Sri Lanka claimed its fourth Test victory on English soil after opener Pathum Nissanka’s unbeaten century led to an eight-wicket win in the third and final match of the series against England at The Oval on Monday.
Despite England winning the series 2-1, they missed out on a clean sweep of their international summer, having defeated the West Indies 3-0 in July.
Starting Day 4 on 94-1 and needing 125 more runs to win, Sri Lanka completed the chase in under two hours. The foundation was laid on Sunday when they bowled England out for 156 in just 34 overs, setting a victory target of 219.
Nissanka anchored the chase with his second Test hundred, reaching three figures in 107 balls and finishing 127 not out as Sri Lanka reached 219 in 40.3 overs. The diminutive opener struck 13 fours and two sixes, celebrating his milestone by spreading his arms wide, kissing his bat, and looking to the sky. His previous century was against the West Indies in 2021, his debut year in Test cricket.
Nissanka’s performance raised questions about why he was not selected for the first Test against England at Old Trafford last month, before being recalled for the second Test at Lord’s. He fittingly scored the winning runs with a cut for four.
Sri Lanka’s previous Test wins in England were at The Oval in 1998, Trent Bridge in 2006, and Headingley in 2014. This latest victory seemed improbable after Day 1 when England ended on 221-3 despite Sri Lanka winning the toss and bowling in perfect conditions. However, Sri Lanka capitalized as England’s performance deteriorated.
The only wicket to fall on Monday was that of Kusal Mendis (39), who was caught in the deep by Shoaib Bashir off Gus Atkinson. Angelo Mathews remained unbeaten on 32, adding 111 runs in an unbroken stand with Nissanka for the third wicket.
Source: AP
