Watch: Chris Woakes turns spinner in third Test against Sri Lanka

Chris Woakes. (Photo source: Gareth Copley – ECB/ECB via Getty Images)

England managed 325 runs on the board in overcast conditions at the Kennington Oval, riding on the back of skipper Ollie Pope’s 154-run knock. Sri Lanka while batting, opted for a Bazball-like approach but the same did not pay dividends as they were reduced to 97/5 within 18 overs. With bad light hampering the progress, England pacer Chris Woakes, known to click 150 kmph, turned a spinner in between.

Woakes was bowling the seventh over and after dismissing Dimuth Karunaratne on the second ball of the seventh over, bad light intervened. With four balls to spare and umpires pondering over the issue of bad light, Woakes unleashed his off-breaks. The shortened run-up seemed unusual for his admirers but the feisty pacer conceded six runs of those four balls.

Here’s the video of Woakes bowling off-spin:

Fearless cricket from Sri Lanka was something which was demanded by fans and former cricketers alike. After losing the series, the final Test remained a fight for lost respect. Pathum Nissanka made it clear with his 51-ball 64 and none of the batters tried fitting the same mould. The Lankan Lions lost the remaining five wickets for just 26 runs and put the team in jeopardy.

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The slide began when the 20-year-old Leicestershire pacer, Josh Hull, who made his international debut with this game sent back Nissanka. The youngster could not contain his emotions as he sent Nissanka packing bowling just the 17th ball of his debut game. He was well supported by Woakes and Olly Stone as they picked one and two wickets respectively.