England triumph, retain top spot in Test rankings
Colombo, April 7: Off- spinner Graeme Swann completed a career- best 10- wicket match haul and Kevin Pietersen hit an aggressive 42 not out to propel England to an eight- wicket win that levelled the series 1- 1 on the final day of the second cricket Test against Sri Lanka on Saturday.
The win ensured that the tourists also retained their no. 1 Test ranking. Set 94 runs to win over two sessions, England started their innings poorly but reached the target in the middle session with the loss of two wickets at the P. Sara Oval.
Sri Lanka opted to bowl spinners with the new ball and Tillakaratne Dilshan bowled out England captain Andrew Strauss in the first over with no runs on the board.
Rangana Herath trapped Jonathan Trott lbw with the total on 31. However, Alastair Cook and Pietersen steered their team to victory without further loss. Pietersen continued his aggressive batting from his 151 in the first innings to score 41 from 28 balls to hasten the victory. His second spell included four boundaries and two sixes and he was awarded player of the match.
Cook hit six boundaries for his 49 runs that came off 69 balls. Swann took six wickets to end Sri Lanka’s second innings on 278. Swann finished the second innings with figures of 6/ 106 for a match haul of 10/ 181. The victory extended England’s stay as the topranked Test nation. A loss or even a draw would have promoted South Africa to top spot.
“We were all under a bit of pressure going into the game to make sure that we show that we learned some lessons over the four test matches,” England captain Andrew Strauss said. “I am really delighted by the way we played. “Graeme Swann showed his real value to the side once again. Kevin ( Pietersen) in particular took the game away from the opposition in the way that only he can,” said Strauss.