The first Test of the three-match series between Ollie Pope-led England National Cricket Team and Dhananjaya de Silva-led Sri Lanka National Cricket Team concluded on Saturday, August 24. The match, which was hosted by the Old Trafford in Manchester, was part of the ongoing cycle of the ICC World Test Championship.
Sri Lanka National Cricket Team won the toss in the match and they chose to bat first. The Lankan batters looked miserable in the beginning and lost 3 wickets for just 6 runs. It was an absolutely nightmarish start from the visitors but they eventually made it to a good total of 236 runs.
Dhananjaya de Silva played the captain's knock as he smashed 74 runs to stabilize the innings of his team. However, it was the 72 runs scored by debutant Milan Rathnayake that surprised everyone and he received heavy praise from the experts.
England, meanwhile, in their first innings, bazballed from the first over and, after grinding hard, posted 358 runs on the board to take a good lead. The heroes of the innings were Jamie Smith (111) and Harry Brook (56).
When the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team came to bat next, they were once again off to an absolutely terrible start. They lost 2 wickets for just 1 run and were completely down. That was when veteran all-rounder Angelo Mathews stepped up and showed his true class.
He smashed 65 runs and kept his team in the game. Dinesh Chandimal also batted exceptionally well in the innings and played a sensational knock of 79 runs, staying in the middle till the very end despite facing a thumb injury scare. However, the best performance from Sri Lanka came from the bat of Kamindu Mendis, who smashed a stupendous 113 runs.
Sri Lanka ended up with a score of 326 and they gave England a target of 205 runs, which wasn't easy to chase. Chasing the total, Ben Duckett and Dan Lawrence batted positively and punished the bad balls. Ben Duckett was the first one to get dismissed, and soon Ollie Pope followed him to the dugout, failing in his captaincy debut.
Dan Lawrence (34) and Harry Brook (32) were the next two batters to be dismissed, and their wickets gave Sri Lanka hope to come back into the game.
In the end, the first innings centurion Jamie Smith smashed 39 runs before the modern-day great Joe Root (62) took the team past the finish line along with Chris Woakes (8). England won by 5 wickets and have taken a 1-0 lead.
ICC World Test Championship Points Table After ENG vs SL 1st Test 2024
| Pos | Team | Played | Won | Lost | Draw | Ded | Points | Pct |
| 1 | India | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 74 | 68.52 |
| 2 | Australia | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 90 | 62.5 |
| 3 | New Zealand | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 50 |
| 4 | England | 14 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 19 | 69 | 41.07 |
| 5 | Sri Lanka | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 40 |
| 6 | South Africa | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 38.89 |
| 7 | Pakistan | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 36.66 |
| 8 | Bangladesh | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 25 |
| 9 | West Indies | 9 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 18.52 |
Ahead of the Manchester Test match between England and Sri Lanka, the Three Lions were at the No.7 spot on the table with a PCT of 36.54. The Lankan Lions, on the other hand, occupied the No.4 spot with a PCT of 50.00. With the win, England have jumped to the fourth spot, pushing Sri Lanka to fifth position.
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