In a tense finish at Manchester’s Old Trafford,  Joe Root played a pivotal role in England’s narrow five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka. In the first Test of the three-match series, England chased down a target of 205 runs after a shaky start.

Sri Lanka’s struggle with the bat in the first innings

Sri Lanka, having elected to bat first, managed to post a total of 236 runs in their first innings, with Dhananjaya de Silva and Milan Rathnayake providing crucial contributions after the team found themselves in a precarious position at 113 for 7. England responded with a solid first innings total of 358, led by Jamie Smith, who scored 111 runs, marking his maiden Test century and becoming the youngest England wicketkeeper to achieve this feat.

In their second innings, Sri Lanka set a challenging target by scoring 326 runs, with Kamindu Mendis shining with a remarkable 113 runs. This left England needing 205 runs to secure the win. However, the chase began nervously for the hosts as they lost three wickets for just 70 runs.

Root’s calm and composed half-century, along with vital contributions from Harry Brook and Smith, steadied the innings. England ultimately reached 205 for 5, clinching the game and taking a 1-0 lead in the series.

Player of the Match

Smith’s performance earned him the ‘Player of the Match’ award, and he expressed his pride in contributing to the team’s success.

“It’s a great milestone (on registering his maiden international century), having missed out by 5 runs in the previous series, it feels nice,” Smith said in the post-match presentation.

“To go over the line and to get us into the lead is amazing. It’s when you come back after a day’s play and check those messages from all the people who have been part of your journey and supported you throughout, it really feels amazing. Very proud moment,” he added.

Also READ: Youngest wicketkeepers to smash a Test century for England – feat Jamie Smith

“To put us into that position ( on gaining lead in the first innings) is very pleasing because we knew it is not going to be easy to bat fourth on that surface. Always a semi-difficult chase, it was attritional and it was a nice wicket, but they bowled nicely. Root played well and allowed everyone to play around him. Enjoyable team to be part of, to be out there and representing your country is a great honour really.”

Here’s how Twitter reacted:

Truly match winning innings by Joe Root – magnificent adoptibility. Just hit one boundary reaching his half century and then the other boundary which was a match winning stoke!
Brilliant test cricket – perfect battle between ball and bat.
Ben Stokes was missed. Hope he… pic.twitter.com/QboivUcfDA

— Basit Subhani (@BasitSubhani) August 24, 2024

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT 😍#ENGvSL

— England’s Barmy Army 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🎺 (@TheBarmyArmy) August 24, 2024

THIS IS JOE ROOT 👊

– No Stokes, No Crawley, England chasing, lost few quick wickets & Root stands for England, What a player, What a cricketer. The best from England in batting. pic.twitter.com/TFHwBIJTiI

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) August 24, 2024

– 61 Average in 2021.
– 45.75 Average in 2022.
– 65.58 Average in 2023.
– 51.07 Average in 2024.
THE PEAK OF JOE ROOT IN TEST CRICKET – The best ever batter from England #joeroot #CricketUpdate #TestCricket #ENGvSL pic.twitter.com/RGMOP9wXpN

— Sahidul Islam (@Sahidul4u) August 25, 2024

150 runs in the match, 🙌
Maiden Test century, 4 dismissals Player of the Match 👏🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 #JamieSmith #ENGvSL #SLvENG
📸/ @englandcricket pic.twitter.com/6zKDFjpnMD

— Pragnesh Patel (@Pragnesh1935) August 25, 2024

19500 International Runs for Joe Root.@root66 #ENGvSL @englandcricket

— JaayShaan (VaidhyaJayaShankar) (@JaayShaan) August 25, 2024

A winning start to the 3-match Test series for England in Manchester! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿💪

England go 1-0 up in the series as a result of a clinical win against Sri Lanka. 👏

This also marks the first Test victory for Ollie Pope as England’s captain. 👊#OlliePope #EnglandCricket #ENGvSL pic.twitter.com/gOOwxNhQB1

— Saabir Zafar (@Saabir_Saabu01) August 24, 2024

In fourth innings wins, Joe Root has amassed an impressive 602 runs at an average of 100.33. 🥶💥

-The only player in Test history with a better average and more runs is Kane Williamson, who boasts 682 runs at a staggering 171.50.💥🔥

-Can Root close the gap? 🤔 #ENGvSL

— Ajay Chorage (@_AjayChorage) August 25, 2024

Joe Root is the single greatest batter I’ll ever watch. In any conditions, whoever the opponent, it’s him, the one and only, Joe Root, thank you for every single run #engvsl pic.twitter.com/wDCp5Mtr4H

— Jordan Davies (@jordandavies09) August 25, 2024

England beat Sri Lanka by 5 wickets in the Manchester Test

Scorecard: https://t.co/mQ9OCUDp8k#ENGvSL #Tests #cricket #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/IvTiS7AC7j

— CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) August 25, 2024

Also READ: Meet Harry Singh, son of RP Singh, who fielded for England in the first Test against Sri Lanka

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