ICC World Test Championship points table (Updated) as on January 25th
Sri Lanka suffered their fifth consecutive loss in the ICC World Test Championship as England defeated the hosts by six wickets in Galle. Joe Root led his side from the front and deservedly won the Man of the Series award.
Unlike the first Test, Sri Lanka made a strong start against England in the second game at the Galle International Stadium. Angelo Mathews scored a century while Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella, and Dilruwan Perera registered a fifty each as Sri Lanka posted 381 runs on the board.
Surprisingly, none of the English spinners could take any wickets in the first innings. Veteran fast bowler James Anderson scalped six wickets and Mark Wood supported him with a three-wicket haul. Sam Curran picked up the last wicket of the innings.
Lasith Embuldeniya then reduced the visitors to 5/2. Skipper Joe Root came to the team's rescue with a phenomenal 186-run knock. He continued his excellent form after a double century in the last game. Jos Buttler backed him up with a patient 55 as England conceded a 37-run first-innings lead despite Lasith's 7-wicket haul.
The Sri Lankan side suffered a collapse in the second innings. They had played the spinners well in the first innings. However, they lost all their wickets to the trio of Dom Bess, Jack Leach, and Root in the second innings.
Number ten batsman Embuldeniya top-scored with a 42-ball 40. However, his teammates could aggregate only 82 runs and England received a 164-run target. Embuldeniya bowled his heart out in the final innings and completed his ten-wicket match haul. However, Dom Sibley's half-century and Jos Buttler's 48-ball 46* ensured an England victory with six wickets in hand.
Here's a look at the updated ICC World Test Championship points table after the SL v ENG series.
ICC World Test Championship points table
England became the first team to record ten wins in the ICC World Test Championship. They are in the fourth position with 68.7% points. Meanwhile, Sri Lankan stayed in the seventh spot with 16.7% points despite losing the two Tests against England.
Joe Root's men will play their last ICC World Test Championship series against India next month. The IND v ENG will decide the two finalists of the tournament.