Sangakkara makes England suffer

First Test, Kandy: Sri Lanka 188 & 442-8d v England 281 & 9-1 (day four, stumps)

England will face a tough final day in the first Test after Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara struck a majestic 152.

Dropped by Ian Bell on 98, Sangakkara became the first man in Tests to hit four 150s in as many matches before Sri Lanka finally declared on 422-8.

England lost Alastair Cook early on as they reached stumps on 9-1, needing 350 for an unlikely victory in Kandy.

Monty Panesar took 3-132, but Muttiah Muralitharan could prove a huge danger for England's batsmen on Wednesday.

In reality, their target will be to bat out the final day to keep the series all-square heading into the second Test in Colombo starting on Sunday.

But they may have to field a team without leading bowler Matthew Hoggard for that match.

The Yorkshire seamer limped out of the attack with back trouble after sending down two overs after lunch and did not re-appear.

Worryingly, Hoggard missed most of last summer's Tests with similar problems.

The day began with Sri Lanka already holding the advantage on 167-2, with Sangakkara on 30 and Mahela Jayawardene yet to score.

Kumar Sangakkara collated Test scores since July 2006 287 v South Africa, Colombo 14 & 39 v SA, Colombo 4 & 100* v NZ, Christchurch 156* & 8 v NZ, Wellington 6 v Bangladesh, Colombo 200* v B'desh, Colombo 222* v B'desh, Kandy 57 & 192 v Australia, Hobart 93 & 152 v England, Kandy

With the ball already 52 overs old and the pitch playing well, England's seamers knew they needed some luck to dislodge two of the finest batsmen to wear Sri Lankan whites.

But though James Anderson in particular bowled intelligently, fortune favoured the home team in the early exchanges as a handful of edges just evaded either the stumps or the slips.

Once Sangakkara had raised his own half-century and Jayawardene had hit the single to bring up the fifty partnership, Sri Lanka were already looking ominously strong with a lead fast approaching 150 and eight wickets still in hand.

Michael Vaughan eventually turned to Monty Panesar, but initially the pitch provided little in the way of assistance for the spinner.

Both batsmen used the crease well to increase their options and Sangakkara was soon confident enough to skip down the wicket to drive Panesar through the covers for the best shot of the day.

Vaughan initially declined the option of taking the new ball, opting for a few overs of his own spin before lunch.

Jayawardene hit him over the top for four, but there were no other signs of aggression and both batsmen looked hungry for big scores.

Finally, Hoggard returned for one over just before the interval and immediately struck with a loosener angled down the leg-side.

Jayawardene, on 65, got a faint edge and Matt Prior, standing up to the timbers, did well to cling on.

After lunch, the new ball was taken and Sangakkara moved to 95 with a wonderful drive through the covers off Anderson.

But he was suddenly afflicted by nerves and offered Bell the simplest of slip catches off Ryan Sidebottom three runs later.

The unfortunate bowler kicked the crease in anger when the chance was floored.

In the two hours between lunch and tea, 100 runs were added while Panesar took two wickets.

The Northamptonshire left-armer finally struck for the first time in the innings when umpire Asad Rauf upheld an appeal for lbw against Chamara Silva (37).

And an out-of-sorts Jehan Mubarak, who Prior should have stumped on nought, holed out to long-on for nine.

After tea, Sangakkara duly passed 150 on his home ground before fatigue finally set in and he chipped a catch to midwicket off Paul Collingwood.

By then Collingwood had also bowled Prasanna Jayawardene and there was one further cheap wicket for Panesar before the declaration was called.

Cook had fallen in Chaminda Vaas's first over on day one, and history repeated itself when the left-hander played tentatively forward to edge a comfortable catch to first slip.

Vaughan and nightwatchman Anderson somehow survived the remaining four-and-a-half overs but the dismissal had completed a nightmare day for England.

Their batsmen will sleep uneasily knowing the wicket has deteriorated considerably since Muralitharan took a record 710th wicket on Monday.

But Tuesday had belonged to Sangakkara, who has enjoyed an extraordinary run of success since handing over the wicket-keeper's gloves to Jayawardene in July 2006.

In nine Tests since then he has hit 1,529 runs in 14 innings, with two unbeaten double centuries and four centuries, two of those also unbeaten.

FOURTH ONE-DAY INTERNATIONAL, Colombo

FOURTH ONE-DAY INTERNATIONAL, Colombo:
England 212-5 bt Sri Lanka 211-9 by five wickets

England produced a fantastic display with both bat and ball to ease to a five-wicket win in Colombo and seal a first one-day series win in Sri Lanka.

James Anderson and Ryan Sidebottom were the heroes with the ball, taking three wickets apiece as Sri Lanka made 211-9.

Even a 126-run stand between Chamara Silva and Kumar Sangakkara (69) could not disguise a superb bowling effort.

And Kevin Pietersen (63no) and Alastair Cook (80) then dug deep with the bat to help England home with 19 balls left.

It put the tourists 3-1 up with one to play in the five-match series, sealing a second successive one-day international series win following their home defeat of India in September.

The result rarely looked in doubt after England shook off the disappointment of losing the toss to take crucial early wickets.

Anderson and Sidebottom have found good rhythm in the opening overs throughout the series, and the pair did not disappoint skipper Paul Collingwood again in Colombo.

Sidebottom (3-27) led the way and he had conceded just one run off the bat when he had Upul Tharanga caught at slip by Owais Shah in just his second over.

But, despite being flicked for four off his very first delivery, it was Anderson (3-33) that snared the key wickets of Sanath Jayasuriya and Mahela Jayawardene.

Jayasuriya fell looping a slower ball straight to Kevin Pietersen at mid-off, before Jayawardene lashed an attempted cut high to third man, where Stuart Broad took a good catch on the run.

They were Anderson's first wickets of the series and when he and Sidebottom had completed 13 overs between them, Sri Lanka were limping along at 25-3.

The replacement bowlers fared almost as well in the early stages, Broad, Collingwood and Graeme Swann restricting Sri Lanka's scoring with persistent line, length and some turn.

Sangakkara dug in to make his first real contribution of the series

But, despite being another slow wicket, pre-match suspicions that the pitch would yield runs to the better batsmen rang true as Sangakkara and Silva settled.

The pair dug in impressively, nudging and nurdling for ones and twos and only occasionally opening their shoulders for a boundary shot, as the hosts slowly edged towards 200.

The stand was not without scares, with Sangakkara lofting a leading edge safe off Swann.

And Ravi Bopara, in his first bowl of the series, was frustrated three times in his efforts to remove Silva - once when Phil Mustard shelled a thin edge standing up to the stumps and then when two confident lbw appeals were turned down by Rudi Koertzen.

However, just as the duo began to cut loose, Silva top-edged a wide bouncing delivery from Broad down to third man to leave the hosts 146-4 with 10 overs remaining.

The new Nottinghamshire man struck again 12 balls later when Sangakkara pulled straight to Bopara to end his 102-ball stand and Collingwood brought himself back on to remove Kaushal Lokuarachchi plumb lbw for nine.

Dilshan and Mubarak racked up a stand of 23 off three overs, before the former was bowled by Anderson, and Sidebottom wrapped up the tail to keep England's noses in front.

Chasing under lights has proved troublesome throughout this series, but a typical top-order burst from Phil Mustard suggested the pitch was better than the Sri Lankan batsmen had made it look.

The Durham keeper once again failed to capitalise on a good start, driving four boundaries before dollying a return catch to Lasith Malinga, but Cook and Ian Bell rotated the strike nicely to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

Cook top-scored with 80 to see England to an historic series victory

Bell was left cursing his choice of shot in the 20th over when he lobbed Lokuarachchi to mid-on, but after that England cruised.

Pietersen, averaging just nine on this tour before his innings, looked determined to make a score and he and Cook refused to take chances on a slow pitch.

It made for turgid viewing at times, and a short rain delay slowed the outfield even more to ensure it barely got better in the latter stages.

However, there was no denying England's application and Cook and Pietersen did what had to be done in taking the tourists to within 50 runs of victory with 11 overs remaining.

Cook had already brought up his half century by that stage - off 76 balls - and Pietersen greeted the 40th over with a welcome display of aggression, smashing the first six of the match down the ground to bring up his own 50.

He eventually registered four more boundaries with typically wristy shots in a stand of 110 with Cook, and ended unbeaten on 63 for a welcome return to form.

Even after the Essex man played on off Dilhara Fernando and was followed immediately back in the hutch by Collingwood lbw first ball, the tourists looked untroubled.

There was still time for Owais Shah to be bowled by Malinga, but Pietersen and Ravi Bopara saw England to 212-5 to secure the historic victory and send the visiting dressing room into raptures.

SECOND ONE-DAY INTERNATIONAL, Dambulla:

SECOND ONE-DAY INTERNATIONAL, Dambulla:
England 234-8 (50 overs) bt Sri Lanka 169 (44.3 overs) by 65 runs

Owais Shah's 82 and some fine bowling helped England beat Sri Lanka by 65 runs to level the one-day series 1-1.

The tourists were 61-4 and 142-6 on a slow surface but Shah worked the ball around shrewdly as they posted 234-8.

Ryan Sidebottom and Stuart Broad took two wickets each to reduce Sri Lanka to 38-4 before captain Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan put on 52.

Graeme Swann and Paul Collingwood also struck twice and despite Jehan Mubarak (44), the hosts were dismissed for 169.

It was only England's second one-day international triumph on the island - their previous one was more than 25 years ago - and just the tonic they needed after an abject surrender in Monday's opener at the same venue.

Shah will quite rightly take most of the plaudits after a brilliantly paced knock which rescued his team after the top order had failed dismally to cope with the variations in pace and length the home seamers employed, particularly Farveez Maharoof (3-30).

Alastair Cook wafted leaden-footedly to slip, Ian Bell was lbw shuffling across his crease, while Phil Mustard and Kevin Pietersen - who scratched around for 41 balls for his 12 - spooned catches off ill-judged swipes.

Captain Collingwood was never totally at ease on a sluggish pitch but he passed 1,000 ODI runs for 2007 in helping Shah lay the foundations for the recovery.

They kept the scoreboard ticking against the spinners in a partnership of 78 with a measured approach which was studded with rare boundaries.

Collingwood pulled Dilhara Fernando for England's only six in the 35th over before he was pinned in front trying to work the seamer away on the leg-side and when Ravi Bopara lost his leg-stump to part-time spinner Dilshan, the visitors were still some way short of respectability.

Shah took them there with his fourth one-day fifty and Graeme Swann's support in a stand of 70, and only a brilliant catch from Chamara Silva ended his 92-ball defiance.

Sidebottom produced an impressive opening spell to rock the hosts

It was the best score by an Englishman in a one-day international in Sri Lanka, bettering Graham Gooch's 74 in that 1982 success.

And its importance was magnified when Sidebottom and Broad extracted bounce and movement from a pitch that quickened significantly in the evening.

Upul Tharanga edged Sidebottom to Cook at second slip and Sanath Jayasuriya - playing in his 400th ODI - cracked the left-armer to Bell at cover.

Kumar Sangakkara was dropped twice by Cook at slip and Mustard before the keeper redeemed himself with a superb catch, while Silva was snapped up at backward point when a Broad delivery reared up.

England were rampant but their fires were doused by Dilshan's aggression and the composed class of Jayawardene.

The duo seized on errors in line and length from Broad and James Anderson to pick up a flurry of boundaries as their fifty partnership came up in 44 balls.

However, Swann's third ball, a vicious off-spinner, ripped through Dilshan's defences and Collingwood saw his opposite number flip him straight to mid-wicket to land two hammer blows.

The same duo worked their way through the tail and although Mubarak struck several lusty blows and Fernando (20) made his highest one-day score, nothing could take the shine off Shah and England's day.