England Vs Sri Lanka: The second Test match between England and Sri Lanka was played at the Lords Cricket Ground in London. The visitors, Sri Lanka were trailing 0-1 in the series after losing the opening game at Old Trafford in Manchester.
Both the Test matches had ended in four days and Sri Lanka lost the series when they lost the second red ball match by a margin of 190 runs at Lords. Even though, the Sri Lankan batters had put up a fight in the second innings. But their lowish first-inning score was why the visitors were behind the game.
The last red ball match of this three-match series between England and Sri Lanka will be played at Kennington Oval in London from Friday, 6th September 2024 to Tuesday, 10th September 2024. Before the last match of this series starts let us see the five best performers of the second Test match which ended yesterday at Lords.
1.   Joe Root –
The run machine of England was the batter who held the innings together for the home side. Joe Edward Root went past Sir Alastair Cook in terms of scoring centuries in the red ball format. Root also became the ninth batter to score 50 International hundreds.
Joe Root scored 143 runs in their first innings of the second Test match at Lords. If he hadn’t played that knock, England couldn’t have scored 427 runs and in the second innings as well, Root was the only batter to reach the three-figure mark. He scored 103 runs and allowed England to hold a firm grip on the game.
2.   Gus Atkinson –
Atkinson is creating some buzz in the cricketing world right now. He was named as the player of the match for his all-round performance. He was just the second batter to smash a century in this Test match and that ton was his maiden one in the Test format. Gus scored 118 runs with the bat and with the red cherry, Atkinson claimed 2 wickets in the 1st innings and got a five-wicket haul in the second innings.
3. Kamindu Mendis –
The lower-order batter of Sri Lanka, Kamindu Mendis has been good in these Testing conditions of England. He also scored 113 runs in the first Test match at Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester. Mendis is the only Sri Lankan batter to score a ton in this three-match red ball series so far.
In the second Test match at Lords, Kamindu scored a fighting 74 runs and that’s what allowed the Lankans to muster just 196 runs in their first innings. But he scored just four runs in the second innings and couldn’t pick up any wickets with the ball despite being a spin-bowling all-rounder in the side.
4.   Dinesh Chandimal –
The former Sri Lankan skipper, Dinesh Chandimal had got a decent start in the first innings. He was the second-highest run-getter with 23 runs. But he couldn’t carry on with that. But in the second innings, Chandimal had a new approach with the bat.
He came out with a positive intent and a Baz Ball style of play. He scored 58 runs from just 62 deliveries to keep Sri Lanka in the hunt. Dinesh also shared two good partnerships with Angelo Matthews in this Test match. However, both these experienced players perished earlier than expected.
5.   Milan Rathnayake –
The right-arm fast medium bowler of Sri Lanka, Milan Rathnayake was impressive with the bat in hand in the two matches played so far. He had scored 72 runs in the first innings of the first Test match and 43 runs in the second innings of the Lord’s Test match. With the ball, Rathnayake is the fifth-highest wicket-taker in this ongoing series. He has picked up six wickets in two red ball matches played so far.
Also Read: On This Day: Boom Boom Bumrah Achieved A Special Feat In The Red Ball Format
