Dom Sibley scored an unbeaten half century as England chased down a target of 164 to secure a sweep of the series on Monday, beating Sri Lanka by six wickets in the second Test on a day of drama at Galle International Stadium.
England scored 164 for 4, with Sibley 56 not out and Jos Buttler unbeaten on 46 as they overcame jittery moments to complete a 2-0 series triumph.
The visitors overturned a 37-run deficit after the first innings to win a sixth successive Test in Sri Lanka. England dismissed Sri Lanka for 126 in their second innings, giving themselves a confidence boost ahead of the four-Test series in India starting next month.
“We’ve got a huge amount of confidence coming out of these games. We’ve had to manage different situations and all of that will stand us in good stead,” Root told a virtual news conference. “The challenge now is to look to replicate this over and over as a team.”
England overcame some nervy moments to reach their 164-run target to win the final Test, getting the better of a difficult and deteriorating wicket with Sibley and Buttler putting together an unbeaten 75-run partnership. “Those two guys saw us home in impressive style,” the captain added.
Root finished the series with 426 runs in four innings. He was named Man of the Match and Player of the Series.
Brief scores: SL 381 & 126 (Dom Bess 4/49, Jack Leach 4/59). England 344 & 164/4 (Dom Sibley 56 n.o., Jos Buttler 46 n.o.). England won by 6 wickets.