out cheaply in first innings it would have altogether been a different ball game" Can't dispute that!

73.5
0
Leach to Pushpakumara, no run, another massive wind-up, another miss! Down on one knee to sweep but the ball's no longer there
73.4
1
Leach to Dananjaya, 1 run, chiselled into the leg side, mid-on gathers
73.3
0
Leach to Dananjaya, no run, right back into the crease, blocked to the leg side
73.2
1
Leach to Pushpakumara, 1 run, down on one knee to slog-sweep, a bit of top-edge but safe enough to get Akila back on strike
73.1
0
Leach to Pushpakumara, no run, that's the length, dipping outside off and tweaking past the edge

Leach, with two slips and a short leg

END OF OVER:
73 | (maiden) | SL: 241/9

  • Akila Dananjaya7 (26b)
  • Malinda Pushpakumara0 (5b)
  • Moeen Ali19-2-72-4
  • Jack Leach27-2-81-4
72.6
0
Ali to Dananjaya, no run, back of a length, fenced out to the off side, but can't pinch the single
72.5
0
Ali to Dananjaya, no run, beaten outside off again
72.4
0
Ali to Dananjaya, no run, blocked into the covers
72.3
0
Ali to Dananjaya, no run, huge air! Slow and wide turn as Akila launches into a Murali-lite kamikaze gallop down the track. Foakes has to gather high to his left, giving the batsman time to dive for the crease as the bails come off!
72.2
0
Ali to Dananjaya, no run, solidly pressed into the covers
72.1
0
Ali to Dananjaya, no run, ambitiously swept, but misses everything as Foakes whips off the bails

END OF OVER:
72 | 1 Run | SL: 241/9

  • Malinda Pushpakumara0 (5b)
  • Akila Dananjaya7 (20b)
  • Jack Leach27-2-81-4
  • Moeen Ali18-1-72-4

Riaz Shaikh: "The fat lady has cleared her throat. The only suspense left is who will get a five-for - Leach or Ali? "

71.6
0
Leach to Pushpakumara, no run, firmly pressed back down the track, head over the ball
71.5
0
Leach to Pushpakumara, no run, driven, and misses as Leach gets one to bite! Foakes whips off the bails, no edge, but plenty threat. A quick check for the stumping, but the back foot is anchored
71.4
1
Leach to Dananjaya, 1 run, flipped in the air, but bissects the men at short leg and leg slip
71.3
0
Leach to Dananjaya, no run, right back on the stumps to defend, as Leach hunts his five-for
71.2
0
Leach to Dananjaya, no run, pressing forward, almost toppling out of the crease as he makes contact
71.1
0
Leach to Dananjaya, no run, patted into the off side, off the back foot

END OF OVER:
71 | (wicket maiden) | SL: 240/9

  • Malinda Pushpakumara0 (3b)
  • Akila Dananjaya6 (16b)
  • Moeen Ali18-1-72-4
  • Jack Leach26-2-80-4

AB: "How crucial are those five penalty runs looking now?" Less crucial than they might have been. Though, let's remember, it's actually seven runs, as Sri Lanka were docked the two that they ran as well

70.6
0
Ali to Pushpakumara, no run, pushed deeper into the crease, tucked to the leg side

ENG in SL 2018-19 News

Sri Lanka 4th innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st14JK SilvaFDM Karunaratne
2nd2FDM KarunaratneDM de Silva
3rd10FDM KarunaratneBKG Mendis
4th77AD MathewsFDM Karunaratne
5th73AD MathewsARS Silva
6th45AD MathewsN Dickwella
7th5MDK PereraN Dickwella
8th14N DickwellaA Dananjaya
9th0RAS LakmalA Dananjaya
10th3PM PushpakumaraA Dananjaya