England level test series against Sri Lanka
England won a controversy-ridden second test against Sri Lanka on Sunday, scraping home by three wickets on a tense final day to level the three-match series.
England, chasing 161 in their fourth innings, reached their target shortly after lunch as all-rounder Craig White hit the winning run.
Nasser Hussain punched the air in delight on the pavilion balcony before walking on to the pitch to shake the hands of the Sri Lankan players, in a clear show of reconciliation after an acrimonious contest.
"It was a good game of cricket, we weren't sure until the final runs," Hussain said.
"Even with two needed, we were nervous. With Muttiah Muralitharan bowling on a pitch like that, wickets can go down one after the other.
"It's probably the most nervous day we've had as a team."
The touring team, resuming on 91 for four, lost Alec Stewart with only six runs added as left-arm pace bowler Chaminda Vaas claimed his fourth wicket.
It was yet another borderline decision, one of several by home umpire B.C. Cooray during the match, as the ball appeared to pitch outside the leg stump.
Graeme Hick, dropped behind on two off Sanath Jayasuriya's left-arm spin, added a couple of fine cover-driven boundaries but then fell for 16 to a poor shot, bowled by Jayasuriya as he played across the line with England still 39 short.
The tension mounted further as nightwatchman Robert Croft was dismissed leg before by Kumar Dharmasena's off-spin after a stubborn 17 spanning almost two hours.
White, however, teamed up with left-arm spinner Ashley Giles to knock off the 19 runs still needed.
White made his lunch more palatable with a fine cover drive off Dharmasena to leave the touring side nine shy.
DRAMA NOT OVER
The drama, however, was not over.
White edged in the air for four between wicketkeeper and first slip after lunch and, with three still needed, the Sri Lankans then blundered a clear run-out chance, wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara breaking the wicket with his leg rather than the ball with Giles yards short.
Sri Lankan captain Jayasuriya, given a four-match ban for dissent following his second-innings dismissal, congratulated England before regretting the match controversies.
"We have to avoid these things," he said.
White ended on 24 not out, while the man-of-the-match award went to England pace bowler Darren Gough, who took eight wickets ovreall and also featured in a 41-run last-wicket stand in the first innings.
The game, like the first test in Galle, has been riddled with questionable umpiring decisions, leading to shows of dissent and several flashpoints between the sides.
On Saturday, match referee Hanumant Singh, after handing out several fines and suspended bans, issued a "final warning" to both teams over their behaviour.
The trouble, however, did not mask some fine cricket from both sides, Mahela Jayawardene and Hussain scoring centuries while Sangakkara's 95 in the second innings reignited home hopes after they had been reduced to 98 for six on Friday, just eight runs ahead.
The third test in Colombo starts on Thursday.
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