London, Sep 9 (IANS): Opener Pathum Nissanka’s valiant 127 not out in the fourth innings powered Sri Lanka to a famous eight-wicket victory over England, their first over the opposition since 2014, in the third and final Test of the series at The Oval on Monday. Despite the loss, England won the series 2-1.
After the early dismissal of Dimuth Karanaratne for eight runs, Nissanka and Kusal Mendis’ 69-run partnership for the second wicket steadied the ship for the Lankans on day three. Mendis was dismissed in the opening overs of day four but a 111-run partnership between veteran Angelo Mathews and Nissanka guided them to the 219-run target set by the hosts.
After winning the toss and putting England to bat first, Sri Lanka were put on the back foot by England’s terrific start. In his debut series as captain, Ollie Pope’s 154 alongside Ben Duckett’s 86 contribution saw the side register 325 in the first innings. Milan Rathnayake was Sri Lanka’s most successful bowler with three wickets to his name which included the scalp of Duckett.
Nissanka, who was awarded the Player of the Match, scored 64 runs while wickets kept on falling on the other end which saw the team struggling at 93/5. Captain Dhananjay Da Silva stitched a 127-run partnership with Mendis and rescued the game for his side but they fell short of England’s score by 62 runs. Debutant Josh Hull and Olly Stone both contributed with three wickets each.
With the game seemingly going in England’s favour, Lahiru Kumara and Vishwa Fernando shifted the tide in Sri Lanka's court after sharing seven wickets between them and bundling out the opposition for 156. In innings where there were not many bright spots for England, wicketkeeper-batsman Jamie Smith, who made his debut earlier this year against the West Indies at Lord's, scored a quickfire 67 off 50 balls with ten fours and one six to his name.
With a target of 219, Karunaratne's early wicket put the visiting side under immense pressure but Nissanka’s ton followed by partnerships with Mendis and Mathews led them to the comeback win to avoid whitewash.
“Great opportunity to play in England, I enjoyed the innings. Slightly difficult (conditions) in the morning but I had a positive mindset and went with that. Wanted to play my normal game," said Nissanka in the post-match ceremony.
Joe Root, who was adjudged Player of the Series, said, “I feel good. You know how fickle this game is, how quickly thing can change. Keep working hard, enjoying playing in a great team, playing some exciting cricket. You turn up wanting to get stuck in. The last few years have probably been the most enjoyable of my career and long may it continue."
Brief scores: England 325 (Ollie Pope 154; Milan Rathnayake 3-56) & 156 (Jamie Smith 67; Lahiru Kumara 4-21) lost to Sri Lanka 263 (Dhananjaya de Silva 69; Olly Stone 3-35) & 219/2 (Pathum Nissanka 127*, Kusal Mendis 39) by eight wickets.