Joe Root guided England through a tricky final session as the hosts beat Sri Lanka by five runs in Manchester. (More Cricket News)
England Vs Sri Lanka 1st Test: Joe Root Propels Hosts To Five-wicket Victory
Root has scored 60+ in five of his last seven Test innings, after managing 42 in the first innings of this match
England looked like they could collapse when they were left at 70-3 following the dismissals of Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope and Dan Lawrence on Saturday.
Yet Root, along with Harry Brook, steadied the ship before the latter was caught and bowled by Prabath Jayasuriya on 32, leaving the hosts on 116-4, chasing a target of 204 to win.
Root, however, remained nerveless, with Jamie Smith contributing an entertaining and useful 39 from just 48 balls in a brief stint at the other end.
Smith's stand came to an end with England still 21 runs shy of their target, but Root would not let victory slip through their fingers.
And it was Root who fittingly had the final say as he struck his second boundary to take himself onto 62 and seal a convincing win.
Data Debrief: Root comes up big
Root has scored 60+ in five of his last seven Test innings, after managing 42 in the first innings of this match (84, 68, 14, 122, 87, 42, 62).
He is just one century away, meanwhile, from matching Alastair Cook's record of 33 Test tons for England.
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