ROOT TON PLANTS ENGLAND ON STEADY GROUND

Joe Root’s second century in the subcontinent helped England consolidate their position in the second Test against Sri Lanka at the Pallekele Stadium in Kandy yesterday. When rain brought an early end to the third day’s play 15 overs from stumps, England sat on 324 for nine having built up a lead of 278 – already tricky territory for the hosts in terms of a target to level the series.

What they will chase will be properly defined only once Ben Foakes, unbeaten on 51, or James Anderson, on four, is dismissed when play resumes today.

Spinner Akila Dananjaya produced career-best, albeit expensive, figures but that could prove to be nothing more than a footnote in this match if Root’s century turns out to be the match winning contribution in this Test.

Whether this will be the last seen of Dananjaya for a while will depend on the veracity and scope of the suspicions about his bowling action, but his six wickets for 109 runs at least ensured there was a steady plucking of wickets at one end.

Root celebrated his 15th Test century with a leap and a fist pump, having taken a aggressive approach in building his innings to add to the only other century he has scored in Asia against India in Rajkot two years ago.

It may just prove to be one of his most important centuries, if it results in his earning his first series win away from home as captain.

His innings proved to be a masterclass in how to handle spin, an ability that seems to have eluded some of Sri Lanka’s batsmen, as he swept, drove and cut, all while using his feet well and rotating strike frequently.

Root’s best work was arguably in the hour after lunch, where both teams were just about on equal footing after Sri Lanka had taken two quick wickets, of Rory Burns and Ben Stokes in the space of five balls before the break.

He scored 50 of the 76 runs England piled on in that period of play, as the visitors’ separation from the hosts became more pronounced.

Having struck three boundaries in his first 26 runs, he added another in the fourth over after the lunch when he swept Malinda Pushpakumara for four, and then carved the same bowler for another four, six overs later, to bring himself a run within a fifty.

Root added two more boundaries and a six in that first hour, and carried on the high tempo at which England started their innings, scoring at more than four and a half runs an over at that point. His next 24 runs came off 34 balls, as he reached his century with his eighth boundary, scoring as many runs before he ultimately became Dananjaya’s fourth victim.

Root found a partner in Foakes, one of the heroes for England in the first Test, to post England’s most productive partnership, of 82, with the wicketkeeper striking three boundaries and a six in his unbeaten score.

England had stuck to a tried and tested formula of relying on all forms of sweeps shots to pile up runs, but the shot also brought the downfall, with the first seven wickets lost to some variation of the sweep.

Jack Leach was the first man out when he missed a sweep and was adjudged leg-before wicket to Dilruwan Perera, before Keaton Jennings, reverse swept Dananjaya to Dhananjaya de Silva at first slip.

Burns looked fluent, also showing an aggressive approach to bring up his first Test half century but fell to Pushpakumara also attempting a cross batted shot.

A similar dismissal, but to Perera, saw Stokes given out the next over, and between those two wickets England had wasted their reviews, with England pegged back to 131 for four at lunch.

A 74-run fourth-wicket partnership between Root and Jos Buttler had stymied Sri Lanka’s progress after lunch, before Dananjaya bowled Buttler missing a sweep.

Dananjaya returned to break a Root-moeen Ali partnership 36 runs later, before breaking England’s most productive partnership of 82 between Root and Foakes, with the total on 301 for seven.

He removed Sam Curran in the next ball, and then had

Adil Rashid out leg before wicket.