England close in on Test series win over Lanka

COLOMBO, Nov 25 (AFP): In a day of sublime and ridiculous cricket, Jos Buttler halted a batting collapse while Moeen Ali claimed key wickets Sunday to keep England on track for victory in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka.

The home side were reeling at 53-4 at the close of the third day as they chased an unlikely 327 to avoid suffering only their third whitewash series defeat on home territory.

Dilruwan Perera took Keaton Jennings lbw with the first ball of the third day to shake England who at one stage looked in trouble on 39-4 after more failures by their top-order batsmen.

But after the scare, spinner Lakshan Sandakan made basic blunders that set the tone for England to score 230 and set their sights on a third straight win.