"If England wins this Test then they are going to take the Ashes 3-2" - Kumar Sangakkara

Former Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara believes that if England beat Australia in the ongoing Ashes Test at Old Trafford, the hosts will go on to beat them again at The Oval and take the Ashes 3-2.

England seem to be in quite a dominant position after the end of play on Day 2 as they are 384/4 with a lead of 67 runs, thanks to a stunning 189 from Zak Crawley and valuable half-centuries from Moeen Ali and Joe Root. The hosts have just swung the momentum in their favor with their Bazball ideology.

Speaking on Sky Sports Cricket's Ashes Podcast, here's what Kumar Sangakkara had to say about his prediction of the scoreline:

"If England wins this Test then they are going to take the Ashes 3-2."

Sangakkara was a bit baffled to see Australian captain Pat Cummins and others just run out of ideas on Day 2. On this, he said:

"With the ball, it's been a long time since I have seen the Australians this perplexed on the field. Not knowing what to do, what fields to set and then bowling completely different from the fields set. It's really affected them.

"If this goes England's way, three days before the next Test, the memories and scars will stay. England have recognised when they are ahead and they have accelerated and taken the game away."

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Scoring 150-160 in a session is not impossible: Kumar Sangakkara

Kumar Sangakkara feels that with the lead already being 67 runs, England could bat aggressively in the opening session on Day 3 and then perhaps ask Australia to bat, with the weather forecast not being great. He reckons the hosts will need to reassess the conditions based on the forecast and then take a call.

On this, Sangakkara stated:

"Scoring 150-160 in a session is not impossible. 200 or a bit more than that then you might think of having a dab at Australia . But it all depends on the weather.

"If Saturday is washed out and tomorrow (Friday) is weather-marred, you might want to put Australia in by Lunch on Sunday."

Former England cricketer Michael Atherton was also present in the discussion and he shed light on what he thinks about the Old Trafford pitch. Despite Joe Root being undone by a delivery that kept too low, Atherton feels the pitch will remain good for the remainder of the Test.

He said:

"It's a beautiful pitch to bat on. My experience says that it's never going to be a minefield here. You have to work hard to win first-class matches at Old Trafford. So don't expect the pitch to suddenly go up and down and help you out."

The forecast for the remainder of the Test is a bit dodgy and that would certainly play a role in how England approach Day 3.