ENG vs SL: Ollie Pope's England secured a 190-run victory over Sri Lanka at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground, completing a 2-0 sweep of the two-match Test series. Gus Atkinson was named Player of the Match for his remarkable all-round performance, which included a century and a five-wicket haul.
Atkinson continued his love affair with Lord's, taking his third five-wicket haul at the venue in just his second Test there. England bowled Sri Lanka out for 292 on Sunday, September 1, to claim victory in the second Test. Atkinson's impressive figures of 16-4-62-5 brought his wicket tally to 19 from just two Tests at the historic ground.
Chasing a daunting target of 483, Sri Lanka struggled to maintain momentum, losing wickets at regular intervals. Dimuth Karunaratne top-scored with 55 off 129 balls before Olly Stone dismissed him. After being reduced to 115 for four, Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal attempted to steady the innings with a 59-run partnership, but young spinner Shoaib Bashir removed Chandimal for 36.
Chandimal looked in fine form, scoring 58 off 62 balls with 11 fours, but his promising innings was cut short by Atkinson. Kamindu Mendis, who had been in excellent form in Test cricket, failed to reach double figures, but Dhananjaya de Silva fought valiantly.
De Silva put together a 73-run partnership with Milan Rathnayake, scoring a brisk 50 off 71 balls. Rathnayake also resisted England's attack, contributing 43 runs. However, Atkinson dismissed both de Silva and Rathnayake, bringing England closer to victory.
Chris Woakes then took the final wicket, dismissing Lahiru Kumara to seal the win. Woakes and Stone each took two wickets. Alongside his bowling heroics, Atkinson also made a significant contribution with the bat, scoring 118 in England's first innings.
Despite Joe Root's twin centuries and record-breaking feats, including surpassing Alastair Cook, it was Atkinson who earned the Player of the Match award for his outstanding all-round performance.