ENG V SL: Joe Root's Twin Tons Inspire England's 2nd Test Win; Seal The Series 2-0
England Vs Sri Lanka 2nd Test: A 'Joe Root Special' helped England topple Sri Lanka, and with that, the home side have won the series 2-0. Here are the details.
England Vs Sri Lanka 2nd Test: England's juggernaut as of late in the red-ball cricket sees yet another triumph, as the Ollie Pope-led side beat Sri Lanka by 190 runs in the 2nd Test match at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground, and with that, take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match Test series.
Another series win! 🥳 pic.twitter.com/KTtJCnjoV8
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 1, 2024
Before this series, England were coming off a 3-0 Test series whitewash of West Indies, and by the looks of it, they are on the verge of repeating yet another home series whitewash in Tests.
England Vs Sri Lanka 2nd Test | As It Happened
Sri Lanka were coming off a hammering in the first Test match, as England won the fixture by 5 wickets. In the second Test match at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground, the coin toss was won by Sri Lanka, and the visitors opted to bowl first.
The decision seemed to be a good call, as England lost Daniel Lawrence, captain Ollie Pope, and Ben Duckett in the space of 19 overs for 82 runs. Few quality partnerships followed up till the score of 216, as Chris Woakes was on his way back to the pavilion.
It was at the score of 216/6, when something special started brewing up between Joe Root and Gus Atkinson, as both went on to create their respective piece of history.
The duo shattered a series of record wiht their centuries, and England, who were seemingly getting restricted below 350, managed to finish their 1st innings at 427.
In reply, the visitors made a horrific start and never recovered from their debacle in batting, as they merely managed 196 in their first innings.
England did not hand the visitors a follow-on, and a JOE ROOT CLASSIC guided the home side to 251, as the whole crowd in attendance stood on their feet to applaud the greatness of the 33-year-old, who surpassed Alastair Cook for most centuries in Tests for England.
Set a target of 483, it always seemed like an improbable task for Sri Lanka to cause an upset. Valiant efforts from Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjay De Silva, and Dimuth Karunaratne gave a slimmer of hope, but at last, the English bowlers, powered by Gus Atkinson, managed to bundle out Sri Lanka for 292 and seal a series victory for England.