England Tour of Sri Lanka Tests 2021: England Win 2-0 (Both Tests Galle) — Root 228 and 186 (Series 426 Runs Player of Series), Bess 5/30, Leach 5/122, Anderson 6/40 (30th Five-For — Surpasses McGrath), Embuldeniya 7/137, Moeen Ali COVID Positive on Arrival

England won both Tests of their January 2021 tour of Sri Lanka by 2-0 — both matches played at Galle International Stadium under strict COVID-19 bio-secure bubble protocols. Joe Root was Player of the Series with 426 runs across the two Tests (228 and 186). Moeen Ali tested positive for COVID-19 on arrival in Sri Lanka and missed both Tests; Chris Woakes also self-isolated as a close contact. 1st Test Galle (January 14-18, 2021): England won by 7 wickets — SL 135 & 359; ENG 421 & 76/3. Dom Bess took 5/30 in 61 deliveries in Sri Lanka's 1st innings — Sri Lanka were bowled out for 135, the lowest first-innings total by any team at Galle in Test history. Root scored 228 off 321 balls (18 fours, 1 six) in England's 1st innings (Player of the Match) — the first Test double century by an English batsman in Sri Lanka and the highest individual score in all England-Sri Lanka Tests to that date. Jack Leach took 5/122 in Sri Lanka's 2nd innings. Jonny Bairstow and Dan Lawrence finished England's 76-run chase on Day 5 without major alarm. 2nd Test Galle (January 22-25, 2021): 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. James Anderson took 6/40 in Sri Lanka's 1st innings — the best innings figures by an England seamer in Sri Lanka in Test history, and his 30th Test five-wicket haul, surpassing Glenn McGrath's 29 to become the seam bowler with the second-most five-wicket hauls in Test history (behind Richard Hadlee). Lasith Embuldeniya took 7/137 in England's 1st innings — a high-quality spin performance; Root contributed 186 as England reached 344. Sri Lanka's 2nd innings of 126 was ended by Bess (4/49) and Leach (4/59). Dom Sibley (56*) and Jos Buttler (46*) finished England's 164/4 chase.

Root 228 at Galle: First England Double Century in Sri Lanka

Joe Root's 228 at Galle in the 1st Test was a nine-hour innings (321 balls, 18 fours, 1 six) that set multiple records simultaneously. It was the first Test double century ever made by an England batsman in Sri Lanka. It was the highest individual score in all England vs Sri Lanka Tests — surpassing Graham Gooch's 174 set in 1992. It was the third highest score at Galle in Test history, behind Chris Gayle's 333 (West Indies vs Sri Lanka, 2010) and Mahela Jayawardene's 237 (Sri Lanka vs South Africa, 2004). Root's 228 came after Sri Lanka had been dismissed for just 135 — Bess's 5/30 on the opening day had set the stage — and England's 421 in response gave them a 286-run first-innings lead that was never surrendered. Root's Player of the Series total of 426 runs from two Tests (average 213) was among the dominant individual batting performances in a two-match series in the 2020s.

Anderson 6/40: Surpassing McGrath as Seam Bowling's Five-For Record Holder

James Anderson's 6/40 in Sri Lanka's 1st innings of the 2nd Test at Galle — his 30th Test five-wicket haul — placed him second on the all-time list for five-fors by a seam bowler, behind only Richard Hadlee (36). Glenn McGrath had held the record among pace bowlers with 29; Anderson surpassed that on the subcontinent (where pace bowling takes fewer wickets on average than in seaming conditions), making the achievement more remarkable. At 38 years old, Anderson was also the oldest fast bowler to take a five-wicket haul in Asia since at least the 1930s, according to Sky Sports. His figures of 6/40 — achieved by relentless swing and seam movement on a turning pitch where the pitch favoured spin — remain among the signature performances of his later career. Embuldeniya's 7/137 in the same match — the highest wicket haul by a Sri Lanka spinner against England in Sri Lanka in that era — meant both sides produced high-class spin performances on the same Galle surface.