At Kennington Oval, Sri Lanka defeated England by eight wickets in the third Test of the series. With Ollie Pope replacing captain, England amassed 325 runs when batting first, thanks to Pope’s 153. Despite half-centuries from Pathum Nissanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, and Kamindu Mendis in the second innings, England managed to build a 62-run advantage.
But in the third innings, England’s batsmen were bundled for 156 runs, indicating a serious lack of confidence. Vishwa Fernando claimed three wickets, while Lahiru Kumara claimed four. In the last innings, Sri Lanka was challenged to chase 219 runs, which they easily accomplished. Nissanka scored an incredible century with solid middle-of-the-road support from Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews.
Additionally, it was Sri Lanka’s first Test victory over England in a decade. One of the happiest moments in captain Dhananjaya’s career, he said after the game. The 33-year-old said that although playing in English conditions was difficult, the objective was always to take 20 wickets in each match.
“One of the best times of my professional life. In the post-match presentation, Dhananjaya stated, “We had a hard time the last two weeks, so 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.”
Nissanka demonstrated why he is currently Sri Lanka’s top batsman: Dhananjaya de Silva
In the opening Test of the series in Manchester, Nissanka did not make the playing XI. Dhananjaya talked about the same thing and that he wanted him in the team but couldn’t fit him in. Additionally, he referred to Nissanka as Sri Lanka’s best batsman at the moment and explained why it was right to believe in Kamindu Mendis, who, together with Joe Root, was named Player of the Series.
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“I wanted him to be a member of the team, but only 11 players can play, and he immediately showed that he is currently the best batsman in Sri Lanka.” Since we have a set batting order for Test matches and it’s difficult to insert a new batsman, we had to insert Kamindu, who was making runs in the domestic competition, and they’re succeeding thus far, Dhananjaya stated.
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