Sri Lanka vs England, 2nd Test, England tour of Sri Lanka, 2018 - CommentarySL vs ENG, 2nd Test, England tour of Sri Lanka, 2018 - Commentary

Shubham: Dropping Broad, going with a variety 3-spinner bowling attack, sticking with out-of-form Jennings because he is a good player of spin and contributions from almost everyone, England have done all right. This needs to be acknowledged instead of saying that Sri Lanka is playing poor cricket.

Pranav: Which is tougher to survive: a 1st day green pitch under under clouds with Dukes ball or a 5th day turning pitch with SG or kookaburra? "Interesting question"

Ishwar: I say SL are 25 runs behind where they need to be to have a 50% chance of winning this.

Toushif: Even Test matches should consider Duckworth Lewis method or something like that. Cricket fans want results to such well poised matches. Would be disheartening if play doesn't resume at all. RAIN RAIN GO WAY, COME AGAIN SOME OTHER DAY! -- More than enough time left to get a result mate.

Shubham: Why isn't Stokes bowling? Doesn't Root remember their test match in Bangladesh when they won the thriller due to his fifer. Hit the deck bowler can be handy on the surface with uneven bounce.

VD: Angelo Mattews is really underrated in the modern cricketing world, such a good player against spin, some people say he is not as good as he used to be. For me I think he is in the top 5 for best batsmen in all formats at the moment.

Shashi Kumar: This pitch is very similar to the Dhaka pitch where Zimbabwe and Bangladesh played. Good to bat on and bowl as well. If you apply yourself here then you can score runs and win games. Mathews key to Sri Lanka.

Nikhil: Now at least, Dickwella needs to keep his aggression aside and show some patience. He needs to contribute more than what he usually does to team. Hope he will do that.

Prabhat: Amazing rescue by these two, good to see the Lankans performing quit well, moving from the 'give up' attitude they showed in the last two or three years

Ashraful islam: Why does the ball pitching outside leg go against the bowler although it hits the middle of middle ? "The LBW rule book says so"

Chirag: I hope none of these batsmen end up doing something silly. Now this game is all about patience for Sri Lanka.

Vedant: Test Cricket is losing its charm, they say. It's only a battle of temperament now and self-belief. Whichever team wilts first will lose the potentially series moving game. Can't script this any better.

MKT: Is it time already for England to start worrying? Frankly I had thought Sri Lanka would wilt under the pressure of 300, but they are showing a lot of character! "No, not this early"

AmitGoel: This looks to be one of the most balanced test match in a while. Either team can win with some application

yash bhatt: If SL some how score 50-60 odd without losing a wicket, we will have game on our hand. Great sight for Test cricket and for Sri Lanka cricket too.

Sreeja: Roshen Silva should repeat his first innings heroics to win this match.

Muhammad Azam: Sri Lankan Test team is not that bad , they have whitewashed Australia and Pakistan recently. "Post Murali, they had Herath, need someone to lift their game post-Herath now"

Smit V: I concur with @AmitVikasOak --- It just shows that the domestic cricket in SL is not able to produce quality players --- Every team undergoes a transition. Happened with Aus, Ind, Eng but they did not struggle in their home conditions, to say the least. Hope this team is not another WI in the making

AMIT VIKAS OAK: Sri Lanka had a dream run during 1996 to 2014 T-20 World Cup. In those years they were top ranked team with great players. Since 2014, they have forgot the art of winning. Some years ago they shared bench with Australia,India. Now they have joined back-benchers like Windies, Bangladesh. Very Sad. "Harsh, any team will struggle for a while after losing their legends"

Kartik: This England side looks so good even without the likes of Cook, Broad, and Bairstow.

Adhithyaa: We often criticize spinners when they aren't able to pick wickets in overseas conditions, why not pace bowlers? Disappointing series this for the number 1 ranked Test bowler.

KRISHNA MURTHY DHANAPAL: I think Foakes is doing a great job here by shielding the tail & getting runs. The lead is already enough & he is cementing his place in the England Test team.. Great job, way to go!

SKB: I think 260+ is enough for England to trouble the batsmen and win the game.

Vikas: England are good in ODIs so they thought to play Tests as ODIs too.

Nithin TS: SL needs 2-3 quick wickets to stay alive in the series. 70-80 more runs and England will be in driver's seat. Anything in excess of 200 is very difficult to chase given the quality of SL batting of late.

Li: You have to love Dickwella's appeals, they are spectacular. -- Enjoy.

Sandesh: Root has to start converting starts into big hundreds if he wants to get into the ranks of Kohli and Smith. -- He's there already.

Sanjay Deshwalee: Anything above 170 could be enough for Sri Lankan batsmen.

claw: This session's CB commentator is clearly a big fan of Ebony Maw (Infinity war) not one but two is really a good one. Can I know you name sir? -- Nikhil.

Sreeshailam G: SL should introduce De Silva to see how Burns and Jennings go about him! -- Here you go..

Kartik: Jennings looks much more composed and confident in subcontinent conditions.

Bharat: England did not start with 5/0? -- No. Those 5 runs were added to their first innings total.

Unicorn: Sri Lanka will make English Batsman dance on this pitch in the third innings and score will crawl to 91/6. Then Mr. Sam Curran will come and spoil the party for Lankans like he did for Indians couple of months ago. Eventually he will be MoM and England will be 2-0 up. "That's some brave prediction"

Arun: Both teams were 165/6 but lower order bailed them out..Then Sam Curran, now Roshen Silva. Terrific batting

Vijay: Roshen Silva has been very effective since his debut. Solid and thus adding value to the lower order with his batting skills. "Well, he is in the team as a specialist batsman"

Satya Manikanta: When runs are becoming harder to come on this wicket and treated as gold, what a foolish thing from Silva to deliberately not put bat on the ground.They not only lost a chance of scoring 2 runs but ended up conceding 5 runs as penalty, thereby losing 7 valuable runs

VEERESH VERMA: Now they are getting a taste of their own medicine.

Mayank: Everyone is talking about England's lower order but Sri Lanka's lower order is also doing a terrific job rescuing their team from 165/6, might even take a first-innings lead

Dan: You guys really need a section to show the number of DRS reviews left. "We are working on that"

Vigshri: Sto(a)kes, Woakes, Foakes, looks like England has found its Opposition Po(a)kes Formula !!

modem: If Bairstow makes into the playing XI in the third test, who will make way for him? It would really be harsh on Ben Foakes given his super impressive first 2 tests. "Blame his football for England's predicament"

Sandesh: Foakes in only his second match seems composed and confident in giving his opinion on the DRS. It is very important to have a composed wicket-keeper in taking DRS decisions.

Theo: Credit to Root for sticking with Rashid. He was having trouble finding his line and length, and proving a little expensive in the beginning. Good captaincy.

Vijay: Okay so you don't bring Stokes to bowl, "He will do it with his fielding". "He's now bowling as well"

Anil: It does not matter for Rashid whether he plays white ball or red ball cricket, the economy remains the same.. he is very consistent

Saurabh: Pitch has eased out or these two are batting well? "It's just the second day and on any pitch, it should still be a decent batting surface"

Rahul: Pretty poor bowling by England this morning - far too loose so far.

Sourav Bhatia: @Hash - I wouldn't be surprised if they found a wicket-keeper who can bowl!

Hash: It seems all all rounders of the world are in England team only. Even on bench you have Woakes and Willey. My God they have so many that they can make team of 10 all-rounders and a wicket-keeper.

Anupam Kumar Sinha: England team have a leg spinner, off spinner and a left arm spinner. Foot marks and cracks will be exploited by the English Spinners.

Shikhar: It is hard to fathom that someday Broad would have to struggle to break through the playing XI. Undoubtedly he is Eng's #2 bowler, and better than Curran. But his bowling prowess has to bow down to Curran's batting, which is not even the youngster's primary cricketing skill.

Vamsi: Seems this young lad, Sam Curran, doesn't even having an idea of taking rest. Batted more than 2 hours and immediately rolling his hands. Unbelievable Talent!!

Sandeep: Really love watching Curran batting. At such a young age he plays with so much maturity. ENG should really look after him. He is an asset for future english cricket.

Sandesh: I don't think England should change Curran's batting position. He is a natural at that position and bats well with the tail. England need him at that position.

Sumant Kumar: How about Sam Curran at no. 3 for England. His batting credentials look solid enough.

AMIT VIKAS OAK: Whenever there is damage for England there is always Sam 'Cure'n

manishraojoginipalli: For every England batting collapse there is a Sam Curran.!!

steve perera: Well the weather has been acting good for Tests at least in Sri Lanka.

Vijay: I like England's batting unit, even the number 9 batsman will play and make a handsome contribution to the scorecard. I believe the 7, 8, 9 positions make them very stronger in Tests.

Naddy: Poor captaincy! Why you spread your field when no. 8 and 9 are batting, you must attack. Captains these days are very defensive

Sriharsha M: Pushpakumara played his debut against India last year and it has been a while since then but has been good so far. Not as a perfect foil like Hearth. Still a long way to go.

Sarvesh: Sam 'Saviour' Curran is here!

Palash: Even though England are five down, the real test for Sri Lankans starts now, this lower middle-order has been the difference in the India series and in the first Test here as well!!

Ravindra: Might be too early to say this, but would like to say Jos B as the next ABD!!! He is consistent and scores runs in tricky situations.

Lucky: Sri Lanka can't afford another innings like Foakes or Jennings played in the first Test, they need to bowl England below 250 to make something out of it. Remember, they will be batting 4th here.

Pratik: @jazx If Rayudu passes the Aus and NZ test, he is on board for no.4 spot for India. As far as Eng is concerned they need to stick with one player for a fair amount of time, just like they stuck with Jennings, constant changes won't help them! Personally I feel Root is the best man at that position..

Abhishek: Buttler has taken his game to a whole new level.

jazx: India's no.4 in ODIs and England's no.3 in Tests - both finds seem to be never ending. India need to find it before World Cup while England need to do so before Ashes.

Shubham: The England management tries Stokes and Moeen at 3 who walk back to the pavilion early thereby negating the advantage for Root of having to come to the crease early. It's more of a mental block for Root and he's the only suitable candidate in this lineup for No.3.

Waseem: The best day to bat in Subcontinent in a test match is the first day, and looks that England is loosing the advantage of winning the toss, Root should have played more carefully.

Ramesh Srinivas: Sri Lanka will be happier with this track - not a slow turner. But they'll be dreading having to bat fourth on this.

Palash: Not Sure it was a great idea to send Stokes at No.3, he is a stroke-maker should come at 5-6. The No.3 position is for a sheet anchor.

PR: Stokes has been one of my favourite all-rounder in recent times. I just love his passion and intensity. His defence is pretty good as well as his attack which is required for a top order, hope he succeeds at no.3.

Prateek: Nice and bold decision by England to stick with Foakes and not play Bairstow. Rarely teams go for talent over experience.

nikhil: What's the latest update on Akila Dananjaya? -- He can continue bowling till he undergoes the test, which should be taken within 14 days of being reported.

mayank: I think Bairstow should have got a chance in place of either of the pacers because they have the option of bowling Stokes.

Commentary not available for this match