Joe Root treated his England team-mates to an education in how to play spin bowling following his domination of the Sri Lanka attack, says Jos Buttler.
Captain Root backed up his 228 in the first Test victory with a monumental 186 in Galle on Sunday, falling cruelly to a run out from the final ball of the day.
Oshada Fernando's quick thinking at short leg meant England closed day three on 339-9 - a first-innings deficit of 42.
Despite that giving Sri Lanka a slight edge in their bid to secure a series-levelling win, attention afterwards understandably focused upon Root, who passed Geoffrey Boycott, Kevin Pietersen and David Gower to go fourth on England's all-time list of Test run scorers over the course of a fabulous knock.
"It was quite an amazing innings," Buttler said. "To back up his double hundred in the first Test, to show the mental and physical application to go again.
"It's been a masterclass in batting against spin. It's been a great education for all of us watching from the sidelines.
"We've thoroughly enjoyed watching him and we're gutted for him getting out in that fashion at the end of the day."
Buttler, who was the only other England batsman to pass 50, shared a 97-run stand with Root for the fifth wicket and also marvelled at his skipper's powers of endurance.
The 30-year-old Root motored on during the evening session despite cramps and back pain demonstrating the toll taken.
"For all eight days of the series so far he's been out on the field," Buttler said. "This game feels a lot hotter and lot more draining than the first game, [which had] rain breaks.
"We have to praise not only the tactical and technical aspect of his game, but the physicality and concentration to apply himself for so long.
"Once again, to back up the first Test is quite amazing really."
Lasith Embuldeniya carried the fight for Sri Lanka with superb figures of 7-132, but even the in-form slow left-armer could not escape punishment from Root, who swept with authority and even unfurled an audacious switch hit to fine effect.
"There were some quite amazing shots, really," added Buttler, who is consistently England's most innovative strokemaker across all formats. "It show the confidence and the skill level is amazing.
"He even played a little late cut left-handed. It's been great to watch. His skill level is second to none."
Dr. Donovan Bennett defeats Billy Heaven in JCA Presidential election
Dr. Donovan Bennett is the new president of the Jamaica Cricket Association after defeating Wilford ‘Billy’ Heaven at Thursday’s elections at the 20th JCA Annual General Meeting held at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston.
Bennett, who served as JCA vice-president for 11 years, is set for his first term at the helm after a 67-30 victory.
Heaven served as JCA president for the last 10 years and was seeking a fifth term.
New Zealand take unassailable series lead after hard-fought victory over Pakistan
Pakistan slumped to a four-run defeat at the hands of New Zealand despite the efforts of Abbas Afridi and Fakhar Zaman.
The Black Caps took an unassailable 2-1 lead in the five-match T20I series, thanks in the main to Tim Robinson (51) and bowling duo William O'Rourke (3-27) and Ben Sears (2-27) on Thursday.
Set a target of 179 to win, Pakistan looked on their way to victory when Fakhar Zaman got going, but he was eventually dismissed on 61 by Sears.
Abbas took three wickets in New Zealand's innings, yet he could only contribute a single run to Pakistan's cause as the hosts fell just short in Lahore.
Data Debrief
Shadab Khan did not bowl a single delivery for Pakistan, which is the first time that has happened in a completed T20I innings.
He did take an exceptional catch to dismiss Mark Chapman, but it was not enough to inspire Pakistan.
IPL: Kohli and Patidar star to snap RCB's losing streak
Royal Challengers Bengaluru ended a six-match losing streak in the Indian Premier League by claiming a convincing 35-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Bengaluru still sit bottom of the standings, but have reason to cheer after Virat Kohli's 51 and Rajat Patidar's 20-ball 50 got the job done in style on Thursday.
Cameron Green chipped in with a useful 37 as RCB reached 206-7 from their 20 overs, and the Australian then took 2-12 with the ball as the Sunrisers failed to get going.
Shahbaz Ahmed top scored for Sunrisers with 40 not-out, but it was not enough as they only mustered 171-8 in response.
Data Debrief
Thursday's match marked Jaydev Unadkat's 100th in the IPL, and though he finished on the losing side, he did take a memorable three-for to celebrate the occasion.
It was Unadkat who dismissed Kohli, Patidar and Mahipal Lomror, finishing with figures of 3-30.
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