After getting bowled out for less than one fifty thrice in a row, there was a willingness from the Sri Lankan batsmen to approach the batting differently in the second innings of the second test match against England.

The opener Kaushal Silva, who had been doing nothing else than offering the dead bat to the red cherry in the previous innings, was instead trying to be busy this time around looking for singles to disallow the bowler to set him up.

Positioning himself slightly outside the crease and then, getting a full forward stride from there, he was reaching the balls on the half volley more times than not and thus, playing his drives without too much of danger.

Of course, when you play like that, the bumpers are never too far away and Silva too had to counter that as the English quickies shortened the length to him often, but, everything was left alone from that length until the time a Steven Finn delivery eventually got a little too big and did him. However, the fighting fifty from the short heighted right hander was a tempo setting innings for Sri Lanka.

Thereafter, the skipper Mathews, who had been seen animatedly discussing the strategies with the coach and also, the chairman of selectors in the players’ balcony in the morning, took the fight further with his game plan of attacking England’s spinner Moeen Ali. However, just when he was closing in on his second test match hundred in England, Anderson, with a peach, got him nicked off to dent the visitors.

Dinesh Chandimal, Mathews’ deputy who had been pushed down to 6, however held the fort for the rest of the third session along with the debuting all-rounder Malinda and with the third half century of the innings, got Sri Lanka to pass 300.