Twitter Reactions: Jos Buttler and Sam Curran save the day for England

Prior to their second Test against Sri Lanka in Pallekele, England were brimming with confidence. Moreover, they were in with a golden opportunity of getting their opponents on the mat yet another time and inch closer to a rare Test series win in the sub-continent. Joe Root and Co wouldn’t be overly delighted though, as they ended their first innings at 285 in 75.4 overs.

Jos Buttler races away  

The Three Lions won the toss and had no hesitation to bat first. But they lost Keaton Jennings for one to interim skipper Suranga Lakmal. Rory Burns and Ben Stokes tried to steady the ship with a 37-run stand. Dilruwan Perera removed Stokes for 19 runs to break the partnership. Malinda Pushpakumara, who replaced Rangana Herath, got rid of skipper Root for 14 runs.

Rory Burns was the next man to perish for 43 as Akila Dananjaya picked up his first wicket. Even as the other batsmen strained to find their feet, Jos Buttler took the bowling by the scruff of the neck and notched 63 runs from 67 deliveries with the help of seven boundaries after which he became Pushpakumara’s second victim. Ben Foakes also couldn’t perform.

Curran takes England to respectability  

With the score at 171/7 in the 47th over, the Brits found themselves in a precarious position. However, Sam Curran accomplished his third half-century to bail his team out of jail. The left-hander scored 64 runs from 119 runs with the help of six hits into the stands and a solitary boundary. He was severe on the spinners and didn’t shy away from playing his strokes freely.

Adil Rashid lent him appropriate support and scored 31 runs. The spinners did most of the damage with nine wickets out of the ten. In Lanka’s first innings, the visitors used the tweakers for seven out of 12 overs and the tactic worked for them. Jack Leach nipped out Kaushal Silva for six. Pushpakumara and Dimuth Karunaratne remained not out as the hosts ended on 26/1.

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