‘A fantastic effort by all 11 players’ – Trevor Bayliss

“Obviously it can be very difficult to come here and play a team in their home conditions, but it's been a fantastic effort by all 11 players,” Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, told SkySports after the victory on Sunday, 18 November morning.

The win in the second Test was scripted by the spin trio of Moeen Ali, Jack Leach and Adil Rashid, who picked up eight wickets in the first Sri Lanka innings and all 10 wickets in the second. Leach was the most successful, with eight wickets, while Ali got six and Rashid four.

“In past series, we've talked about possibly playing different combinations but when it's got to it we haven't; but on this occasion, we said ‘no, look, it's time to actually play the conditions’, and if that means some good players miss out then, unfortunately, that's the way it goes,” said Bayliss, pointing mainly to Stuart Broad and Jonny Bairstow sitting out.

Bairstow missed the first Test with injury, allowing Ben Foakes to come in. Foakes responded by scoring a century in his maiden Test innings, and scored a crucial 65* in the second innings in the second Test, partnering captain Joe Root (124) for runs that eventually proved to be the difference. The other newcomer – Rory Burns – also came good in Pallekele with 43 and 59.

“Both Rory and Foakes, they are only playing their second Tests, but they looked so calm, they looked like it was their 30th or 40th, which is a great sign going forward,” said Bayliss. “They might have been feeling a bit more underneath but outwardly they were very confident, and that sends a message to the opposition.”

On the innings from captain Root, who was later named the Player of the Match, Bayliss was gushing with his praise. “It was right up there, especially in these conditions, which were completely different to what he's faced before,” said the coach. “He was under a bit of pressure of wanting his players to go out and play that way, so it was a great innings.

“He was probably a little bit nervous early on, but once you got in on this wicket, it wasn't impossible to play, which we saw from a number of players getting 50s and 60s in this match. But the wicket was hard to start on so credit to him.”

On the negative side for England, Sam Curran, the young all-rounder who scored 64 in the first innings but bowled only four overs in the whole match, is carrying a side strain and might be a doubt for the third Test.

“We'll have to wait and see – I don't think it's a bad one, we just don't want to risk making it worse,” said Bayliss.

The third Test begins in Colombo on 23 November.