On this day in 2021: England defeat Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka

England seemed to be on a roll in the longest format of the game in the 2020-21 season as they blanked Sri Lanka 2-0 in their own backyard on this very day in 2021 and by the virtue of this win, they ended up registering their fifth consecutive victory overseas.

Meanwhile, this was England’s second straight overseas Test series win. They had whitewashed South Africa in the three-match series played in the ‘Rainbow Nation’ in early 2020 having registered impressive wins at Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg respectively.

England register a historic series win

After an emphatic seven-wicket win in the first Test at Galle, Joe Root & Co. were upbeat heading into the series-deciding second and final Test match at the same venue which was played on January 22.

The hosts won the toss and elected to bat first. It seemed to the right decision after they posted 381 in their first innings riding on a brilliant 110 from Angelo Mathews. However, the visitors made a statement as Joe Root led from the front with a fantastic 186 that propelled them to 344.  

The Lankans seemed to be in control after the first innings. However, they could not do anything special despite enjoying a 37-run lead as the English bowlers bundled them out for a paltry 126 thereby, setting a gettable target of 164 runs.

In reply, England seemed to be in a spot of bother having being reduced to 89/4 on a difficult surface before opener Dom Sibley’s unbeaten 56 and wicketkeeper batter Jos Buttler’s impactful 46 helped them cross the finish line by six wickets to clinch the two-match series 2-0.

England Test captain Joe Root was adjudged both the Man of the Match and the Series for his outstanding batting performances. He finished the series amassing 426 runs in four innings. The 2019 World Cup winner continued his splendid run with the bat in red-ball cricket for the rest of the year and finished with 1708 runs from 15 outings including six centuries.