Gus Atkinson’s five-wicket haul eventually broke Sri Lanka’s resistance to give England victory in the second Test and the series with a match to spare.
After making his maiden hundred in the first innings, Atkinson became only the third England player to score a century and take five wickets in a Test, and first since Lord Botham in 1984.
In front of a sparse fourth-day crowd at Lord’s, the home side were held up by half-centuries from Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal and captain Dhananjaya de Silva.
England had the luxury of a mountain of runs – Sri Lanka were chasing a record 483 to win – but had to overcome some benign conditions, belated application from the tourists and two Joe Root dropped catches.
The tourists battled past tea, when Atkinson grasped the second new ball to hustle through the tail. He ended with 5-62 to leave Sri Lanka 292 all out and beaten by 190 runs.
The victory is England’s fifth in succession and gives them a second series triumph of the summer, following the 3-0 clean sweep against West Indies in July.
For Sri Lanka, this is a first defeat in six visits to Lord’s, following five draws stretching back to 2002. It is England’s seventh straight Test win over Sri Lanka since the drawn 2016 Lord’s Test.
The final Test at The Oval begins on Friday, with England looking for their first 100% Test summer since they earned seven wins in 2004.
Gus Atkinson shines at Lord’s with a stunning all-round performance! 💯🎯 England clinches the series with a game to spare! 🏏👏 #Cricket #ENGvSL