England pacer Gus Atkinson joins elite list during 2nd Test against Sri Lanka

London [England], September 2 (ANI): During the second Test match against Sri Lanka at Lord's, England pacer Gus Atkinson joined an elite list of English players who have picked the most wickets in the first five long-format matches. Atkinson displayed a stunning performance with both bat and ball in the second Test. In the first innings, he scored 118 runs from 115 balls at a strike rate of 102.61. He smashed 14 fours and 4 sixes during his time on the crease.

In Sri Lanka's second innings, Atkinson picked up five wickets at an economy rate of 3.90 and helped England clinch a 190-run win over the visitors. The 26-year-old pacer became the fourth English player to pick up the most wickets in the first five Tests. After making his Test debut in 2024 against West Indies, Atkinson has played five long-format matches and picked up 33 wickets at an economy rate of 4.07.

Former English cricketer Nicholas Cook led the list with 34 wickets in his first five Test matches. Former England cricketers Fred Trueman and Thomas Richardson hold second and third place in the list, respectively. Both Trueman and Richardson have picked up 33 wickets in their first five Test matches after making their debut.

Recapping the second Test match between England and Sri Lanka, the visitors won the toss and opted to field first. England scored 427 runs in the first innings, with Root (143 in 206 balls, with 18 fours) and Gus Atkinson (118 in 115 balls, with 14 fours and four sixes) slamming centuries to take England to a massive score. Asitha Fernando (5/102) was the top bowler for Sri Lanka. Milan Rathnayake and Lahiru Kumara took two wickets each.

In their first innings, despite Kamindu Mendis's fighting 74 runs in 120 balls, with eight fours and three sixes, Sri Lanka could manage just 196 runs as the top-order let the team down again. Chris Woakes, Olly Stones, Gus Atkinson, and Matthew Potts got two wickets each, while Shoaib Bashir got one. England led by 231 runs.

Sri Lanka showcased much better control with the ball in England's second innings, bundling them out for 251 runs. After Root's 103 in 121 balls, with 10 fours, the second biggest contribution was delivered by Harry Brook (37 in 36 balls, with four boundaries and a six). Asitha Fernando (3/52) and Lahiru Kumara (3/53) were the top wicket-takers for Sri Lanka.

In the run-chase of 483, Sri Lanka put up a fight as three half-centuries came from Dimuth Karunaratne (55 in 129 balls, with seven fours), Dinesh Chandimal (58 in 62 balls, with 11 fours) and skipper Dhananjaya de Silva (50 in 71 balls, with seven fours). But despite that, Lanka was bundled out for 292 runs and lost by 190 runs.

Atkinson (5/62) was the pick of the bowlers for England, picking his third five-wicket haul at the Lord's. Olly Stone and Chris Woakes also got two wickets. Atkinson secured the 'Player of the Match' award for his all-round performance. (ANI)