England Fall to Narrow Defeat in Kandy
5th December, 2007
First Test, Kandy: Sri Lanka 188 & 442-8d beat England 281 & 261 by 88 runs
England fell to a narrow defeat in the first test, as Sri Lanka wrapped up an 88-run victory with only 25 minutes of play left in the match. It looked as if England’s revival in the final innings had rescued them from the jaws of defeat to clinch a draw, before Muralitharan took a couple of crucial wickets.
England resumed on 9-1, looked as if they would slump to defeat after captain Michael Vaughan edged to wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene. The nightwatchman James Anderson went soon after to a fine Vaas delivery, making the score a poor 27-3, leaving the victory target of 350 a distant dream.
Peitersen and Collingwood failed to really make an impact, leaving England further in trouble at 90-5. After Bopara’s controversial lbw, England needed to bat out over four hours of cricket with just four wickets in hand to clinch a draw.
Bell came in and hit his fourth consecutive half-century as he and Prior repaired some of the damage, continuing their partnership after tea. As the possibility of a draw grew, Muralitharan dismissed both batsmen in consecutive overs to put England close to defeat. A final rally from Sidebottom and Hoggard meant that they only needed to stick around for 45 minutes to rescue the draw, but another dubious lbw decision and a Yorker against Panesar meant that England ended up losing by 88 runs.
