London [UK], September 1 (ANI): After surpassing Alastair Cook’s record of most Test centuries for England, star batter Joe Root said that there’s “no better feeling” to achieve the landmark.
Root leapfrogged Cook to register the most centuries by an English batter in the longest format, as he scored his 34th century in Tests against Sri Lanka on Saturday.
In a video shared on the England Cricket Board’s (ECB) official X handle, Root hoped that more such days would come in the future.
“I just want to play. I just want to play and try and, you know do my bit for the team and score the runs that… But there’s no better feeling, I mean, it’s obviously amazing when, you know, you score 100 and you know, you’d be lying if you said it wasn’t, a big part of why you start playing the game and what you love about it. But there’s no feeling better than winning a Test match. So the more it can affect games and the more you can, you know, add to the team the greater it is. And hopefully, more days like this will come with that mentality,” Root said.
When asked about Cook, the Root added that the former batter has been very “supportive” to him.
“He’s been very gracious and supportive throughout and he’s a good pal of mine, so I am sure I will be able to rib him a bit later on about it,” he added.
https://x.com/englandcricket/status/1829946743665926287
Coming to the match, Sri Lanka has been given a huge target of 483 runs to win the match and level the series 1-1.
Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to field first. England scored 427 runs in the first innings, with 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.
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 innings, bundling them out for 251 runs. After Root’s 103, 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. (ANI)
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