Sam Curran sensed Sri Lanka 'panic' as England rallied in Kandy
"You've just got to back your ability, take the risks when you need to. Joe Root has been massive in the dressing room saying 'don't worry about making mistakes'."
Thursday 15 November 2018 06:05, UK
Sam Curran says Sri Lanka "looked like they started to panic" as England rallied on day one of the second Test in Kandy.
Curran struck six sixes in an enterprising 64 to top-score for the tourists, the all-rounder dominating a 10th-wicket stand of 60 with James Anderson as England recovered from 171-7 and 225-9 to post 285 all out.
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The 20-year-old was dropped on seven and 53 but says he felt Sri Lanka became jittery earlier in the day when Jos Buttler hit 63 from 67 balls after coming to crease with his side tottering on 65-3, which became 89-4 when Rory Burns was dismissed for 43.
"Jos came in and played the way we know he can do: sweeping, reverse sweeping, running down - they looked like they started to panic a little bit," Curran said of Sri Lanka.
"It got to the stage after lunch where he was almost reverse sweeping or sweeping every ball, the field was all over the place."
Curran, whose fifty was his third in 11 Test innings, believes England now have a "nice score on the board" after his vital stand with Anderson, the Surrey youngster contributing 48 of the runs in the partnership.
"It was crucial. Getting close to 300 was massive for us," said Curran. "Me and Jimmy had quite a bit of fun out there. He was probably the one telling me to calm down and trust him.
"You've just got to back your ability, take the risks when you need to. Joe Root has been massive in the dressing room saying 'don't worry about making mistakes'. We're just trying to go out with a positive mind-set."
Jack Leach bowled Sri Lanka opener Kaushal Silva with a beauty before stumps as the hosts closed on 26-1 to trail by 259.
Curran reckons England's spinners - Leach, Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali - are going to be instrumental as they hunt a series-sealing win in Kandy.
"You saw in the evening how much it spun. The next couple of days are going to be exciting for spin bowlers and batters are going to be on their toes," he added.
"Spinners are going to have a huge role and we've got three great spinners all bowling very nicely. We have a score we're fairly happy about with the surface breaking up and cracks getting a bit bigger."
Watch day two of the second Test between Sri Lanka and England, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 4.15am on Thursday.
