England pacer Gus Atkinson was simply magnificent in the series against Sri Lanka and achieved a rare feat of being on ‘All’ of the honours boards at Lord’s and batted with Joe Root. Atkinson scored a century in a test match with five wickets and England won by one hundred and ninty runs; England taking the series two zip.
Sri Lanka got defeated with two niggas by Gus Atkinson being one of the followers in the enlisted matches.Sri Lanka, having called at the toss sough for the fielding options first. In their first innings, England posted a monumental total of four hundred and twenty seven runs. Joe Root went on to score 143 runs off 206 balls with 18 boundaries even as Gus Atkinson gave a quickfire support of 118 runs which came from about115 balls and included 14 boundaries and 4 over boundaries.
In the post-match presentation, Atkinson spoke and commented: “I could have asked for nothing more. To get on both honour’s boards, it simply unbelievable. (On that feeling) It will take a while to sink in. (On Joe Root) He has been excellent this week. How nice it was to bat with him for so long in the first innings. First red-ball games at Lord’s and it is gone pretty well, I like bowling with the slope, it is just not coming my way, and long may it continue. I will do what they say (when asked if he would be okay to bowl from the Nursery End). The last thing I want to say about the Test is that it is time for us to hit the target. In the same vane, as a bowler, it is fantastic to be in a position to attack and not be too concerned over the runs. Physically, it is quite taxing rushing over after over, but I have enjoyed it so much, looking forward to it going forward.”
Asitha Fernando led the way for Sri Lanka’s bowlers with 5/102 while costing the least. The supports were from Milan Rathnayake and Lahiru Kumara who took two wickets each.
When asked, Sri Lanka could only put up a meager 196 runs on the board for their first innings. Only Kamindu Mendis put a fight with 74 off 120 including 8 fours and 3 sixes and the team lost its way. Edgbaston’s Chris Woakes and Olly Stone, Gus Atkinson and Matthew Potts each had two of the wickets while Shoaib Bashir had one. This left England considerably ahead by 231 runs.
England’s second innings saw them being more of a push over as they were bowled out for 251 runs. Joe Root 103 runs of 121 balls and 10 fours to once again lead the table in England batting. Harry Brook offered the next best contribution scoring 37 from 36 balls.
In the second innings, the Sri Lankan bowlers improved their performance with Asitha Fernando registering 3/52 and Lahiru Kumara picking up 3/53 too.
Still seeking a hefty haul of 483 runs, Sri Lanka with half-centuries by Dimuth Karunaratne (55 off 129), Dinesh Chandimal (58 off 62) and the captain Dhananjaya de Silva contributed his 50 runs off 71 runs. However, the efforts of the Sri Lankan team could only see them getting bowled out for a score of 292.
Gus Atkinson headed the English charge as he finished with a well taken 5/62, thus completing his third five-wicket haul at Lord’s. He also added two wickets Oussama and Chris Woakes
Atkinson’s outstanding feat has prompted him to declare, “It was special for me to go on all of Lord’s honours boards and bat with Joe Root in the first innings.”
Occupying positions in both batting and fielding departments proved at last to be a rewarding venture as both players were justified in moments as Atkinson was awarded the honorary title – Player of the Match. With this, England managed to gain confidence and wrap up the series.
