New Delhi: England pacer Chris Woakes found himself in an unusual position during Day 2 of the final Test against Sri Lanka at The Oval. With visibility dropping due to poor light, Woakes was forced to switch from his usual pace bowling to off-spin in a rare display, much to the amusement of his teammates. The change came early in his spell, drawing laughter from Joe Root, who found Woakes action strikingly similar to his own.Not so effective spinnerWoakes struggled to find his rhythm, delivering a series of half-trackers that had Root and others in splits. His improvised off-spin failed to hit consistent lines and lengths, leading to an over-full of harmless deliveries. However, once the light conditions improved, Woakes quickly reverted to his natural fast-bowling style.Watch the video here:wait, what Chris Woakes can is a spinnner now. No wayyyyy......#ENGvsSLpic.twitter.com/UAoGUt1Z4h— Satyam Singh (@Satyam_Rajput7) September 7, 2024Pacer makes comebackThe return to pace proved effective, as Woakes dismissed Sri Lankan batter Kusal Mendis for 14 in the 11th over of the match. England kept the pressure on Sri Lanka, reducing the visitors to 86/3 in 14.4 overs by the time of writing. Dimuth Karunaratne, Mendis, and Angelo Mathews were all back in the pavilion, with Pathum Nissanka holding his ground on 60 off 48 balls, joined by Dinesh Chandimal.Earlier in the day, Englands stand-in captain Ollie Pope had propelled the team to a total of 325 with a blistering knock of 154. Despite being 290/4 at one stage, England lost their remaining wickets quickly, bowled out in just 69.1 overs.Notably, England has already won three out of four-match series. Meanwhile, England still has the upper hand in the ongoing game.
