England vs Sri Lanka Tests January 2021: England Win 2-0 at Galle — Root 228 and 186 Consecutive Tests, Bess 5/30 and Leach 5/122 (First England Spinner Pair Since 1982), Anderson 6/40 (Oldest Pacer 5-For in Asia), Embuldeniya 7/137

England won both Tests of the January 2021 series in Sri Lanka by 2-0, both played at Galle International Stadium. Joe Root was Player of the Series with 426 runs across the series. 1st Test Galle (Jan 14-18): England won by 7 wickets — SL 135 & 359; ENG 421 & 76/3. Root scored 228 (Player of the Match) — the first Test double century by an England batsman in Sri Lanka, and the innings that made him the first England captain to score multiple double hundreds in Test cricket. Dan Lawrence made his Test debut, scoring 73 (in 150 balls) in the 1st innings — he was the first England debutant to pass fifty in their first innings since Ben Foakes's debut century at Galle in November 2018 — adding a 173-run 5th-wicket stand with Root. Dom Bess took 5/30 in Sri Lanka's 1st innings — among the fastest five-wicket hauls by a spinner (by deliveries, 61 balls) in 20 years, excluding Muralitharan. Jack Leach took 5/122 in Sri Lanka's 2nd innings. It was the first time two England spinners had each taken a 5-wicket haul in the same Test since 1982. England, chasing 74, slipped to 14/3 before Bairstow (35*) and Lawrence (21*) added an unbroken 62 runs to seal the win. 2nd Test Galle (Jan 22-25): England won by 6 wickets — SL 381 & 126; ENG 344 & 164/4. Angelo Mathews scored 110 and Niroshan Dickwella scored 92 in Sri Lanka's 1st innings. Dilruwan Perera scored 67 in what proved to be his final Test match (he announced retirement from international cricket in January 2022). James Anderson took 6/40 in Sri Lanka's 1st innings — his 30th 5-wicket haul in Tests — becoming the oldest seam bowler (38 years 177 days) to take a 5-for in Asia in Test cricket, and posting the best figures by a visiting pace bowler in Sri Lanka since Waqar Younis's 6/34 in Kandy in 1994. Lasith Embuldeniya took 7/137 in England's 1st innings — a career-best — and 3/73 in the 2nd innings — 10 wickets in the match, the most of any bowler in the series. Root scored 186 — the first England batsman to score 150+ in consecutive Tests in 16 years. Jos Buttler scored 55 (1st innings) and 46* (2nd innings); Dom Sibley scored 56* in the run chase. Bess and Leach took 4 wickets each in Sri Lanka's 2nd innings as the hosts were bowled out for 126.

Root 228 and 186 Consecutive: The Defining Batting of England's Galle Sweep

Joe Root's consecutive scores of 228 and 186 at the same venue — Galle International Stadium — across two Tests in January 2021 made him the first England batsman in 16 years to score 150+ in consecutive Tests. His 228 in the 1st Test was the first Test double century by an England batsman in Sri Lanka, an England captaincy milestone (first England captain with multiple Test double hundreds), and a masterclass in adapting to slow, turning conditions that had seen Sri Lanka dismissed for 135 in their 1st innings (before recovering to 359 in the 2nd). His 186 in the 2nd Test came after Embuldeniya had taken 7/137 in England's 1st innings — Root's unbeaten contribution until his run-out was the bedrock around which Buttler and Sibley could build toward a 6-wicket win. Root's 426-run series aggregate was built almost entirely across two large innings — he was England's batting axis in a series that was equally defined by the bowling of Bess, Leach, and Anderson.

Bess 5/30 and Leach 5/122: England's First Spinner Pair with 5-Fors Since 1982

Dom Bess's 5/30 in Sri Lanka's 1st innings at Galle on Day 1 of the 1st Test — achieved in 61 deliveries — was the fastest five-wicket haul by a spinner (by balls bowled) in Test cricket in 20 years, excluding Muralitharan. Bess later admitted he did not feel he had bowled especially well and had been fortunate with the conditions and edges, but the wickets were decisive: Sri Lanka were dismissed for 135, handing England a 286-run 1st-innings lead after Root's 228 and Lawrence's 73. Jack Leach's 5/122 in Sri Lanka's 2nd innings (when Sri Lanka recovered to 359) completed a historic match: it was the first time two England spinners had each taken a 5-wicket haul in the same Test match since 1982. In the 2nd Test, Bess and Leach again combined to take 4 wickets each in Sri Lanka's 2nd innings of 126, sharing the bowling work alongside Anderson's 6-wicket first-innings performance.