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Right then, Sri Lanka have managed to pull one back after losing the first two Tests. England almost had a perfect summer. They lost their first five matches before suffering a loss in this Test. They were in a dominant position after the first two days but the Sri Lankan bowlers and then the batters played brilliantly, ensuring a resounding victory by 8 wickets. Like always it was a pleasure bringing all the live coverage from this encounter all through the four days. Keep following Sportskeeda for all the latest sporting action but for now this is myself (Arya Sekhar Chakraborty) signing off also on behalf of my fellow commentator and good mate Lavil Saldanha.
Ollie Pope (England captain): Yeah disappointing to be not at the right side of the result. Credit to Sri Lanka for bowling brilliantly and then it was a classy knock from Nissanka. It wasn't complacency. It's been a long summer but we still came out with the same intent. We gained a first innings lead and should have applied more pressure. I think it was just one of those days when it didn't come off. We have to reflect on this game. We have got the balance right and we have been brilliant for the majority but disappointed with this loss. I think credit to Gus and Chris. When they come back to back, it's never easy for the fast bowlers. They never complained, had a strapping on the leg. The pitch has been swinging and seam. I was keen to try Shoaib Bashir at times but we realised it was the pace and swing which was making more of a difference. We have got a good learning curve ahead. Sri Lanka pushed us throughout but we are very pleased with the series win. Hopefully we can learn something more. It's had its challenges. Yeah I thought there's been a fair few voices and I have blocked that out. I was happy with how I dealt with things are one paltry game.
Dhananjaya de Silva (Sri Lankan captain): Well you for now there was no emotions but definitely one of his happiest moments of my cricketing life. Don't remember the Murali spell back in 1999. We have had tough time in the last two weeks so to register a win against England in England is a great feeling. Taking 20 wickets were very important which we didn't do in the last two games. There were some here and there's in the game. The moment when Pathum came in, he was brilliant. You cannot chose more than 11 players. As Kamindu and Pathum was getting runs in the domestic circuit, we had to get them in. It's a good moment going back home with a victory. We can now beat other teams well in their den.
Kamindu Mendis is Sri Lanka's Player of the Series: It is a good win, in these conditions, our team did well. Credit to seamers and Pathum for the way they player. In these conditions, you face difficult circumstances and I just wanted to enjoy my game. I just did small changes and even in the first Test I made small changes and made it throughout the series. If you are confident in your ability, you will enjoy the game. I like seamers coming from around the wicket. I moved across to the off stump and got runs. Always good to bat well against English seamers. I am enjoying in the middle and if I can do well, whatever position I am assigned I can do well
Joe Root is England's Test Player of the Summer and the Player of the Series: It has been a good summer, always good to contribute and you pride in that. It is good to see the team evolving, getting better and sharing the depths we have in this unit. I feel good, you have got to keep working hard with how quickly things can change. I enjoy playing in different conditions. You turn up every day to get stuck in. The last few years have been enjoyable. I think we came up against different conditions in the game, we find ways and put pressure on the opposition. There are times when we will be challenged but that is what makes us the team from others. It is an opportunity for us to learn and to improve
Pathum Nissaka (Player of the Match): It was a great opportunity for him to play in England and he enjoyed the innings. It was slightly difficult in the morning but he had a positive mindset yesterday and went ahead with that. He just wanted to play his normal game and did just that. (One why he didn't play the first Test) I don't know (smiles) [Translated from Sinhala]
It turned out to be an exceptional come-from-behind from Sri Lanka in the end as the three-match series eventually ended 2-1 in favour of England. Given Sri Lanka’s below-par showing in the first two Tests, not many would have given them a chance of pulling one back. However, they had the faith in their abilities and managed to register a comprehensive win in the third Test.
When the fourth day began, Sri Lanka was just 125 runs away from the victory target with 9 wickets in hand. Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis started off circumspectly, showing respect to the good deliveries and trying to score off anything pitched up or too full. Kusal Mendis departed against the run of play as a well-directed short delivery from Gus Atkinson brought about his downfall.
He connected the hook shot well but Shoaib Bashir at deep fine leg took a brilliant catch. Pathum Nissanka continued his great work and struck some exceptional shots on the rise. Angelo Mathews came in at a crucial juncture of the game and looked completely out of sorts in the first few deliveries of his innings. He was beaten on the outside edge multiple times which forced Nissanka on the backfoot for a while.
However, he soon realized that he needed to play his natural game and that worked wonders for him. Mathews finally managed to weather the storm and started getting into his groove. Nissanka went on to register his second Test century and first against England. Soon after completing his ton, Nissanka went berserk and tried playing the big shots which he usually does in a white ball game.
He kept striking boundaries pretty consistently and went on to remain unbeaten on a majestic 127 which came in just 124 deliveries. Coming back to this game, it was the Sri Lankan captain Dhananjaya de Silva who won the toss and put England in under overcast conditions at the Oval on Day 1 of the final Test. The Sri Lankan bowlers failed to find their rhythm despite conditions suiting the fast bowlers.
A superb century from Ollie Pope put them in a commanding position at the end of the opening day’s play. However, despite a solid opening day, England squandered the advantage on Day 2. Some poor shots with some great bowling from Sri Lanka meant that the home team was bowled out for 325. Barring three half-centuries from Pathum Nissanka, Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis, none of the Sri Lankan batters could make a significant impact.
Nissanka looked in fluent touch while Dhananjaya and Kamindu latched onto the opportunity of facing spin due to the fading light. They capitalized on that during the fag end of Day 2. However, the England bowlers bounced back strongly on the 3rd day and eventually skittled them out for 263. A 62-run lead looked a significant one but what transpired next was something no English supporters would have wanted to witness.
England capitulated big time in the second innings with Lahiru Kumara, Asitha Fernando and Vishwa Fernando bagging the majority of the wickets. It was a quickfire 67 from Jamie Smith which actually gave some sort of semblance of the England score. A target of 219 didn't look threatening but no Asian team before this game had chased down anything in excess of 200 at the Oval.
It was a blistering start from the Lankans towards the end of Day 3 which actually put them in the driver’s seat when the final day began. They raced off to 94 in just 15 overs and in the end, it turned out to be an easy victory in the opening session of Day. Nissanka remained unbeaten on 127 off 124 deliveries to steer his side over the finish line
Back cut from Pathum Nissanka seals the game for Sri Lanka. What a resounding win this has been. This is their 4th Test win in England and have managed to salvage something out of this series. A hugely deserved win especially after going 0-2 in the series. They should be really pleased with how they clawed their way back in the game following the first innings deficit. England win the series 2-1 but Sri Lanka will be overjoyed to win an important Test in England.
40.3 Shoaib Bashir to Pathum Nissanka, CUT, AND CUT FINE TO BRING SRI LANKA GLORY! Back of a length delivery outside the off stump, Nissanka cuts that one fine and sends it racing away to the deep point fence for a boundary to end the Test. Sri Lanka win by 8 wickets, registering their fourth win in 21 years in England. England win the series 2-1
40.2 Shoaib Bashir to Pathum Nissanka, length delivery on the fourth stump. Nissanka blocks it back to the bowler. No run