August 30, 2024

Kamindu Battles Hard for Sri Lanka, But Atkinson’s Century Puts England in Command

England chose not to enforce the follow-on after Gus Atkinson’s remarkable maiden Test century set up a 256-run lead over Sri Lanka. At Lord’s, England posted 427, thanks to contributions from Joe Root (143) and Atkinson (118), while Sri Lanka was dismissed for 196.

After resuming on 358 for 7, England added 25 more runs with Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope, extending their lead. Pope, aiming for a solid score after a slow start as captain, stayed unbeaten despite some nervousness. England’s only setback of the day was Dan Lawrence’s dismissal for 7 after a review.

Sri Lanka’s innings saw Kamindu Mendis score a resilient 74 from 120 balls, rescuing his team from a precarious 118 for 7. Despite his efforts, including his sixth fifty-plus score in eight Test innings, Sri Lanka struggled as the rest of the batting lineup faltered. With more than three days left and a pitch showing signs of turn, England decided against enforcing the follow-on, focusing instead on building their advantage.

Despite their challenging performance, Kamindu Mendis’s impressive innings demonstrated the fighting spirit still present in the Sri Lanka team. Mendis’s aggressive play, featuring eight fours and three sixes, gave the previously dominant England bowlers a tough time. His innings even resulted in a six breaking a window in the MCC Committee Room and another hitting a spectator near the pavilion, who thankfully only suffered a minor injury.

Before Mendis’s heroics, Sri Lanka’s performance had been disappointing, reminiscent of their struggles on the third day of the first Test at Old Trafford. Sri Lanka’s trouble started with a disorganized morning with the ball, allowing England’s Gus Atkinson to capitalize on the opportunity. Atkinson, who resumed his innings on 74 not out, scored a brilliant 103-ball century, marking his first professional hundred and the first by an England No. 8 or lower since Stuart Broad’s 169 in 2010.

Atkinson’s Maiden Century Highlights England’s Dominance; Sri Lanka’s Batting Struggles Continue

Despite the pressure of his first century and the chance to overthink the moment, Atkinson remained calm and focused, just as he did on his debut against the West Indies. His ability to Gus Atkinson began his innings with a bang, hitting back-to-back boundaries off the eighth-over ball as Kumara bowled wide. Although he was initially given out lbw, a review showed the ball would miss leg stump, and the crowd’s groans turned to cheers. From then on, Atkinson was unstoppable. He took advantage of a loose delivery from Milan Rathnayake and, after hitting a couple of boundaries off Kumara, needed just three balls to reach his century—faster than Joe Root’s century the day before. His 103-ball century was the sixth-fastest at Lord’s.

Atkinson’s beaming smile as he celebrated showed how memorable this innings was. Matthew Potts, who had added crucial runs in an 85-run stand, was dismissed soon after. Sri Lanka then switched to a short-ball strategy, initially playing into Atkinson’s hands as he scored two more boundaries. However, his attempt to hit another short ball into the stands was thwarted when Rathnayake made a spectacular catch at deep midwicket. Despite the short-ball tactic not fully leveraging Asitha’s strengths, he eventually claimed his first five-wicket haul at Lord’s since 1991, dismissing Stone for 15 and finishing with 5 for 102.

Sri Lanka faced a challenge 45 minutes before the break, and Nishan Madushka struggled again. He narrowly escaped a duck in Woakes’ second over when Jamie Smith missed a chance to catch a snick. However, he was eventually dismissed for just 7 when Woakes found an inside edge that hit the stumps.

In the final over of the session, Stone marked his return to Test cricket with his first wicket in three years, dismissing Dimuth Karunaratne with an inside edge that hit his stumps. Karunaratne’s poor form continued as he scored just 7 from 26 balls.

Just 40 minutes later, Stone took his second wicket, dismissing Pathum Nissanka for 12. Nissanka, who had earlier been nearly run out, fell to a flick off the toes, catching Potts at leg slip.

England’s Progress Hampered as Sri Lanka Fights Back

Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal then steadied the innings with a 48-run partnership. However, Potts, who had bowled well but unluckily in the previous Test, made his mark by dismissing Mathews with a ball that nipped back and hit the top of the off-stump. Potts quickly followed up by removing Dhananjaya de Silva for a duck with a ball that straightened off the pitch. Chandimal, still affected by a thumb injury, was dismissed by a weak flick off his toes, leaving Sri Lanka in a dire position at 87 for 6.

After a strong start, England faced more challenges as Sri Lanka fought back. Rathnayake, buoyed by his impressive performance at Old Trafford, began his innings confidently, scoring 14 runs from four balls. However, Woakes soon had him out for 19 with a catch taken brilliantly by Jamie Smith.

England then brought in spin, with Shoaib Bashir, who had not been used in the West Indies Test, finding his rhythm. He dismissed Jayasuriya, who was out for 8 after an extended stay at the crease when Jayasuriya finally lost patience and was bowled.

Kamindu Mendis survived a chance at 62 when Joe Root missed a top-edged pull-off Stone. With solid support from Kumara, who was run out by Pope after a duck, Mendis helped Sri Lanka make some progress. Despite Atkinson’s impressive performance and the day’s strong finish, including Lawrence’s struggles as a makeshift opener, it didn’t seem likely to change the outcome of the match or the series.