England registered an impressive 190-run win to win the second Test match against Sri Lanka at Lord's on September 1. After making an impact with a bat in the first innings, Gus Atkinson picked five wickets as Sri Lanka's second innings collapsed on 292.
Chasing a mammoth 483-run target on Day 4, the travelling side tried to fight back with the former captain Dimuth Karunaratne scoring 55 runs and Angelo Mathews adding 36 runs. Captain Dhananjaya de Silva and wicketkeeper batter Dinesh Chandimal also scored quick fifties but were not able to convert them into big innings to make any difference.
Atkinson, who scored 118 runs while batting at no.8 position in the first innings, dominated the Day 4 with a ball. He picked five wickets to become the only third cricketer to record a century and take a five-wicket haul in a match at Lord's. Atkinson's all-round heroics overshadowed Joe Root's two centuries across two innings to clinch the Player of the Match award.
The Three Lions also sealed the three-match series to further strengthen their fourth spot in the ICC World Test Championship 2025 points table. England remain in the fourth position with a winning percentage of 45.00 while Sri Lanka slipped to the seventh position after their fourth loss in the six matches.
Atkinson talked about his excitement to get on honours boards in his special Lord's debut match and added that batting with Joe Root was a special thing for him.
"I couldn't have asked for much more, to get on both honours boards is incredible, will take a while to sink in, batting alongside Root was special in the first innings," Gus Atkinson said. "Dad I'm sure has had a great week. My first red-ball games at Lord's have gone my way, I enjoy bowling with the slope, long may it continue. The way we go about the game, we like to attack, and it's great to attack without worrying about runs."
