New Delhi: England pacer Mark Wood showcased his remarkable bowling skills on the first day of the first Test match against Sri Lanka at Manchester. Sri Lanka are in England for a three-match Test series after emerging victorious against India in the ODI series and will be keen on continuing their winning form.
Meanwhile, after opting to bat first, the visitors could not control their batting as they had expected and kept on losing wickets at regular intervals. England dominated the first two sessions of the day with Sri Lanka losing as many as 8 wickets under a score of 200 runs when Tea was called. England pace spearhead Wood showcased his class by delivering a stunning 93mph delivery to get rid of Lankan batter Kusal Mendis.
Wood comes charging in 16th over
Till the 16th over of the match, the victors had lost three quick wickets and the players on the crease – Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal were trying hard to restore the balance to a certain extent and they had been successful. But Wood was in a different mood altogether as he came charging to dismiss Mendis for 24 off 34 balls with a ripper.
The delivery, angling towards off-stump, left Mendis in two minds. His attempt to fend it away failed, as the ball rocketed off his bottom thumb and flew directly towards Harry Brook at second slip. Brook made no mistake, completing a straightforward catch without having to move an inch.
Watch the video
Pace like 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Md8gctJsTr
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 21, 2024
England bowlers dominated at the Old Trafford, Manchester as they ripped through the Sri Lanka batting attack to leave them clueless in front of the hosts. Apart from Wood who took a lone wicket, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson and Shoaib Bashir too contributed in the damage picking 3, 2 and 2 wickets respectively to leave the visiting side tottering at 178/8 at Tea.
Mark Wood bowled an unplayable delivery to get rid of Kusal Mendis on the first day of the first Test against Sri Lanka. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
