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Joe Root notches record 34th Test hundred as England close in

For the second time in three days at Lord’s, it was all about Joe Root. England’s batting bellwether continued a bumper Test match by producing twin tons for the first time in his storied career, his 34th century in the format setting new records for his country – and setting his team on their way towards what would be a series-sealing win.
England began the day in a position of comfort, 256 runs ahead with nine wickets standing, and Root allowed an expectant crowd to drink in the experience of a Lord’s Saturday. If there was data on champagne corks popped, Root would probably set have another benchmark. As it was, his innings of 103 was garlanded by several entries in the record books: his seventh Test hundred the most by an individual at Lord’s, as he surpassed Graham Gooch as the leading run-scorer on the ground. Cook’s overall England run-scoring records is now less than 100 runs away.
This effort, coming from 111 balls, was also his fastest in the format. He reached the mark, in the company of the No. 10, Olly Stone, by swatting Lahiru Kumara’s bouncer in front of deep point, amid a rising crescendo of “Roooooooot!” rolling around the ground. The next-highest score by one of his team-mates was Harry Brook’s 37 off 36 balls.
With Sri Lanka asked to chase a target of 483, Root was at it again in the field – his two catches at first slip to remove Nishan Madushka and Pathum Nissanka making him the fourth man to take 200 in Tests. Rahul Dravid, the record-holder with 210, is very much in his sights.
That Sri Lanka finished the day only two down was in part due to an early finish brought about by bad light. A world-record target looked a long way off for a team short on batting confidence, though Dimuth Karunaratne survived being given out lbw to his third ball – a poor decision from Paul Reiffel overturned – to negotiate 90 minutes in the gloom after tea. He walked off in the company of “lightwatcher” Prabath Jayasuriya after England had been instructed to bowl their spinners for a second time, with Ollie Pope preferring to preserve the condition of the ball for Sunday.
Madushka was the first wicket to fall, edging Gus Atkinson to slip to continue a difficult first tour of England – having been replaced behind the stumps by Dinesh Chandimal on the third morning, he also dropped two catches in the field (although one still resulted in the dismissal of Ben Duckett, as Angelo Mathews snaffled the rebound). Nissanka survived on 2 when the faintest of under-edges to leg slip off Shoaib Bashir went undetected, only to be dismissed by a snorter in Olly Stone’s first over as the light briefly improved enough to allow a return to pace.
Joe Root passes by as Joel Wilson puts the light meter to work, England vs Sri Lanka, 2nd Test, Lord’s, 3rd day, August 31, 2024
Bad light forced an early finish on day 3[Cricinfo]
England left the field at just after 5pm, content that there is plenty of time left for them to take the eight wickets required for a 2-0 lead in the series. Kamindu Mendis had held out the hope on the second evening that Sri Lanka could find a way back into the game if they could get England out for “under 150-175” – they gamely chipped out five wickets by that stage but couldn’t prevent a Root march carrying the hosts to 251 and a seemingly impregnable position.
Root’s reliability had allowed England to negotiate the morning session with few alarms, and the game continued to revolve around him after the interval. A nudge down the ground off Jayasuriya took him to fifty from 65 balls, and he began to push the tempo with three fours – two hauled through wide long-on, one delicately reverse-swept – in four balls.
Sri Lanka kept at it, Jayasuriya removing Jamie Smith lbw despite a review from the batter, before Chris Woakes flat-batted Milan Rathnayake to cover. Atkinson’s dismissal, meanwhile, came in complete contrast to the elegant simplicity that characterised his maiden hundred in the first innings: caught behind the keeper at long-stop when top-edging a reverse-pull at Asitha Fernando. Potts then gloved the same bowler behind but Stone hung in to get Root to his milestone.
Stone was caught at fine leg in the same over, and although England’s approach had seemed to have a declaration in mind, they batted on. Root eventually gave Kumara a third wicket, top-edging a tired heave to deep-backward square leg, with tea taken early at the close of the innings.
England’s batting effort was uneven, Root aside, reflective of their strong grip on the game. Three wickets went down during the morning session, including that of Pope, England’s stand-in captain, who made his highest score while deputising for Ben Stokes but again fell in perplexing fashion, slashing an Asitha bouncer straight to deep backward point for 17, shortly after Sri Lanka had put four men back for the ploy.
The hosts resumed on 25 for 1, after Dan Lawrence’s dismissal on the second evening, and Ben Duckett was the first to depart, thanks to accidental piece of choreography between slip and gully. Rathnayake pitched the ball up from round the wicket, tempting the drive – and while Madushka could not hold on diving to his right, he managed to scoop the chance back towards Mathews for a regulation catch.
At the other end, Pope was looking to quell some of the noise around his batting. He moved into double-figures for the first time in the series with a clip off his legs, then survived a review for lbw against Rathnayake, with ball-tracking showing the ball would have cleared the stumps. But he did not last much longer, as Asitha targeted him from round the wicket.
The first of Root’s four boundaries was a thick outside edge between slip and gully, but he was otherwise serene in progressing towards a third consecutive 50-plus score. Jayasuriya was picked off on the sweep and twice down the ground, though Root was initially happy to tick along at a strike rate in the 70s, allowing Brook and then Smith to play the aggressor.
Brook’s intent during a half-century stand seemed to suggest that England were already thinking about the declaration. Brook was badly dropped on 9, Madushka making a mess of a skied slog-sweep at midwicket, then launched Jayasuriya’s next delivery into the Tavern Stand to rub in the pain. Sri Lanka’s spinner bore the brunt of the attack, but he had the satisfaction of removing Brook when another attempt to haul him leg side was safely held by Madushka in front of the rope.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 196 and 53 for 2 in 20 overs (Dimuth Karunaratne 23; Olly Stone 1-1, Gus Atkinson 1-15)need a further 430 runs to beat England 427 and 251 (Joe Root 103; Asitha Fernando 3-52, Lahiru Kumara 3-53)
[Cricinfo]
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Trump claims ceasefire reached between Israel and Iran

United States President Donald Trump says that Iran and Israel have agreed to a “complete and total” ceasefire, which will come into effect in the coming hours.
Trump’s announcement on Monday came shortly after an Iranian missile attack on Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which houses US troops.
“On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will, I would like to congratulate both Countries, Israel and Iran on having the Stamina, Courage, and Intelligence to end, what should be called, ‘THE 12 DAY WAR,’” Trump said in a social media post.
“This is a War that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and never will! God bless Israel, God bless Iran, God bless the Middle East, God bless the United States of America, and GOD BLESS THE WORLD!”
Neither Israel nor Iran has confirmed the agreement.
Trump’s statement suggested that Iran would stop firing at Israel hours before the Israeli military ends its operations.
(Aljazeera)
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Iran launches missiles at US base in Qatar in response to strikes

Iran has launched missiles at US airbases in Qatar and Iraq in response to strikes on its nuclear sites on Saturday, state media reports
Qatar confirms the attack on the US-run Al Udeid base, calling it a “flagrant violation” and says it reserves the right to respond directly
The country has temporarily closed its airspace and US and UK citizens have been advised to shelter in place
In Washington, Donald Trump is attending a National Security Council meeting shortly, after the White House earlier said he was ‘simply raisinga question’ in floating the idea of regime change in Iran
It comes as Israel says it is targeting Tehran with “unprecedented force”, including attacks on “access routes” to the Fordo nuclear site and Evin prison.
Al Udeid, located near Qatar’s capital Doha, serves as the headquarters for US Central Command’s air operations in the Middle East and hosts nearly 8,000 US troops.
British forces also rotate through the base, sometimes referred to as Abu Nakhla Airport.
The facility currently serves as the headquarters and logistics base for US operations in Iraq and also includes the longest air landing strip in the Gulf region.
Qatar gave the United States access to the Al Udeid base in 2000. After the Americans took over as base managers in 2001, Doha and Washington inked an agreement in December 2002 that officially recognised the US military’s presence at Al Udeid facility, according to London-based intelligence firm Grey Dynamics.
In 2024, CNN reported that the US reached an agreement to extend its military presence in Qatar for another 10 years.
(BBC)
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Milan Rathnayake ruled out of second Test against Bangladesh

Milan Rathnayake been ruled out of the second Test against Bangladesh in Colombo, which will start on June 25, with a side strain. Left-arm seamer Vishwa Fernando has been named as his replacement.
Spin-bowling allrounder Dunith Wellalage was also drafted into Sri Lanka’s squad. The 22-year-old is set to take the spot of Angelo Mathews, who had retired from Test cricket after the first Test.
Milan had briefly exited the field on the second morning in Galle, but had returned later to end the first innings with three wickets – he finished with four across the Test. He had been miserly with his economy rate, and his burst in the final session of day two ensured Bangladesh’s first-innings total remained within Sri Lanka’s reach. Then with the bat, he was part of a crucial 84-run seventh-wicket stand with Kamindu Mendis, in which the allrounder contributed with 39 off 83.
If Sri Lanka seek to replace him in the XI with another allrounder, another seam-bowling allrounder isn’t available in the squad. Wellalage and Sonal Dinusha are both useful with their left-arm spin, but with SSC pitch not as conducive to spin as Galle – which itself was unusually batter-friendly – Sri Lanka will likely want to go with extra seam-bowling option. If either were to get picked, Tharindu Rathnayake might be the odd man out. Vishwa, Asitha Fernando and Kasun Rajitha and the uncapped Isitha Wijesundara make up the pace contingent.
As for Mathews’ replacement in the XI, it’s more likely to come from one of Pasindu Sooriyabandara or Pavan Rathnayake, both of whom have impressed domestically and with Sri Lanka A recently. Oshada Fernando is also a potential pick, having returned to the national fold following an impressive stint with Sri Lanka A towards the end of 2024.
After the second match against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka will not play another Test until next year.
Sri Lanka squad for second Test:
Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), Pathum Nissanka, Oshada Fernando, Lahiru Udara, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Kusal Mendis, Dunith Wellalage Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Sonal Dinusha, Pavan Rathnayake, Prabath Jayasuriya, Tharindu Rathnayake, Akila Dananjaya, Vishwa Fernando, Asitha Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Isitha Wijesundara
(Cricinfo)
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