Pathum Nissanka‘s calm century delivered a consolation victory for the visitors inside four days A terrific unbeaten century from opener Pathum Nissanka gave Sri Lanka a famous win at the Oval as they managed to chase down a modest target with eight wickets in hand. Even though Sri Lanka had already conceded the series, the consolation win was vital for the visitors given they had not beaten England in a Test match in 10 years.
It had all come together at last for the tourists, albeit too late when they were 2-0 down. The eventual 2-1 series scoreline didn’t matter though to Pathum Nissanka, whose calm century delivered victory inside four days and could well have cemented his place in Sri Lanka’s top order after two years in the wilderness. Pathum Nissanka’s unbeaten 127 off 124 balls built on his first-innings 64 and saw his side home by eight wickets.
Pitch and Toss Report
“It’s a little bit lighter now than it was, the cloud cover has lifted a bit. There’s going to be a bit of a challenge batting while facing from the Vauxhall end because it’s always a bit dark down there. It’s a really good toss to have won and to have elected to bowl. Sri Lanka have to be careful of hoping for it to move, you need to hit the pitch hard here.
Hit the top of off-stump and bring the slips into play. Need to bowl in that in-between length where the batters can’t quite get forward. Expect England to come out and hit boundaries, they’ll come out and attack” say Stuart Broad and Mark Butcher.
Sri Lankan skipper Dhananjaya De Silva won the toss and chose to field as they fielded 4 seamers in their playing XI . England skipper Ollie Pope batting first made one change bringing in Josh Hull for Matthew Potts
Day 1 : Ollie Pope, Ben Duckett shine on truncated opening day
Ollie Pope’s seventh Test ton and a breezy 79-ball 86 from Ben Duckett led England’s dominance on the first day of the third Test against Sri Lanka at The Oval on Friday (September 6). Only 4.1 overs were bowled after Tea with England rattling off 27 runs that included Pope’s century milestone before bad light forced the umpires to take the players off for one last time in the day.
It was a day that belonged to England’s stand-in captain who returned to form in style with a cracking hundred at his home ground. He also became the first batter in the format to have each of his first seven centuries against different opponents.
Given the conditions on offer, Sri Lanka would rue their insipid bowling effort as there were far too many loose balls on offer. England feasted on anything remotely wayward and Duckett’s onslaught in the first two sessions scarred Sri Lanka’s bowlers.
The left-hander played adventurously in the opening hour and soon settled into his aggressive best with authoritative shots square of the wicket on both sides. As he grew in confidence, out came his signature scoop shot that he played with frequent nonchalance although it was the same stroke that eventually brought about his downfall.
Sri Lanka then managed to get the in-form Joe Root cheaply after what was an unusually scratchy innings from England’s no.4. But Pope kept motoring along at rapid pace to keep England’s charge going with a blend of classy and crunchy strokes.
Whenever the pacers hit their straps in terms of lines and lengths, there was life in the pitch to trouble the batters but Sri Lanka were far too inconsistent to be a regular threat on the opening day. Unless the visitors pull up their socks and produce a dramatic fightback early on day two, Pope’s men might get to a total that would be daunting.
Rain and bad light caused significant havoc on the opening day with a combined tally of just 16.1 overs being bowled across the first and third sessions. The forecast for the remainder of the Test isn’t encouraging either but England’s rapid rate of scoring means that the game will move forward at a quicker pace, especially given the spicy nature of the pitch.
Day 2 : Dhananjaya de Silva, Kamindu Mendis and bowlers help Sri Lanka hit back
The second day of the final Test against England was clearly Sri Lanka’s best day of the series as the visitors put on a strong show at The Oval. The bowlers started the fightback with a strong morning session to bowl out England for 325 after the hosts had threatened to post a total in excess of 400, if not 450.
However, not for the first time in the series, the visitors had a collapse of their own as they slipped from 70/1 to 93/5 in no time, before Dhananjaya de Silva (64*) and Kamindu Mendis (54*) put on a fluent unbeaten stand of 118 to help Sri Lanka claw their way back.
Bad light once again meant that stumps were called an hour earlier. The final session is where Dhananjaya and Kamindu milked the bowling with England forced to bowl spin due to the fading light. With both batters being excellent players of spin, run-scoring was smooth even as the odd ball gripped and bounced steeply, albeit from easier lines.
De Silva, however, was lucky to survive as debutant Josh Hull put down a straightforward catch off Shoaib Bashir. The Lankan captain didn’t offer another chance as he dug through with Kamindu who continued his impressive run in Test cricket with a fine knock.
England had a mixed day with the ball as they were wayward with the new ball, thereby allowing Sri Lanka to get off to a flier through Pathum Nissanka’s fifty. But once they found their mojo, they triggered the collapse before Dhananjaya and Kamindu got into the act. Skipper Ollie Pope tried different things and set funky fields but wasn’t able to separate the pair as the deficit came down to 114 at the close of play. With the home side having to bat last, the next session of play could be detrimental to the game’s result.
The Dhananjaya-Kamindu partnership was the fitting end Sri Lanka needed to a day where their bowlers put on a stellar show in the morning session. All of their pacers hit their straps from the get-go, unlike a forgettable opening day, to ensure that England weren’t able to run away with the game.
Pope, who got to his seventh Test ton yesterday, also managed to produce the fastest-ever 150 at The Oval but that was the lone bright spot for England’s batting on day two as Sri Lanka’s bowlers called the shots. For a period during the second session, it seemed like those efforts may have been in vain but Dhananjaya and Kamindu had other ideas.
Day 3 : Pathum Nissanka, bowlers put Sri Lanka in command on Day 3
Earlier in the session, Sri Lanka wasted little time in knocking off the last two wickets, thereby facing a target of 219 for the consolation win. It was a brilliant collective performance with the ball from the tourists, led by Lahiru Kumara (4-21) and Vishwa Fernando (3-40) who were the destroyers-in-chief.
Armed with a first innings lead of 62, England’s plan of out batting their opponents with ultra-aggressive intent backfired as they were bowled out in just 34 overs. Jamie Smith’s 50-ball 67 saved them the blushes as the wicket-keeper batter once again came clutch when his side was tottering at 82/7 at one stage.
Day three is generally the moving day of a Test match and that was indeed the case today. Play started with Sri Lanka still 114 adrift of England’s first innings total and ended with the tourists needing another 125 to register a famous overseas win.
The first hour didn’t go to plan for Sri Lanka as their overnight batters in Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis fell inside the first 30 minutes, and they were eventually bowled out soon, thereby conceding a significant first innings lead. However, that was the only poor passage of play for them on a day where they ticked all the other boxes.
Pathum Nissanka hits ton as Sri Lanka seal famous chase for Sri Lanka
A terrific unbeaten century from opener Pathum Nissanka gave Sri Lanka a famous win at the Oval as they managed to chase down a modest target with eight wickets in hand. Even though Sri Lanka had already conceded the series, the consolation win was vital for the visitors given they had not beaten England in a Test match in 10 years.
Sri Lanka were favourites heading into the fourth day after their bowlers put them in the driver’s seat by skittling out England for just 156 in their second innings. Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis then consolidated Sri Lanka’s position with an aggressive start before stumps on the third day. On the fourth morning, Mendis got Sri Lanka going with a firm push through mid off in the first over for a boundary.
Chris Woakes, operating at the other end, found Pathum Nissanka’s outside edge but the ball fell well short of the slip fielder. For a moment, it did appear like Sri Lanka would abandon the aggressive approach from last evening that got them this far. But when Gus Atkinson bowled one short, Mendis went after it immediately, only for Shoaib Bashir at long leg to dive at full stretch and take an excellent catch.
After Pathum Nissanka fetched a boundary off Woakes, England decided to ring in the changes at both ends in search of another breakthrough. Pathum Nissanka and Mathews kept rotating the strike, including a few risky runs, before the former cut Josh Hull for a boundary. After the hour mark, Bashir was brought into the attack in desperate need of a breakthrough with Sri Lanka needing less than 90 at that point. However, Pathum Nissanka and Mathews sent him out of the attack immediately with a boundary each.
After that watchful start, the runs started flowing freely for Sri Lanka and in the process, Pathum Nissanka brought up a well-deserved ton. He was in the zone to finish the game quickly as Olly Stone was then smashed for two sixes in successive overs. Fittingly, it was Pathum Nissanka who hit the winning runs as the opener was named player of the match having already hammered a quickfire fifty in the first innings.
There was also a hint of relief that this match was over and done with for an England side that had dropped their bundle in the second innings and proved far from potent on the final morning when they managed to extract just one of the nine wickets they still needed after Chris Woakes’ return catch had removed Dimuth Karunaratne cheaply the previous evening.
Bear in mind that no matter what the weather says, “summer” is far from over for England’s white-ball players who have a series looming against Australia from Wednesday, only the magnitude of Sri Lanka’s victory ensuring a gap of more than 48 hours in between. Gus Atkinson, who is nursing a thigh problem which kept him out of the attack for the second half of Sri Lanka’s first innings on Sunday, took the only other wicket to fall.
He gingerly jogged halfway to Shoaib Bashir, who made up the rest of the ground from fine leg where he had taken an excellent catch running in and diving full-stretch to his left to remove Kusal Mendis for a brisk 39 in the fifth over of the day. But Pathum Nissanka, supported by Angelo Mathews, kept at Sri Lanka’s task in impressive time. He moved to 95 by threading a Woakes delivery that was too short and too wide behind point and raised his century running three with a neat cut off Atkinson to deep point.
Pathum Nissanka soaked up the applause with arms spread wide and a warm bear-hug from Mathews, marking his second ton from 10 Tests, although this was only his second match in the format since mid-2022. After missing a trick in favorable conditions on Friday, their seamers bundled England out for 156 in their second innings, Lahiru Kumara and Vishwa Fernando particularly effective against a home side kept afloat only by Jamie Smith’s thunderous half-century.
They may want to forget it, but England will also have to examine their first-innings collapse from 261 for 3 to 325 all out. Meanwhile, this is a victory Sri Lanka will remember long after the boys of summer have – finally – gone.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Ollie Pope the losing skipper said : Disappointing not to be on the right side of the result. Day 3 we probably shot ourselves in the foot. Credit to Sri Lanka, they bowled really well and credit to Nissanka for the way he played. They deserved to win. I don’t think it was complacency at all, it has been a long summer but that has nothing to do with this loss.
We came out with the same intent. It was just one of those games that it didn’t come off, we’ve played some really good cricket throughout the series but we’ll take a look at that Day 3 and reflect on it. We’ve got that balance right and we’ve been clinical in crucial times. Credit to Gus (Atkinson) and Chris Woakes, six from six this summer, when they come back to back it’s not easy for the fast bowlers.
There were not complaints from them, they just cracked on. (On why he didn’t bowl Bashir more) The pitch had been swinging and seaming throughout, there was one rough patch outside the off stump but playing here at The Oval it’s about swing and seam and that’s what we felt was our best option. We got some good learnings from this week, we’re 5 wins from 6 Test matches.
Credit to Sri Lanka as well, they pushed throughout the series. But we’ll look back on the summer and be proud. (On captaincy) I’ve loved it, when Stokesy is back fit, he’ll be hopping back in. It’s got its challenges but I’ve loved it in the last two weeks.
I felt like there’s a fair few voices over the last few weeks but it was nice to block that out, play my game and get some runs. Would’ve been nicer if it came in a winning cause but was still nice to get some runs. Overall, happy with how I dealt with all the noise about me being captain and having a couple of poor games.
Dhananjaya De Silva he winning skipper said : For now there was no emotion in the team but it’s one of the happiest moments in my career. [on if he knew about Sri Lanka’s win here in 1998] Not at all.
We had a tough time in the last two weeks and to come back here and get a win against English conditions and the England team is great, taking the 20 wickets and that’s what I have been talking to the boys and they were up to it. [on Nissanka] I wanted him in the team, but only 11 can play and the moment he came in, he proved he is the best batsman in Sri Lanka right now.
We have a fixed batting lineup in Tests and it’s hard to get in a new batter and Kamindu was scoring runs in domestic so we had to get him in and here they are doing well. When we go back home, in the back of our minds, we got a win in England, so we can beat the others.
Kamindu Mendis Player of the series for Sri Lanka said : It’s a good win, in these conditions the team did really well especially the seamers and Pathum did really well today. In these conditions you have to face difficult situations and I enjoyed it. I just did small changes, not big ones, even in the first Test I did a small change. It’s not a big deal but if you are confident in your ability, it’s the most important thing.
It was challenging when seamers came around the wicket so I moved to off-stump after the 1st game. In England it is always a challenge to face the seamers but sometimes it can happen that you can get caught in the slips or the keeper. I’m happy whatever the team asks me to do, but at the end of the day what I do to the team, whatever the position I play in, I will be OK.
Joe Root Player of the series for England said : It’s been a good summer, we’ve played some good cricket. Always nice to contribute. It’s what you pride yourself on as a senior player and as a batter. Great to see this team constantly finding new ways to look at the game and keep evolving and keep getting better. To see some new faces come in and put their best foot forward shows the depth that we’ve got within this format in English cricket.
I feel good, you know how fickle this game is, you have to keep working. Try and work as hard as I can to get better. I love playing in this team, great lads, play some really exciting cricket. Turn up everyday wanting to get stuck in because of the way we go about it. Last few years have been the most enjoyable of my career and long may that continue. May the success of this team continue as well.
I think we came up against different conditions in this game. As a team, we try to keep finding ways to put pressure on the opposition but unfortunately for us, it didn’t come off this game. We still stick to our methods, there will be times when we get challenged and we need to find ways to get back into the game. It’s an opportunity for us to learn and keep getting better.
Pathum Nissanka Player of the match for his match winning century said : It was a great opportunity to play in England. Enjoyed that innings. It was slightly difficult in the morning but I had a positive mindset and went with that. Just wanted to play my normal game.
This is truly a remarkable win for Sri Lanka, just their 4th in England and they can go back home with their heads held high. On the flip side, it’s a bit of an embarrassing loss for England and their summer ends with a blemish. Amidst all the hubris, they got a little ahead of themselves and were quite careless and casual at times. They were in strong positions twice in this game – first when they ended Day 1 on 221/3 and again when they’d claimed a 62-run first innings lead – and managed to bungle up on both occasions to hand back the advantage.
Their batting, particularly in the second innings, was quite callous to the situation and it was as if they were caught in delinquent frenzy while throwing their wickets away. To Sri Lanka’s credit, they seized the opportunity and held their nerve despite a lapse permitting a remarkable fightback from Jamie Smith. It left them with 219 to chase in the final innings and no Asian side had chased that many in the fourth innings of a Test in England.
That’s when Sri Lanka really put their foot down and took a firm command of the narrative. Led by a glorious century from Pathum Nissanka, Sri Lanka started by mercilessly tearing into England’s attack at the end of the third day before adopting a more measured approach the next day to see themselves home without any real hiccups.
While England floundered this time around, they were pretty flawless over the course of the summer. Some of their selections were subject to widespread debate but by the end of the summer, most if not all of those decisions have been vindicated. Jamie Smith is perhaps the find of the season. He’s shown incredible maturity and looks like he simply belongs to the international stage.
Gus Atkinson’s had an incredible two months as well, loads of wickets and a century at Lord’s. Josh Hull probably didn’t really get enough time to show everything he’s got but he was pretty decent too. Considering they lost their first-choice opener in Crawley and their skipper in Stokes halfway through, England can still be pretty pleased with their achievements. While it might not be the perfect and undefeated summer they were after, they got pretty damn close.
The scoreline might still say 2-1 to England but Sri Lanka can be very proud of what they’ve achieved both in this game and on the tour. Many expected England to walk all over Sri Lanka once more and finish the summer without a blot. Sri Lanka, though, turned up and showed incredible tenacity. In the process, they’ve unearthed some great talents as well.
Kamindu Mendis has drawn heaps of praise for his performances in the series and Pathum Nissanka, brought back into the side, played with incredible freedom and made a strong statement. Milan Rathnayake was another revelation as well. He not only was consistent with the ball but also scored some crucial runs down the order. If anything, Sri Lanka’s middle order probably needs some work but they’re looking like a pretty competent side.
But as a crowd of 9,860 raided the back of their wardrobes for more suitable attire and turned up on a chilly Monday morning to see Sri Lanka overhaul a target of 219 and claim a consolation victory over England, the mood among those clad all in white was more like: “Finally!”
It had all come together at last for the tourists, albeit too late when they were 2-0 down. The eventual 2-1 series scoreline didn’t matter though to Pathum Nissanka, whose calm century delivered victory inside four days and could well have cemented his place in Sri Lanka’s top order after two years in the wilderness.
So the talk of winning all 6 Tests in the summer doesn’t come to pass for England but they will be happy with 5-1. And more importantly they have won two Tests without Stokes. Also they have given chances to youngsters like Josh Hull as they look to build a pace battery for the 2025-2026 Ashes in Australia. That’s Baz McCullum and Stokes’ goal as they look for the big prize down under. Joe Root continues to churn out hundreds for fun and England look a very strong Test outfit despite the loss here in this game.
As for as Sri Lanka, they’ve claimed a historic win here – just their 4th on English soil and first in a decade – and they can be mighty proud of their achievements. They have talent and with the likes of Nissanka and Kamindu Mendis in the lineup and they are young batters who look classy. Sri Lanka’s pace attack is not to be taken lightly either. This marks the end of the England Test summer. They still have 8 white-ball games here in England as Australia are next.