Batter Joe Root surpassed Alastair Cook on Saturday to become the player with the highest number of Test centuries for England with 34 on day three of the second Test against Sri Lanka.
This was his second century in the same match with the player scoring 102 in the second innings which followed his first innings’ knock of 143.
England were all out for 251 in their second innings at Lord’s, setting the visitors a huge target of 483 to win the second test and level the three-match series.
The highest successful run chase in international test cricket is the 418 that West Indies chased down to beat Australia in May 2003.
Earlier, Ben Duckett (24) was dismissed with a wonderful two-man catch off Milan Rathnayake, getting a thick edge on the ball that Nishan Madushka at gully dived for but could only parry into the air for Angelo Mathews at second slip to grab hold of.
Pope (17) trudged back to the pavilion not long after Duckett, having stepped back and slashed at a ball from Asitha Fernando only to send it sailing into the air towards deep backward point and down into the hands of Prabath Jayasuriya.
Brook (37) racked up the runs and was lucky to survive one dropped catch by Madushka but eventually offered him another near the boundary that the Sri Lanka man held onto.
In the first innings England piled up an impressive 427 before dismissing Sri Lanka for 196 on Friday afternoon, and they lost only Dan Lawrence (7) before stumps at the start of their second innings.
(With agency inputs)
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