Sky Sports statistician Benedict Bermange is using a cricket simulation to play out a Virtual Test Match of the postponed series between Sri Lanka and England
Sunday 22 March 2020 14:08, UK
England will be confident of wrapping up a well-earned victory on the final day of the Virtual Test in Galle after Dom Bess' five-wicket haul left them a target of just 148 to beat Sri Lanka.
England were 16-0 stumps and require 132 runs on the final day to go 1-0 up in the two-match series.
The fourth day provided the most entertaining cricket of the match, with Sri Lanka opting to bat positively, rather than trying to block out the remaining two days.
Oshada Fernando continued where he left off in the first innings and played fluently, in stark contrast to his opening partner Dimuth Karunaratne, who had clearly set out his stall to bat as long as possible, with any run-scoring a bonus.
Fernando brought up an attractive half-century with an on-driven boundary off Stuart Broad, but Broad had the last laugh in his following over when he obtained just enough movement off the seam to clip the outside edge of Fernando, with Jos Buttler completing a tumbling catch.
Karunaratne was the next to fall, inexplicably padding up to Bess, but Angelo Mathews was soon into his stride, striking Bess for successive boundaries. That seemed to inspire Kusal Mendis, whose talent seems greater than his Test average of 36 coming in this match.
With Jack Leach bowling economically at the other end, Bess was allowed to be the more attacking bowler, which inevitably led to some gaps in the field, but there was always the threat of a wicket.
That wicket eventually came 50 minutes after lunch when Mathews became the victim of a classic left-arm spinner's delivery.
Leach pitched the ball on middle-and-leg and spun it past Mathews' attempted prod down the pitch to clip the off-bail.
Three overs later Bess removed Mendis one short of a half-century when he edged an arm ball behind, and England sensed they had a chance of keeping their fourth innings target within control.
Dhananjaya de Silva then inside-edged Bess to a gleeful Joe Root at leg-slip.
After Niroshan Dickwella edged Bess to Buttler, Root perhaps surprisingly elected to take the new ball.
Sam Curran repaid that favour with the wickets of Dinesh Chandimal - for a well-made 48 - and Dilruwan Perera - before Bess completed his five-wicket haul by trapping Vishwa Fernando lbw.
Leach dismissed Lakmal in the next over to leave England needing 148 to win.
Faced with a tricky five overs before the close, Zak Crawley and Dom Sibley played out the day without any dramas to ensure the visitors would enjoy a better night's sleep than their hosts.
