Spinners Take 38 Out of 40 Wickets During Sl vs Eng 2nd Test to Create New World Record
It was England who emerged victorious in the spin dominated Test match at Pallekele.
During the second Test between Sri Lanka and England at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy, the spinners from both the teams combined to create a new world record. Out of 40 wickets to fell across five days, spinners claimed 38. This is now the most wickets taken by spinners in a Test match surpassing the previous record of 37 wickets during an India vs New Zealand Test match 1969. Apparently, this is the first instance of spinners taking 38 wickets in a Test history. SL vs ENG 2nd Test Full Scorecard
Both England and hosts Sri Lanka fielded three frontline spinners each. While Adil Rashid, Jack Leach, and Moeen Ali did the spin duties for England, for the home side, Dilruwan Perera, Akila Dananjaya and Malinda Pushpakumara took the field for the same role. Both England and Sri Lanka used the services of part-time spinners Joe Root and Dhananjaya de Silva respectively. While Dhananjaya de Silva failed to pick any wicket, England skipper managed to scalp one.
The remaining two wickets fell courtesy of a fast-bowler and a run-out. Sri Lankan stand-in captain Suranga Lakmal was the only pacer to take a wicket from both the teams while opener Dimuth Karunaratne was run-out. On the other hand, England fast-bowlers went wicket-less and this is only the third instance that England have won a Test with pacers claiming no wickets. England tour of Sri Lanka, 2018 – Schedule & Results
Breakdown of Wickets Taken by Spinners
| Spinner | Overs | Runs | Wickets |
| Dilruwan Perera (SL) | 45.2 | 157 | 7 |
| M Pushpakumara (SL) | 50 | 190 | 4 |
| Akila Dananjaya (SL) | 39 | 195 | 8 |
| Jack Leach (ENG) | 57 | 153 | 8 |
| Moeen Ali (ENG) | 44 | 157 | 6 |
| Adil Rashid (ENG) | 39 | 127 | 4 |
| Joe Root (ENG) | 13 | 41 | 1 |
| Total | 38 | ||
Most Wickets by Spinners in a Test Match
| Wickets | Match | Venue | |
| 38 | SL vs ENG | Pallekele | 2018 |
| 37 | IND vs NZ | Nagpur | 1969 |
| 35 | IND vs AUS | Kolkata | 1956 |
| 35 | IND vs PAK | Bengaluru | 1987 |
It was England who emerged victorious in the spin dominated Test match at Pallekele. And with that sealed the series 2-0 with one match to go. Meanwhile, this was England’s first series win in Sri Lanka since 2001. This also happens to be England’s first away series win in Asia since beating India in 2012-13. For Root, this is the first away Test series win as a captain. Interestingly, this is England's first away series victory since beating South Africa in 2015-16.
Root was adjudged man of the match after his impressive century in England’s second innings. The visitors won the opening Test at Galle by a margin of 211 runs and now walked away with the honours by 57 runs. The third and last Test takes place at Colombo from November 23 onwards.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 18, 2018 06:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).