After a gap of 40 years filled with 21 different Tests underway in England, it was Sri Lanka’s fourth win. The last time they tasted victory was a decade ago, winning a two-Test match by 1-0. Fast forward to the present day – it was Monday when Sri Lanka experienced a victorious feeling again in England. They hit their 219 runs target with absolute calm at The Oval. It was Pathum Nissanka with a dazzling 127 not out who guided them to a comfort win.
The end result was 2-1, a series defeat, but this win served as a consolation. If we look back at Sunday, Sri Lanka had an effective end, wrapping up the day at 94-1. The task for Monday was to score an additional 125 runs. They achieved this in just over two hours, comfortably finishing at 219-2. They took the game by eight wickets, a satisfying outcome indeed.
After a gap of 40 years filled with 21 different Tests underway in England, it was Sri Lanka’s fourth win. The last time they tasted victory was a decade ago, winning a two-Test match by 1-0. Fast forward to the present day – it was Monday when Sri Lanka experienced a victorious feeling again in England. They hit their 219 runs target with absolute calm at The Oval.
It was Pathum Nissanka with a dazzling 127 not out who guided them to a comfort win. The end result was 2-1, a series defeat, but this win served as a consolation. If we look back at Sunday, Sri Lanka had an effective end, wrapping up the day at 94-1. The task for Monday was to score an additional 125 runs. They achieved this in just over two hours, comfortably finishing at 219-2. They took the game by eight wickets, a satisfying outcome indeed.
Kusal Mendis increased his score by nine from yesterday’s 30. His dismissal, the work of Shoaib Bashir’s great running catch, gave Gus Atkinson another success. However, England didn’t find much else to cheer about in the grey London weather. On Sunday, Nissanka had scored an explosive 53 runs to kickstart the chase. Now, he played more patiently initially but still kept the runs flowing. His second Test hundred came assertively in just 107 balls.
Next, he went on the offensive, hitting some impressive shots. Angelo Mathews was steady on 32 runs. The team had such a comfortable time, they didn’t even need the full first session. England had dreamed of a perfect six wins this summer after trouncing West Indies 3-0 and bagging a pair of strong wins against Sri Lanka.
They were in a good spot for a third round after hitting 261-3 in the first innings. Still, a drop to a total of 325 allowed the visiting team to stay in the game. Sri Lanka seemed to struggle after only scoring 263 in return. Yet, they made an excellent comeback by knocking out England for 156 in 34 rounds on Sunday.
They then energetically pursued their goal. England’s captain, Ollie Pope, admitted, “We felt like we were doing well. But, we were outdone for a whole day and a part of another one.” He added, “We could have played better yesterday, could have bowled better. An ideal score for us would have been 400 in that first game.
We thought the pitch was in our favor and we could’ve bowled them out for less. It’s all part of the game when some chances are missed. Day three wasn’t great for us, and Sri Lanka deserves credit too. We weren’t on top of our game, but Nissanka’s performance was amazing.
We’ve certainly got some important pointers from day three.” England is now gearing up for a T20 against Australia on Wednesday, shifting their focus to white ball cricket.