Gus Atkinson took five wickets to get himself on the Lord’s honours board for the second time in the match as England sealed a comprehensive 190-run win over Sri Lanka on Sunday, taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-test series.
England' newest superstar followed his swashbuckling first innings century with figures of 5-62 in Sri Lanka's second as the visitors ultimately crumbled to 292 all out despite a spirited counterattack on the fourth day.
Set a massive 483 to win and resuming on 53-2 overnight, Sri Lanka's task looked all but impossible. Their approach was to ignore the match situation and attack, ensuring a steady flow of wickets and boundaries over the course of a fourth day that at times resembled a limited-overs contest. The morning session cost the visitors only nightwatchman Prabath Jayasuriya (4) and Dimuth Karunaratne (55). Karunaratne made the first half century by an opener in the series, striking Atkinson for three fours in one over before fending a lifter from Olly Stone through to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith.
Angelo Mathews (36) had looked typically assured after the lunch interval before chipping a catch to Chris Woakes at mid on from the bowling of Shoaib Bashir.
England's new frontline spinner had endured a tricky start to the day, leaking boundaries as Sri Lanka tried to hit him out of the attack.
At the other end of his career, the 35-year-old Woakes was typically metronomic on his favourite hunting ground, sending down seven maiden overs to give England a measure of control. 'The person using the headset can really zoom in on what they want to see, they can manipulate the image to suit their sight loss.
Dinesh Chandimal (58) appeared to be next out, trapped lbw by Woakes having raced to a half century off just 42 balls, but a review showed the thinnest of edges. He went soon after, caught by Dan Lawrence at short leg as a thick edge from an Atkinson rocket ballooned off the pad.
One strange subplot of the series has been Sri Lanka's refusal to promote their most effective batsman so far, Kamindu Mendis, up the order.
Brief scores
England 1st innings 427 (J Root 143, G Atkinson 118; A Fernando 5-102)
Sri Lanka 1st innings 196 (K Mendis 74)
England 2nd innings 251 (J Root 103, A Fernando 3-52, L Kumara 3-53)
Sri Lanka 2nd innings 292 (D Chandimal 58, D Karunaratne 55, D de Silva 50; G Atkinson 5-62)
Result: England won by 190 runs
Series: England lead three-match series 2-0.
