Classy Joe Root’s 33rd Test century and Gus Atkinson’s quick-fire, unbeaten fifty put England ahead after being 192/5 on the opening day of the second Test against Sri Lanka at Lord’s, London.
Skipper Dhananjaya de Silva won the toss once again and opted to bowl first. Sri Lanka made the much-anticipated inclusion of Pathum Nissanka for Kusal Mendis, while also bringing in speedster Lahiru Kumara in place of Vishwa Fernando.
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Playing XI
Sri Lanka – 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Dimuth Karunaratne, 3 Nishan Madushka (wk), 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Dinesh Chandimal, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), 7 Kamindu Mendis, 8 Milan Rathnayake, 9 Prabath Jayasuriya, 10 Asitha Fernando, 11 Lahiru Kumara
England – 1 Ben Duckett, 2 Dan Lawrence, 3 Ollie Pope (capt), 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Jamie Smith (wk), 7 Chris Woakes, 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Matthew Potts, 10 Olly Stone, 11 Shoaib Bashir
The opening stand between Ben Duckett and Dan Lawrence was reduced to 33 as the comeback man Lahiru Kumara was struck in his first over when the right hander offered an easy catch to the keeper.
Shortly after, Asitha Fernando dismissed the England captain for the second time in the series when Olly Pope top-edged a pull shot, finding his opposite number at square leg.
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Duckett added 40 runs for the third wicket with the experienced Joe Root. The opener attempted to take on Prabath Jayasuriya immediately but was caught at deep point for a 47-ball 40 after a premeditated reverse sweep.
Root and vice-captain Harry Brook tried to stabilize the innings, but the latter was given out LBW off Fernando, and the fourth-wicket stand fell just short of fifty.
The Lankan bowlers were much more disciplined in the second session. However, Root built another 60-run stand with Jamie Smith, steadying the ship for England. Meanwhile, he also notched up a solid half-century.
Milan Rathnayake was consistent with his length, which earned him the wicket of the first Test centurion, as the hosts lost half their side before reaching 200.
Chris Woakes couldn’t make an impact with the bat and fell to Kumara’s short-ball ploy, with Fernando taking the catch on the second attempt at fine leg.
Root once again showed his class with his 33rd hundred, tying Alastair Cook for the most centuries in the longest format for England.
He continued to pile on the runs, well-supported by Gus Atkinson, who scored quickly. The duo shared a 92-run partnership off just 111 balls, frustrating the visitors.
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Sri Lanka finally broke the stand when Root attempted a reverse-ramp but was dismissed by Rathnayake for a superb 143 off 206 deliveries, which included 18 fours.
The bowlers couldn’t run through the tail as Atkinson continued to cash in, securing his maiden Test fifty. Matthew Potts also joined the party, striking a few boundaries.
They smashed an unbeaten 50 within just 63 balls, making it England’s day. England ended the day at 358/7, with Atkinson unbeaten on 74 off 81 balls.
