Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett took charge of the run-making fest on the first day of the dead rubber test match between England and Sri Lanka after England sealed the test series in the second test match.
The third test match at The Oval stadium has already begun action as Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bowl first having lost the first two test matches against England.
England will look to clean sweep the series and strengthen themselves in the Points table while having a fabulous start on Day 1 with Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett.
Ben Duckett and Dan Lawrence opened the inning for England however Sri Lanka got a breakthrough as Right-arm fast bowler Lahiru Kumara broke the partnership of first wicket for just 45 runs in the 10th over of the inning.
Dan Lawrence departed for just 5 runs In 21 deliveries and Skipper Ollie Pope at No 3 proved a boon for England this time as Ollie Pope stabilized the inning with Duckett while adding 95 runs partnership for the second wicket.
Both, Duckett and Ollie Pope struggled to play an impactful inning in the first and second test matches against Sri Lanka.
Ben Duckett just added 18 runs in the first inning while just 11 runs in the second inning against Sri Lanka in the first Test match. His struggle even continued in the second test adding 40 runs in 47 deliveries and 24 runs in the 38 deliveries in the second innings.
Ben Duckett against Sri Lanka
| Match | 1st Innings | 2nd Innings |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Test Match | 18 Runs in 20 deliveries | 11 Runs in 14 deliveries |
| 2nd Test Match | 40 Runs 47 deliveries | 24 Runs in 38 deliveries |
| 3rd Test Match | 86 Runs in 79 deliveries | —————————— |
Ollie Pope who was handed the captaincy of the test matches looks like struggling with the captaincy pressure in the first and the second test matches against Sri Lanka.
Pope added 30 runs in 39 deliveries and 34 runs in 54 deliveries in the first and the second inning of the first test match respectively.
The struggle even got worse in the second test match as Skipper Pope got dismissed for a single run in the first inning and added just 17 runs in the second inning of the second test match which was unintentionally showing the captaincy pressure on Pope.
Ollie Pope against Sri Lanka
| Match | 1st Innings | 2nd Innings |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Test Match | 30 Runs in 39 deliveries | 34 Runs in 54 deliveries |
| 2nd Test Match | 1 Run 10 deliveries | 17 Runs in 38 deliveries |
| 3rd Test Match | 103 Not Out after Day 1 | —————————— |
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Early dismissal of the opening batter Dan Lawrence invited Skipper Ollie Pope into the crease when England were 45/1 after 9.2 overs.
Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope added a 95-run partnership for the second wicket as Ben Duckett registered his first half-century of the Test series and got dismissed for 86 runs in 79 deliveries while playing at the strike rate of 108.86 with 9 boundaries and 2 maximum.
England were reduced to 140/2 after Duckett’s dismissal In the 26th over. Joe Root who is in good form in this test series entered at No 4 for England however Pacer Lahiru Kumara did the job again for Sri Lanka in the dead rubber match.
Joe Root is the only England batter with 2 centuries and 1 half centuries in this test series. Root had completed 34 Centuries in test cricket with 2 back-to-back Centuries in the second test match in the Sri Lanka test series.
Joe Root scored 62 and 42 runs in the first and second innings respectively resulting in 104 Runs in the first test match and 143 runs and 103 runs in the second test match leading him to a total of 246 runs in the second test match
Root’s fabulous multiple centuries in the second test match led England to seal the match by a huge margin of 190 runs and the series by 2-0 with 1 match remaining. He scored 350 runs in the Test series against Sri Lanka while adding just 13 runs In the third match.
Joe Root smashed the 34th century in Test cricket inching closer to the Sachin Tendulkar record of 50 test centuries. With 16 in ODIs, he reached 50 Test Centuries and became the first batter from England to reach the milestone.
Experts are even predicting and showing faith in Joe Root for having the ability to surpass the record of all-time greatest Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 50 Test Century however he is still 16 centuries away from the record.
Root became the first player from England and Ninth player to reach the milestone of 50 centuries in international cricket.
Joe Root in Test Series vs Sri Lanka
| Match | 1st Innings | 2nd Innings |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Test Match | 42 Runs in 57 deliveries | 62 Runs in 128 deliveries |
| 2nd Test Match | 143 Runs 206 deliveries | 103 Runs in 121 deliveries |
| 3rd Test Match | 13 Runs in 48 deliveries | —————————— |
After Root’s dismissal, Harry Brook entered to assist in the run-making fest as Skipper was looking strong on the other end.
Ollie Pope smashed Century in the 44th over of the game before the umpires signaled to get off the field due to bad light conditions
Ollie Pope registered the 7th Test Century in his name and first in the Oval his home ground.
Can Sri Lanka make a comeback in the second day through bowling as Centurion skipper Ollie Pope will be on strike with Harry Brook who is at 8 runs in 14 deliveries? Comment below.
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