England's Smith, Root, and Woakes Lead Team to Victory Over Valiant Sri Lanka by 5 Wickets

Manchester [UK]: Hosts England claimed a hard-fought victory over Sri Lanka in the first Test match at Manchester, thanks to stellar performances from Joe Root, Chris Woakes, and Jamie Smith. The trio's power-packed efforts led England to a five-wicket win over the resilient Sri Lankan team.

England take a 1-0 lead in two-match series.

SL won the toss and opted to bat first.

Struggling at 113/7, it was knocks from skipper Dhananjaya de Silva and Milan Rathnayake that pushed SL to 236/10. Silva and Rathnayake had a 63 run partnership for the eighth wicket, followed by a fifty-run stand between Rathnayake and Vishwa Fernando .

Crhis Woakes and Shoaib Bashir were the top bowlers for England.

Despite a poor start and a tricky score of 67/3, fine performances from middle order batters Joe Root , Harry Brook , centurion Jamie Smith helped England attain a lead of 122 runs as they were bundled out for 358 runs.

Root and Brook shared a 58-run fourth wicket partnership, while Jamie was involved in half-century stand with Brook, Woakes and Gus Atkinson, with his stand alongside Atkinson being a standout one of worth 66 runs for seventh wicket.

Ashitha Fernando and Prabhat Jayasuriya delivered fine spells for Sri Lanka.

In their second innings, SL once again found themselves in a troublesome position, with the score reading 95/4.

However, veterans Angelo Matthews , Dinesh Chandimal formed a 78-run partnership to push SL towards a lead. Later, keeping his fine form, Kamindu Mendis slammed his second Test ton in five innings, scoring 113 in 183 balls, with 15 fours and a six. SL put up a total of 326/10, giving them a respectable lead of 204 runs. It was Kamindu's 117-run partnership for the seventh wicket with Chandimal that pushed SL beyond the 300-run mark.

Woakes and Matthew Potts took fine three wickets each to lead England bowling charts.

In reply, England was in a tight position at 70/3. However, Root's calm and composed half-century and solid contributions from Brook and Smith took England to a five wicket win.

Smith took home 'Player of the Match' award for his century and fine efforts behind the stumps.

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