Root hits record 34th century as England near win

Second Test, Lord's (day 3 of five)

England 427 (Root 143, Atkinson 118; A Fernando 5-102) & 251 (Root 103)

Sri Lanka 196 (Kamindu 74; Potts 2-19, Woakes 2-21) & 53-2

Sri Lanka request 430 runs to win

Scorecard

Joe Root further cemented his position arsenic England’s top batter pinch a record-breaking 34th Test period successful nan march towards triumph complete Sri Lanka astatine Lord’s.

Root’s 2nd period of nan 2nd Test took him past Sir Alastair Cook for nan astir tons by an England batter.

His 103, made crossed nan 3rd greeting and afternoon, was some effortless and inevitable. Made from 111 deliveries, it was besides Root’s quickest successful Test cricket.

When Root became nan past wicket to fall, England were 251 each retired and Sri Lanka near an improbable grounds 483 to level nan series.

In acheronian and difficult conditions successful nan evening session, Gus Atkinson accounted for Nishan Madushka and Olly Stone had Pathum Nissanka, some caught by Root astatine first slip, taking him to 200 Test catches.

The gloom closed in. England were forced to vessel nan rotation of Shoaib Bashir and Root. As nan umpires fiddled pinch their lightmeters, an interruption was truthful predictable that Sri Lanka promoted Prabath Jayasuriya to number 4 to spot them to nan delay.

When it came, Sri Lanka had reached 53-2, 430 adrift, pinch Dimuth Karunaratne connected 23 and Jayasuriya connected three. Play was yet called disconnected for nan time astatine 18:00 BST.

England will return connected Sunday knowing they person 2 afloat days to return nan 8 wickets they request for an unassailable 2-0 bid lead.

Realistically, this title was ended by England’s romp done nan Sri Lanka batting line-up connected Friday, yet nan imaginable of a infinitesimal of history ensured an electrical ambiance connected a murky Saturday.

When England resumed connected 25-1, 256 ahead, nan astir pressing rumor surrounding their batters was nan opportunity for Ollie Pope to make his first important people arsenic a stand-in captain. He looked to person travel done immoderate early jitters, only to autumn for 17, cutting nan first transportation of Asitha Fernando’s short-ball scheme to heavy point.

There was nary specified uncertainty for Root, who was successful complete power to registry 2 hundreds successful a lucifer for nan first clip successful his 145-Test career. Just 3 different players person made copy hundreds of years successful a Test astatine Lord’s.

Sri Lanka slowed Root’s process done nan 90s, increasing nan hostility arsenic Root had number 10 Stone for company.

When Root stepped backmost to slap Fernando for 4 and scope his magnificent milestone, everyone wrong a jam-packed Lord’s roseate successful a spine-tingling ovation.

At that infinitesimal it felt arsenic if location would not beryllium capable clip near for England to unit victory, and nan Sri Lanka batting and bad ray proved arsenic much. It mattered not. This time belonged to Root.

England’s beardown position and desire to push nan crippled connected led to a number of cameos and wickets arsenic a consequence of attacking shots. Pope, Ben Duckett for 24, Harry Brook for 37 and Jamie Smith for 26 each fell into that category.

Root’s ace spot is his expertise to people steadily without inviting danger. This was an accumulation of risk-free run-making, done successful little clip than astir of nan state waited successful statement for an Oasis ticket.

An separator betwixt gaffe and gully erstwhile he had 2 was nan closest Root came to an error. He regularly fetched nan rotation of Jayasuriya to nan on-side bound and swatted distant baseball-style erstwhile nan seamers tried limb theory. He attempted, and missed, a reverse scoop connected 69.

As England batters came and went, nan main threat to Root was moving retired of partners. As Stone arrived Root farmed nan strike, but was made to hold for his ton by Sri Lanka’s deep-set field.

Eventually, erstwhile he carved Fernando into nan vacant disconnected side, Root leapt for joy. He was dropped disconnected nan adjacent ball, past hooked Lahiru Kumara to heavy quadrate limb and departed to different opinionated ovation.

In among nan records, Root joined Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar arsenic batters to person 5,000 Test runs successful 2 different decades. More importantly, he is 95 down Cook’s all-time England full of 12,472, which seems primed to spell successful adjacent week’s last Test astatine The Oval.

This has been a draining acquisition for Sri Lanka, who chose to vessel connected winning nan flip and person since spent nan mostly of nan 3 days successful nan field.

Rolled complete successful 55.3 overs successful nan first innings, nan 40 overs nether lights successful nan last convention felt for illustration a clip of immense peril for nan tourists.

In nan 3rd over, left-hander Karunaratne was fixed lbw to Chris Woakes for one, only for nan determination to beryllium overturned connected review.

Umpires Joe Wilson and Paul Reiffel had a first convention astir nan light, past decided to play on. From nan adjacent ball, Madushka poked Atkinson to Root.

Pope was ordered to employment nan spinners, but a brighter spell allowed nan preamble of Stone. He instantly took nan separator of Nissanka for Root’s 200th Test catch, different England first.

Jayasuriya emerged arsenic a lightwatchman, alternatively than a nightwatchman. It sewage acheronian again to necessitate much rotation and darker still to nonstop nan players from nan field.