Reaction on Twitter: Joe Root shines in England’s shock defeat to Sri Lanka in the Manchester Test.

In a tense finale at Manchester’s Old Trafford, Joe Root he played a key role in England’s five-wicket victory Sri Lanka. In the first Test of the three-match series, England chased down a target of 205 runs after a shaky start.

Sri Lanka are struggling with batting in the first innings

Sri Lanka, who chose to bat first, managed to score 236 runs in their first innings, Dhananjaya de Silva again Milan Rathnayake provided valuable contributions after the team found themselves in a precarious situation at 113 for 7. England responded with a strong first innings total of 358, led by. Jamie Smithwho scored 111 runs, marking his maiden Test century and becoming the youngest England wicket-taker to do so.

In their second innings, Sri Lanka challenged themselves by scoring 326 runs, with Kamindu Mendis shining with an amazing 113 runs. This left England needing 205 runs to win. However, the chase started with fear for the home team as they lost three wickets for only 70 runs.

Root’s composure is also combined with half a century, and significant contributions from Harry Brook and Smith, strengthened the innings. England eventually reached 205 for 5win the game and take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Game Player

Smith’s performance earned him the ‘Player of the Match’ award, and he expressed pride in his contribution to the team’s success.

“It’s a milestone (in registering his first international century), having missed out by 5 runs in the previous series, it feels good,” Smith said as he introduced himself after the game.

“To get over the line and give us the lead is amazing. It’s when you come back after a day’s play and check those messages from all the people who have been a part of your journey and supported you throughout, it feels really amazing. A very proud moment,” he added.

READ MORE: Youngest wickets to score a Test century in England – with Jamie Smith

“Putting us in that position (getting a lead in the first innings) is very exciting because we knew it wouldn’t be easy to score four in that position. It was still a tough chase, it was attritional and it was a good wicket, but they bowled well. Root played well and allowed everyone to play around him. It’s a fun team to be a part of, to be there and represent your country is a real honor.”

Here’s how Twitter responded:

Really match the winning innings by Joe Root – a great find. Just hit one boundary to reach his half century and follow up with another boundary which was a match winning stock!
Brilliant test cricket – a perfect battle between ball and bat.
Ben Stokes misses out. I hope that… pic.twitter.com/QboivUcfDA

— Basit Subhani (@BasitSubhani) August 24, 2024

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 😍#ENGLISH

– England’s Barmy Army 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁿🎺 (@TheBarmyArmy) August 24, 2024

THIS IS JOE ROOT 👊

– No Stokes, No Crawley, England chasing, lost a few quick wickets & Root stands for England, What a player, What a cricketer. The best from England in batting. pic.twitter.com/TFHwBIJTiI

— John. (@CricCrazyJohns) August 24, 2024

– 61 Average in 2021.
– 45.75 Average in 2022.
– 65.58 Average in 2023.
– 51.07 Average in 2024.
JOE ROOT’S PEAK IN TEST CRICKET – England’s best ever batsman #joeroot #CricketRenaissance #TestCricket #ENGLISH pic.twitter.com/RGMOP9wXpN

– Sahidul Islam (@Sahidul4u) August 25, 2024

150 runs in the match, 🙌
Years of maiden tests, 4 dismissals of the best player #JamieSmith #ENGLISH #SLvENG
📸/ @englandcricket pic.twitter.com/6zKDFjpnMD

– Pragnesh Patel (@Pragnesh1935) August 25, 2024

19500 International Runs for Joe Root.@impande66 #ENGLISH @englandcricket

– JaayShaan (VaidhyaJayaShankar) (@JaayShaan) August 25, 2024

A successful start to England’s 3-match test series in Manchester! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿💪

England took a 1-0 lead in the series thanks to a win against Sri Lanka. 👏

This also marks Ollie Pope’s first Test win as England captain. 👊#OlliePope #EnglandCricket #ENGLISH pic.twitter.com/gOOwxNhQB1

– Saabir Zafar (@Saabir_Saabu01) August 24, 2024

In the fourth innings, Joe Root amassed 602 runs at an average of 100.33. 🥶💥

-The only player in Test history with a better average and more runs is Kane Williamson, who boasts 682 runs at 171.50.💥🔥

-Can Root bridge the gap? 🤔 #ENGLISH

– Ajay Chorage (@_AjayChorage) August 25, 2024

Joe Root is one of the greatest players I have ever watched. In any case, whoever is against him, he is the only one, Joe Root, thanks for every single run #isizulu pic.twitter.com/wDCp5Mtr4H

– Jordan Davies (@jordandavies09) August 25, 2024

England beat Sri Lanka by 5 wickets in the Manchester Test

Scorecard: https://t.co/mQ9OCUDp8k#ENGLISH #Exams #cricket #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/IvTiS7AC7j

– CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) August 25, 2024

UPDATE: Meet Harry Singh, son of RP Singh, who played for England in the first Test against Sri Lanka