England batsman Jonny Bairstow hit the final run on the morning of day five to wrap up a seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka on Monday.
Bairstow and Del Lawrence shared an unbeaten 62-run stand to help England secure a 1-0 lead in the Test series. Skipper Joe Root double ton and Dom Bess five-for in the first innings had set the stage for a victory before England got off to a wobbly start in their second essay on Sunday.
On the fifth day, England needed 36 runs to win the game, and Bairstow and Lawrence ensured Sri Lanka wasn't able to make any further inroads. Resuming the innings, England took just 9.2 overs to seal a comfortable win in the first Test.
For England, if Dom Bess had stolen the show with the ball in the first innings, Jack Leach impressed with his five-for in the second essay.
Earlier on day four, resuming the day from 156/2, Sri Lanka got off to a poor start as Lasith Embuldeniya was sent back to the pavilion on a duck.
Lahiru Thirimanne was joined by Angelo Mathews and both played brilliantly, taking the team over the 200-run mark. Thirimanne played a knock of 111 runs before Sam Curran dismissed him, reducing Sri Lanka to 210/4. Dinesh Chandimal then came out to bat but only managed to add 20 runs on the board before Dom Bess took his wicket.
Mathews completed his half-century and kept the scoreboard running but he did not get support from the other end as Sri Lanka kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Mathews too gave away his wicket after scoring 71 runs and Sri Lanka was bundled out on 359.
Brief Score: Sri Lanka 135/10 and 359/10; England 421/10 and 76/3 (Jonny Bairstow 35*, Del Lawrence 21*; Lasith Embuldeniya 2-29)
( With inputs from ANI )
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