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Olly Stone ended Dimuth Karunaratne’s stubborn resistance as England inched closer to a series win over Sri Lanka at a sparsely-attended Lord’s on the penultimate morning of the second Test.
Chris Woakes saw off nightwatcher Prabath Jayasuriya for four but Karunaratne capitalised on being dropped on 25 by Joe Root to become the first opener on either side to make a fifty in this series.
Stone had Karunaratne caught behind for 55 but Angelo Mathews was on 34 not out as Sri Lanka went to lunch on 136 for four in pursuit of a world record 483, with England now needing six more wickets.
Having folded meekly in the first innings, this was an impressive show of resilience from the tourists’ batters, albeit one played disappointingly in front of swathes of empty seats at the home of cricket.
Tickets for under-16s were just £15 on day four but the cheapest on offer for adults were £95 and despite sunny skies on Sunday morning, the famous ground did not seem to be more than half full.
England resumed needing eight wickets to move into an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, and with 98 overs to get them to win in four days after bad light brought an early end to Saturday’s play.
Woakes seemed to be on the money immediately after thudding into Karunaratne’s pads second ball but an England review showed the ball had fractionally pitched outside leg. England later thought Karunaratne had under-edged a pull off Gus Atkinson but another review showed nothing.
Atkinson did catch the edge of the opener but the ball fizzed to Root, who has made two centuries in this Test, and he could only parry a head high chance to his left.
Woakes made the breakthrough, coming slightly wider on the crease and finding a hint of movement to take Jayasuriya’s edge but two old stagers in Karunaratne and Mathews dug in to thwart England’s ambition.
England’s seamers toiled for scant reward on a pitch that had a hint of up and down but little else.
But Stone was rewarded for a sustained short-ball barrage by finding a bit of extra lift and tickling Karunaratne’s glove as he attempted to fend away around his armpit through to Jamie Smith.
Dinesh Chandimal fended off a bumper first up, leaving his bat hanging in the air as he ducked, as the ball ricocheted safely into the leg-side before he went to lunch on 15no.
