Lahiru Thirimanne's second Test ton leads Sri Lankan fightback

Led by Lahiru Thirimanne's second Test century, Sri Lanka continued their fightback at the Galle International Stadium and reduced the deficit to 44 runs following another session of defiant play.

After losing nightwatchman Lasith Embuldeniya early, for a duck, on Sunday, Thirimanne and Angelo Mathews put on a half-century stand for the fourth wicket to eat into the 130-run lead that England held at the end of third day's play. While Mathews preferred a more conservative approach to his run-making, Thirimanne was quick to latch onto the short-pitched deliveries and score off them.

The English spinners - Dom Bess and Jack Leach - provided ample scoring opportunities, yet again erring in their lengths more often than they would have liked. The southpaw's century too came by rocking back on his crease and cutting the delivery past the backward square region for a boundary. There were times when the ball caught the edge and lobbed up but there wasn't a possible wicket-taking opportunity available for the fielders.

However, the second new ball brought England the much-needed breakthrough as Sam Curran got a delivery to nip back in and took the inside edge of Thirimanne's bat en route the wicketkeeper to end his five hour-stay on 111. With that, the fourth wicket alliance was also broken on 52.

Dinesh Chandimal, who walked out to bat at No 6, didn't look at his comfortable best as the England pacers had him slightly troubled with the little movement on offer. A couple of edges ran for boundaries, yet the stand-in skipper didn't hold back on his flourishes and drives. He picked some quick runs and helped the hosts to 242 for 4 at Tea. He went to the break in the company of Mathews, who remained unbeaten on an 86-ball 30.

Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 135 (Dinesh Chandimal 28, Angelo Mathews 27; Dom Bess 5-30, Stuart Broad 3-20) & 242/4 (Lahiru Thirimanne 111; Kusal Perera 62; Sam Curran ) trail England 421 (Joe Root 228, Dan Lawrence 73; Dilruwan Perera 4-129, Lasith Embuldeniya 3-176) by 44 runs.