Sri Lanka vs England: 2-0 defeat for Lanka in a dominating show by Joe Root and Gus Atkinson

The Sri Lanka Tour of England has now registered a 2-0 defeat for the touring Lankans. The Test series between England and Sri Lanka, a team which towers over Bazball in the current WTC standings, held significant importance for both sides. However, the stakes rose higher when the main man behind England’s Test expertise, skipper Ben Stokes, withdrew from the series due to a leg injury. Consequently, the onus fell on Ollie Pope, the regular English vice-captain, who stepped into Stokes's shoes as captain for the red-ball series. Now, while Ollie Pope cleared his first test as a captain, the spotlight falls on other performers for England.

Sri Lanka vs England: Lanka handed a 190-run defeat by the hosts

After a five-wicket loss to the hosts in the first Test, Sri Lanka arrived at Lord’s and chose to bowl first after winning the toss. Although this decision seemed unusual, Sri Lanka, with pacers leading the charge and a five-wicket haul by Asitha Fernando, managed to restrict England to 216/6 at one point on Day 1. However, the English are not ones to be subdued on their home ground. From then on, the Test became a showcase for Joe Root and Gus Atkinson.

Despite facing a daunting target of 483 runs, Sri Lanka displayed considerable grit in an attempt to turn the match in their favor. The team mounted a courageous fourth-innings effort to avoid a first Test defeat at Lord’s since 1991. Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal, and Dhananjaya de Silva each contributed valiant half-centuries, while Milan Rathnayake, in only his second Test, provided determined lower-order resistance. Despite these efforts, the team was ultimately outmatched, falling short by 190 runs within four days.

Sri Lanka managed to avoid a follow-on in the first innings despite being dismissed for 196 against England’s 427. However, English dominance continued to push Sri Lanka down. Root scored a second century of the match in the second innings. While Asitha Fernando and Lahiru Kumara maintained their attack to keep the top order in check, Root’s exploits were unmatched. As Sri Lanka returned to chase the final, seemingly unreachable total, Gus Atkinson announced his presence by claiming a five-wicket haul and ultimately dismissing Sri Lanka without a victory at Lord’s.

Joe Root crowned as England's best Test batter

The second Sri Lanka vs England Test showcased Joe Root as the best English batter in history. The 33-year-old scored two centuries in the match, first leveling and then surpassing Alastair Cook in the list of players with the most centuries for England in the longest format. With scores of 143 off 206 in the first innings and 103 off 121 in the second innings, Root’s dominance over Sri Lanka was overshadowed by his record-setting achievements. Joe Root now has 34 Test centuries to his name, with the latest century being the fastest in red-ball cricket.

Joe Root is also the first English batter to hit 50 centuries in international cricket. He has accumulated 34 Test hundreds along with 16 tons in ODIs. Additionally, Root is now positioned sixth on the all-time list of Test century-makers, sharing this spot with cricket legends such as Sunil Gavaskar, Brian Lara, Younis Khan, and Mahela Jayawardene. With his latest century, Root also became the leading run-scorer in Test matches at Lord’s, surpassing the 2025-run mark set by the legendary Graham Gooch. His second century in the match made him the first player to hit seven Test centuries at the Mecca of Cricket.

Gus Atkinson turns up as the best performer of the Sri Lanka vs England series

While Joe Root is on the path to greatness, Gus Atkinson used the Sri Lanka vs. England series to cement his position in the Test side. Atkinson won the ‘Player of the Match’ award in both matches of the series. While his bowling prowess was known due to a 10-wicket haul against the West Indies earlier this summer, Atkinson also demonstrated his value as a lower-order batter. Coming in at number 8 in the first innings for England, Atkinson formed a crucial partnership with Root to revive the English innings. While Root departed after scoring his 33rd Test ton, Atkinson went on to register his maiden international red-ball century, scoring 118 off 115 balls.

To solidify his place in the team, Atkinson capped off the series with a five-wicket haul. As England seemed to be struggling against the determined fifties of Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal, and Dhananjay De Silva, Atkinson dismantled the Lankan lineup in the final innings to wrap up the match early. Overall, the 26-year-old pacer concluded the Sri Lanka vs England final match with 7 wickets and a century scored at an impressive strike rate for the red-ball format. It is safe to say that Atkinson has found his place in the English Test team, which eagerly awaits the return of Ben Stokes for the series against Pakistan later this year.