England v Sri Lanka, 3rd test, Lord's Day 3 - Sri Lanka's dull batting display

Sri Lanka failed to utilize the good work of day 2 and succumbed surprisingly on day 3. They started the day at 162 for 1 and obviously you would expect them to carry on the morning session without any hassle. But sadly, five top order batsmen fell for 43 runs and definitely all your optimisms were mocking at you. Neither the English bowlers were making the ball talk nor the conditions became ideal for the pace bowlers to cash in. Let me blame the lackluster batting display. Kusal Perera and Rangana Herath proved quite handy once again and so far both of them have outsocred their top order colleagues in this series.

Nuwan Pradeep was brilliant with the ball, but I guess, he needed either Arjuna Ranatunga or Mahela Jayawardene as the captain. How can a captain not engage more slip fielders when a pace bowler is at his best? Angelo Mathews simply lost it in the last session and so was Dinesh Chandimal the loser. It’s a crime for not even attempting to catch the easiest of chances.

Thank You
Faisal Caesar