By Andrew Miller (ESPNcircinfo)- Sri Lanka 236 and 291 for 6 (Kamindu 101*, Chandimal 62*) lead England 358 (Smith 111, Brook 56, Asitha 4-102) by 169 runs
There had been some controversy overnight about the advantageous nature of a ball-change after the 41st over that allowed England’s seamers to obtain significant swing on the third evening. However, after 20 further overs of wear and tear, there was little lateral movement on show as Kamindu seized on a hint of width in Woakes’ first over to flash his first boundary of the day through point.
That set the tone for a proactive half-hour, with Chandimal following his partner’s lead as he built on his overnight 20 not out. He soon picked off two boundaries in a 13-run over off Gus Atkinson, neither of them quite timed, though the intent was plain as he focused on seizing his scoring opportunities while the ball was offering little.
The fact that Chandimal was there at all was remarkable, given the gruesome blow to the thumb that Wood had inflicted on the third afternoon. He had retired hurt on 10, but after an X-ray had given him the all-clear, returned with no ill-effects as he marched on through to a 73-ball half-century with a nudged single into the covers off Shoaib Bashir.
Ollie Pope rang the changes for England, but none of them had any answer to a burgeoning stand. Kamindu came into this contest with an average in excess of 100 after two centuries and an unbeaten 92 in his three previous Tests, and the range of his strokeplay was apparent in back-to-back boundaries off Atkinson, driven and pulled respectively, plus a ruthless eye for anything loose from the spin of Bashir.
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