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England secured a win over Sri Lanka in the second Test match at Pallekele, sealing a first series victory in the nation for 17 years in the process.
After such a dominant four-day victory in Galle, England were pushed to a tense fifth day at Pallekele but nipped any prospect of drama in the bud by cleaning up the hosts' final three wickets in just 31 minutes on Sunday morning.
Show all 11 1 /11Player ratings: England vs Sri Lanka second Test Player ratings: England vs Sri Lanka second Test Joe Root - 10 Root had enjoyed a good series as a skipper without truly finding success with the bat but that all changed in the second innings at Pallekele with a Man of the Match knock of 124 that set Sri Lanka a target they would never reach. Interestingly, Root was also England’s fastest run-scorer, boasting a strike rate north of 75.
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Player ratings: England vs Sri Lanka second Test Rory Burns - 9 The Surrey opener has had about as good of a debut series as you can have without scoring a century. On the first day of the second Test his 43 felt as good as a ton, so difficult were conditions, and to watch him get 50 in the second dig was to watch a player whose mentality and grit will see them become an England mainstay. England’s new opener.
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Player ratings: England vs Sri Lanka second Test Keaton Jennings - 9 Jennings’ weird dichotomy of struggling against pace and thriving against spin is always going to be peculiar for an opening batsman but in these conditions it was obviously just what England needed. Halted at 146* when England declared in Galle, Jennings could have gone on to make a monster score. As things stand, he’s reasserted his grip on the number two spot in this batting order.
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Player ratings: England vs Sri Lanka second Test Moeen Ali - 8 Ali is England’s leading wicket-taker and their most dangerous bowler, according to strike rate. The move up to number three didn’t really work out and only James Anderson has fewer runs than Moeen at this stage of the series but his work with the ball has ensured that his halo doesn’t slip.
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Player ratings: England vs Sri Lanka second Test Ben Stokes - 7 Possibly England’s premier match-winner is one of very few players not to have contributed a truly dominant moment over the series but there have been flashes with the bat and in the field, where his run out of Dilmuth Karunaratne took a crucial wicket when England really needed one.
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Player ratings: England vs Sri Lanka second Test Jos Buttler - 8 With the gloves taken off him, Buttler can only be judged as a batsman and his performances were more than impressive enough to justify his untouchable status in this team. The counter-attacking 63 on day one of the Pallekele Test was his peak but he never scored below 34 in four innings. Useful, dependable runs.
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Player ratings: England vs Sri Lanka second Test Ben Foakes - 10 Not originally deemed good enough for the squad, Foakes’ impeccable glovework earned him a place in the team only because of how difficult the conditions promised to be. All talk of him being a specialist keeper included over a keeper-batsman was made to look like utter nonsense after two Tests as he sits as England’s top runscorer. The debut ton at Galle was one of the best overseas knocks of the 21st century by an England player.
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Player ratings: England vs Sri Lanka second Test Sam Curran - 8 Curran’s ability to produce game-changing wickets or innings at such a young age continues to confound. The Surrey all-rounder has established himself as a virtually undroppable part of this team at just 20 and while there wasn’t much for him with the ball - just one wicket, in fact - the explosive 64 at Pallekele was world-class batting.
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Player ratings: England vs Sri Lanka second Test Adil Rashid - 7 Rash played third-fiddle of the spinners but took some important wickets and produced valuable cameos with the bat. As ever, the Yorkshireman was inconsistent but capable of the sublime.
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Player ratings: England vs Sri Lanka second Test Jack Leach - 9 Leach has 13 wickets across the two Tests so far at the best average of any bowler in the series, and yet he’d admit that he could have bowled better at times. The Somerset twirler has established himself as England’s best spinner and his control allowed Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid to attack, as they do best.
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Player ratings: England vs Sri Lanka second Test James Anderson - 8 His bowling was rarely used on two spinning surfaces but he contributed some hugely important runs with the bat - adding 101 with Sam Curran and Ben Foakes across both innings at Pallekele - which played an underrated part in this series win.
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It meant a significant series win for Joe Root as a captain and batsman, with his century playing a key role in putting the game beyond Sri Lanka.
So with only a dead rubber remaining and the possibility of personnel changes to come, how did England's players rate out of 10 for their contributions in a historic series win on the sub-continent?
Check out our player ratings in the gallery above.
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