The opening Test between Sri Lanka and England in Galle is being played minus spectators thanks to the pandemic.

But it's thanks to the pandemic that an Englishman got to see Joe Root's special double century on Saturday.

England cricket fan Rob Lewis cheered Root from the ramparts of the Galle Fort, which overlooks the stadium, as the captain also became the second fastest English player -- after Alistair Cook -- to score 8,000 Test runs en route to his double century.

Lewis travelled to Serendip before the pandemic froze life in lockdown limbo all over the planet and forced a postponement of the Sri Lanka-England series.

Lewis waited 10 months in Sri Lanka before Root and his team arrived.

After Root got to the landmark, Lewis tweeted: 'Still in a daze about this.'

Root is the seventh England batsman to score 8,000 runs. He id also the first English batsman to hit a double century in Sri Lanka.