England set Sri Lanka 483 target as Joe Root makes 34th Test century

LONDON, August 31

Joe Root hit a record 34th Test century for England on Saturday as the home side set Sri Lanka a huge target of 483 to win the second Test at Lord’s and level the three-match series.

England were all out for 251 on the third day, Root making 103 following his knock of 143 in the first innings.

That took the Yorkshireman past the 33 Test hundreds scored by Alastair Cook to make Root England’s greatest centurion in the game’s longest format.

Sri Lanka have a massive task ahead of them if they are to avoid going 2-0 down in the series. The highest successful run chase in international Test cricket is the 418 the West Indies chased down to beat Australia in 2003.

England built steadily on their 231-run lead from the first innings in the morning, playing under lights on a gloomy day in north London. They lost wickets steadily, with Ben Duckett, captain Ollie Pope and Harry Brook falling before the lunch interval.

Jamie Smith (26), Chris Woakes (5), Gus Atkinson (14) and Matthew Potts (2) all came and went as Root steadily climbed into the 90s, before hitting another boundary to move to 102.