LONDON: England pacer Gus Atkinson became the only third player to secure a double of century and five-wicket haul at Lord’s Stadium on Sunday and also tied with the legendary allrounder Ian Botham for a special record at the iconic stadium.
Atkinson scored his first-ever century in professional cricket and secured his third five-wicket haul at Lord’s to help England secure a 190 win against Sri Lanka, winning the three-match series 2-0. Atkinson scored 118 in 115 balls, with 14 fours and four sixes at a strike rate of over 102. He also had spells of 2/40 and 5/62 in the match.
He is only the third cricketer from England after Tony Greig and legendary Botham to have secured a double of century and five-wicket haul. Botham has achieved this double a total of five times. He is also the third player to achieve this double at Lord’s alongside India’s Vinoo Mankad (in 1952 against England) and Botham (in 1978 against Pakistan).
In just two Tests at Lord’s, Atkinson has taken 19 wickets in two matches at an average of 10.94 and a strike rate of 15.9, with three five-wicket hauls. This also includes a seven-wicket haul in an innings of his debut Test. His 19 wickets and three five-fers are Lord’s this summer joint-records for a single season at the ‘Home of Cricket’, alongside Botham, who bagged as many scalps and five-fors in two Tests (against Pakistan and New Zealand, respectively) in 1978.
Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to field first. England scored 427 runs in the first innings, with Joe Root (143 in 206 balls, with 18 fours) and Gus Atkinson (118 in 115 balls, with 14 fours and four sixes) slamming centuries to take England to a massive score. Asitha Fernando (5/102) was the top bowler for Sri Lanka. Milan Rathnayake and Lahiru Kumara took two wickets each.
In their first innings, despite Kamindu Mendis’s fighting 74 runs in 120 balls, with eight fours and three sixes, Sri Lanka could manage just 196 runs as the top-order let the team down again. Chris Woakes, Olly Stones, Gus Atkinson, and Matthew Potts got two wickets each, while Shoaib Bashir got one. England led by 231 runs.
Sri Lanka showcased much better control with the ball in England’s second inning, bundling them out for 251 runs. After Root’s 103 in 121 balls, with 10 fours, the second biggest contribution was delivered by Harry Brook (37 in 36 balls, with four boundaries and a six). Asitha Fernando (3/52) and Lahiru Kumara (3/53) were the top wicket takers for Sri Lanka.
In the run-chase of 483, Sri Lanka put up a fight as three half-centuries came from Dimuth Karunaratne (55 in 129 balls, with seven fours), Dinesh Chandimal (58 in 62 balls, with 11 fours) and skipper Dhananjaya de Silva (50 in 71 balls, with seven fours). But despite that, Lanka was bundled out for 292 runs and lost by 190 runs.
Atkinson (5/62) was the pick of the bowlers for England, picking his third five-wicket haul at the Lord’s. Olly Stone and Chris Woakes also got two wickets. Atkinson secured the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his all-round performance. (ANI)