Twitter Reactions: Root's 33rd ton, Atkinson's maiden 50 bail England out of trouble at Lord's

England will be the happier side at the end of Day 1 of the second Test against Sri Lanka at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground as they recovered from a precarious situation at 216/6 to finish on 358/7 at stumps.

Dhananjaya de Silva won a crucial toss and opted to field first on Thursday, August 29. Ben Duckett and Dan Lawrence added 33 runs inside the first seven overs before the latter was dismissed by Lahiru Kumara. Stand-in skipper Ollie Pope fell for his third single-digit score in as many innings in the ongoing series as Asitha Fernando gave the visitors their second scalp.

Also Read: I think Harry Brook is the new Joe Root: Stuart Broad

Joe Root walked out to the middle and he got off the mark with a boundary off the first ball, clipping a length ball off his pads behind square. It was a sign of things to come as the legendary batter played some delightful strokes and added 40 runs with Duckett before the southpaw departed for a 47-ball 40.

Harry Brook (33) and Jamie Smith (21) got starts but failed to capitalise, while Chris Woakes fell cheaply. The Sri Lankan pacers were putting on a fine show as England slumped to 216/6 in the 59th over.

Root, Atkinson lead England fightback

Root saw wickets falling from the other end but he held his composure as Gus Atkinson joined him in the middle. The two right-handed batters played their shots, adopting a counter-attacking approaching during their game-changing partnership of 92 runs off 111 balls. During this much-needed partnership for the hosts, Root notched up his 33rd Test century. He was eventuall dismissed for 143 off 206 after hitting 18 glorous boundaries.

Also Read: 'I learned how I can have my batting and captaincy separate' - Ollie Pope on performing dual role in Sri Lanka Tests

Matthew Potts joined Atkinson in the middle and the latter went on to score his maiden half-century in international cricket. The two right-arm pacers added 50 runs off 63 balls before the end of day's play. Atkinson finished unbeaten on 74 off 81 balls, belting five fours and four sixes. Meanwhile, Potts remained not out on 20.

The home side will look to get past the 400-run mark to gain the psychological advantage over the tourists. Fernando, Kumara, and Milan Rathnayake bagged two wickets apiece, while Prabath Jayasuriya got the better of Duckett.

Here's how 'X' users reacted to the action on Day 1: