SL VS ENG - 2nd Test, England tour of Sri Lanka, 2021

Be warned India, this new England are on a rampage. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, find a way to keep slipping lower just when you thought they'd hit rock bottom. So Joe Root pockets another trophy, and he'll have to do it alone this time without the team's celebrations on the ground. That's what Covid's done to these series ends. Nevertheless, it was fun bringing this to you, as I, Vineet Anantharaman, sign off on behalf of Raju Peethala and Nikhil Jadhav. Until the minefield that is Chepauk, and spitting cobras, ta ta!!

Joe Root | Winning captain | MoM | MoS: It was a fine performance to come out on top after having lost the toss. We had the worst part of the wicket for most part and that speaks of the guys' determination. From Sibley and Buttler, to see us home was a brilliant way to finish the series. We wanted to create some chaos with the ball and make it difficult for them to score boundaries, and we're glad we did that. There were certainly some difficult balls to deal with. But what I am proud of is how calm we were in the chase. Credit to the bowlers as well to make it difficult for them. We are on an upward curve as a team. To do well with very little preparation has been very pleasing. In four more Tests in these conditions, there will be different pitches and different conditions, but we need to keep moving forward. We want to improve in all departments, that's what we are chasing. We want to get more consistent, and we have made some strides forward in these two matches and just want to keep doing that. It is always hard to look past this win as my best, a lot of good things to take forward.

Dinesh Chandimal | Losing captain: We were outplayed today. We did all the hard work over the last three days, but as a batting unit we made the same mistakes we made in the first Test on the first day. We need to learn to bat like Root. We need to be patient with the bat. We did well in patches, but it isn't good enough against a team like England. Credit to them, they did really well. Even I didn't understand the collapse. I played a rash shot, so I take the responsibility. But nobody in our lineup took responsibility. A score of 250 would have been good on this wicket. Going forward we need to learn how to bat with patience. But the guys will learn moving forward. Embuldeniya was outstanding throughout the series. He is doing all the hardwork at practice and he always asks how he could improve with the bat and the ball. He is going to be an asset for us going forward. I am really disappointed with the way I batted. I have to learn from my mistakes and I will come back strong.

Dominic Sibley: It was nice to spend some time at the crease as I was just trying to build a partnership. I worked hard on playing spin during the winter in England. Had some luck with the review. Watching Joe, the way he has played in this series, it has been incredible. I have changed a couple of things about myself during this series, it takes a lot of courage to do few of these things. Just trying to work it out. Jos (Buttler) plays at a higher tempo and he took the pressure off me (during that partnership). It's a good win. Let's see what happens against India with a lot of guys coming back in. But scoring some runs has obviously taken some pressure off.

17:17 Local Time: 2021: England 2, Sri Lanka 0. 2019: England 3, Sri Lanka 0. And this new England under Joe Root continues to march along. It really was brewing into one proper nail-biter at Tea, but Buttler, like he always does, walked in, did his bit, and again, like it always happens, the opposition lost half an hour before they actually lost. So here's what happened today -- Sri Lanka gained a vital 37-run-lead. They batted as though they were out to chase down 500 in a single session, crumbled, collapsed, threw their wickets away. Embuldeniya, when he wasn't picking wickets for fun, scored a 40 for fun, giving himself a total could bowl at. Crawley got squared up as usual. Bairstow was over-positive as usual. Root shockingly found a way to get out on this tour without running himself out. And just when there was a sniff of a thriller, Sibley shut down one end, Buttler smashed them around. And that was that.

Dilruwan Perera to Sibley, 1 run .. 1-1, and that's it, no more runs left. It's officially a clean sweep, as Sibley - typically - very politely tucks it into mid-wicket

Dilruwan Perera to Buttler, 1 run .. 2-1, and Buttler miscues a reverse-sweep backward of point

Dilruwan Perera to Sibley, 1 run, dabbed away delicately, down to third man. 3-1

Embuldeniya to Sibley, 1 run, short, a back-foot knock, long-on

Embuldeniya to Buttler, 1 run, short, Buttler rolls his wrists on this cut, keeping it along the ground to deep point

Embuldeniya to Buttler, no run, yorker, flat, quick, on middle. Squeezed

Embuldeniya to Buttler, FOUR, yep, yep, he's just the perfect anti-Sibley. He's forever in a hurry, stretching out on a sweep to drag this away whippily through mid-wicket

Embuldeniya to Sibley, 3 runs, paddles, getting across early and tickling it extremely fine. Into single digits now

Embuldeniya to Sibley, no run, he just won't hurry up. Stays compact, blocking them some more

Dilruwan Perera to Buttler, no run, back, soft-handing this tuck off his thighs to leg-gully

Dilruwan Perera to Buttler, no run, back, across, glancing around with the spin

Dilruwan Perera to Sibley, 1 run, nudges again, this time through square leg. And after three DRS umpire's calls in his favour Sibley has himself a fifty. Surely his most favourite so far ..

Dilruwan Perera to Sibley, no run, another nudge, off the feet now, but leg-gully dives in the way of it

Dilruwan Perera to Sibley, no run, full again, wristing it out to short mid-wicket

Dilruwan Perera to Sibley, no run, shuffles, crouches behind the line, defensive