Pathum Nissanka’s Century Leads Sri Lanka to Victory Against England in Third Test at The Oval
London [UK], September 9: Pathum Nissanka’s brilliant century and a strong performance by Sri Lankan bowlers helped Sri Lanka win by eight wickets against England in the third Test at The Oval on Monday. Despite the win, England won the three-match series 2-1. This victory marks Sri Lanka’s fourth win in England and their first in the country in 10 years. It is also the highest successful run chase by an Asian country in England, surpassing Pakistan’s chase of 180 runs against Australia in 2010.
Match Highlights
In the third match, Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to field first. England scored 325 runs in their first innings, with notable contributions from Ollie Pope (154 runs) and Ben Duckett (86 runs). Milan Rathnayake was the top bowler for Sri Lanka, taking 3 wickets for 56 runs.
In response, Sri Lanka struggled initially but managed to score 263 runs, thanks to a 127-run partnership between skipper Dhananjaya de Silva (69 runs) and Kamindu Mendis (64 runs). Pathum Nissanka also contributed 64 runs at the top. Olly Stone and Josh Hull were the top bowlers for England, each taking 3 wickets.
In England’s second innings, Sri Lankan bowlers dominated, reducing England to 156 runs. Lahiru Kumara was the standout bowler with 4 wickets for 21 runs. Vishwa Fernando and Asitha Fernando also made significant contributions.
Chasing 219 runs to win, Sri Lanka lost Dimuth Karunaratne early but recovered with a 69-run partnership between Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis. Nissanka went on to score an unbeaten 127 runs, leading Sri Lanka to victory. Angelo Mathews also remained unbeaten with 32 runs.
Brief Scores
| England | Sri Lanka |
|---|---|
| 325 and 156 | 263 and 219/2 |
| Jamie Smith 67, Dan Lawrence 35 | Pathum Nissanka 127*, Kusal Mendis 39 |
| Lahiru Kumara 4/21 | Gus Atkinson 1/44 |
Doubts Revealed
Pathum Nissanka -: Pathum Nissanka is a cricketer from Sri Lanka. He plays for the national team and is known for his batting skills.
Century -: In cricket, a century means a player has scored 100 or more runs in a single innings. It’s a big achievement for a batsman.
Sri Lanka -: Sri Lanka is a country in South Asia, located to the south of India. It has a national cricket team that competes internationally.
England -: England is a country in Europe. It also has a national cricket team that is very famous and competes in international matches.
Third Test -: A Test match is a type of cricket game that lasts up to five days. The ‘Third Test’ means it is the third game in a series of matches between two teams.
The Oval -: The Oval is a famous cricket stadium in London, England. Many important cricket matches are played there.
Eight-wicket win -: An eight-wicket win means the winning team achieved the target score with eight of their batsmen still not out.
Series -: In cricket, a series is a set of matches played between two teams. The team that wins the most matches wins the series.
Run chase -: A run chase is when a team tries to score the runs needed to win after the other team has finished their innings.
Ollie Pope -: Ollie Pope is a cricketer from England. He is known for his batting and scored 154 runs in this match.
Lahiru Kumara -: Lahiru Kumara is a cricketer from Sri Lanka. He is a bowler and took 4 wickets for 21 runs in this match.
Unbeaten -: Unbeaten means the player was not out when the team finished their innings. Pathum Nissanka was unbeaten with 127 runs.