May 28, 2006	Sunday	Rabi-us-Sani 29, 1427

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BIRMINGHAM (England), May 27: Rain hampered England's bid to go 1-0 up in their three-match series against Sri Lanka on Saturday, with no play possible before tea on the third day of the second Test at Edgbaston.

Sri Lanka, in their second innings, were 86 for four, a deficit of 68 runs.

Michael Vandort was 30 not out and Tillekeratne Dilshan 21 not out.

But prospects for play improved when, following a pitch inspection, the umpires decided the match was scheduled to start at 4.45pm local time (1545GMT), weather permitting.

That meant England could yet have time on Saturday to win the match inside three days.

England totalled 295 on Friday in reply to Sri Lanka's first innings 141 with Kevin Pietersen scoring 142 and Muttiah Muralitharan taking six for 86.

The series was level at 0-0 after the first Test was drawn at Lord's, a match where Sri Lanka, led by captain Mahela Jayawardene's battling century, batted for 199 overs in their second innings to save the game after following-on.

Pietersen's hundred was his second of the series, after he'd equalled his Test-best 158 at Lord's, and helped his side to a first innings lead of 154.

His innings was particularly valuable as no other England batsman managed more than Andrew Strauss's 30.

Sri Lanka's plight would have been worse had not off-spinner Muralitharan taken five or more wickets in a Test innings for the 52nd time in his extraordinary career.

Murali, by dismissing Pietersen, sparked an England collapse that saw their last five wickets fall for five runs in 29 balls.

However, an admiring Muralitharan said of the 25-year-old South Africa-born batsman: “I think Pietersen is on top of the world at the moment. He played a brilliant innings, one of the best I've seen.”

Meanwhile, Pietersen insisted batting against Muralitharan was not as easy as it appeared.

“I've got a pretty good reach and I get forward which can negate a lot of the spin,” the Hampshire player said. “So sometimes it looks like I've picked him when, I promise you, I'm clueless.”

Pietersen was the first England batsman since Graham Gooch 16 years ago to score hundreds in three succesive home Test innings after also making 158 against Australia in England's Ashes-clinching draw at The Oval in September.

Sri Lanka's second innings began badly when Upul Tharanga completed a pair, caught behind off Matthew Hoggard's fourth delivery.

The Yorkshire swing specialist later had Jayawardene lbw for five and there were two wickets also for Monty Panesar as England pressed for what would be only their second win in nine Tests.

The left-arm spinner struck fourth ball when Kumar Sangakkara (18) chipped him to Paul Collingwood at mid-wicket.

Panesar, the first Sikh to play Test cricket for England, then deceived Thilan Samaraweera (eight) into pushing forward with Geraint Jones completing a stumping.

The final Test of the series is due to start at Trent Bridge on Friday.—AFP