England vs Sri Lanka second test is being played at Lord’s ground, which is called the ‘Mecca of Cricket’. By the end of the second day’s play, the hosts have tightened their grip. England had the opportunity to give follow-on to Sri Lanka in the Lord’s Test, but despite a lead of 231 runs, the team did not do so. If Ben Stokes were there, he would have probably thought of giving follow-on and ending this test on the third day itself. Batting first in this match, the English team had put 427 runs on the board with the help of centuries from Joe Root (143) and Gus Atkinson (118), in response to which the entire Sri Lankan team was reduced to 196 runs.
England started the second day of the Lord’s Test with 358 runs for the loss of 7 wickets. Gus Atkinson scored the first century of his Test career and took the team past 400. He hit 14 fours and 4 towering sixes in his innings, his strike rate was more than 100 during this period.
England’s first innings were bowled out for 427 runs, Asitha Fernando was the most successful bowler for Sri Lanka with 5 wickets. He also made his place on the Lord’s Honours Board by taking this wicket.
The Sri Lankan team which came out to chase this score was let down by their batsmen, the entire team collapsed for 196 runs in just 55.3 overs. Kamindu Mendis was the best batsman of the team with 74 runs, apart from him no one could even cross the 30 run mark. The result was that Sri Lanka had to bowl again on the second day, because England did not give them a follow-on.
England’s fast bowlers showed their magic on the Lord’s pitch. Apart from Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts and Ollie Stone, Shoaib Bashir also got 2-2 wickets.
On the third day, England will be looking to score big and win the series. Let us tell you, the host team is leading 1-0 in this three-match series.