Batting juggernaut Joe Root's record-breaking 34th Test century played a crucial role in England's pursuit of victory over Sri Lanka in the second Test at Lord's.
England on verge of sealing series
Sri Lanka faced an insurmountable task with a target of 483 runs to win, having been bowled out for 251 in the afternoon session. Root's 103 runs off 121 balls solidified England's dominance but also surpassed Alastair Cook's record for Test centuries scored by an English player. Notably, Root became the first batsman to score hundreds in both innings at Lord's since Michael Vaughan achieved the feat against the West Indies in 2004. Facing a challenging target, Sri Lanka reached 53-2 before bad light forced an early end to play on day three.
Sri Lanka sought to make early inroads into England's batting lineup, given their significant lead of 256 runs at the start of day three. However, England's openers, Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope, faced challenges in the first session. Duckett was dismissed for 24 in the fourth over, caught by Nishan Madushka off Milan Rathnayake's bowling. Ollie Pope's struggles continued, as he was dismissed for just 12 runs in the 19th over. His dismissal came off a short ball from Asitha Fernando, caught by Madushka in the deep.
The experienced middle-order duo of Joe Root and Harry Brook steadied England's innings with a valuable half-century partnership. Brook, in particular, played an aggressive innings, scoring 37 runs from 36 balls before being caught by Madushka off Prabath Jayasuriya. Despite being dropped earlier on 12, Brook's contribution further strengthened England's lead.
England's solid partnership and Root's record-breaking ventury
Joe Root and Jamie Smith formed a solid partnership, guiding England to 159-4 at lunch. However, Jamie Smith's innings was cut short at 15 runs, as he was trapped lbw by Prabath Jayasuriya. Chris Woakes followed suit, dismissed for 5 runs by Rathnayake.
Gus Atkinson, who had scored a maiden century in the first innings, was unable to make a significant contribution in the second innings, falling for 14 runs. Matthew Potts was also dismissed for two runs, caught by Dinesh Chandimal.
Despite these wickets, Joe Root continued to dominate, surpassing Graham Gooch's record for the most Test runs scored at Lord's. He reached his century in the 58th over, much to the delight of the crowd. This achievement also solidified Root's position as the fourth batsman to score a century in both innings of a Test at Lord's.
Sri Lanka's chase begins on shaky note
Ollie Stone's dismissal for seven runs and Joe Root's eventual departure for 103, both caught by Nissanka, led to England's dismissal with less than half an hour remaining before tea. Sri Lanka's challenging run chase began with a narrow escape for Dimuth Karunaratne, who survived an lbw decision in the third over. However, Nishan Madushka was dismissed for 13 runs in the eighth over, caught by Woakes off Atkinson's bowling.
The tourists lost their second wicket in the 15th over when Nissanka edged Stone to Root, who achieved another milestone by becoming the first English player to take 200 catches in Test cricket. Due to deteriorating light, England was forced to bowl their spinners, and play was eventually curtailed. Sri Lanka ended the day with a deficit of 429 runs, facing a daunting task to chase down the target.
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