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Zimbabwe v Sri Lanka – Cricket

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Pathum Nissanka hits century as Sri Lanka breeze to third Test win over England

England conclude their Test schedule for the summer with a disappointing eight-wicket defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka at the Oval.

Pathum Nissanka‘s majestic century ensured that Sri Lanka were able to coast to an eight-wicket victory over England on the fourth day of the third Test.

Having ended Sunday’s play on 94-1 and within 125 runs of the target of 219, the tourists were in a dominant position as they bid to end a series that they had already lost on a high.

Although Kusal Mendis would fall within 4.3 overs of the restart, England failed to capitalise on that moment as Nissanka produced a sensational innings of 127 at the Oval.

In posting a dominant win in the capital, Sri Lanka record their first Test triumph over England for a decade.

With the ground considerably less than half full, there was a sense that few England fans gave their side much hope of instigating what would have been a stunning turnaround on the back of their abysmal showing on Sunday.

A brilliant catch in the deep from Shoaib Bashir lifted spirits, the spin bowler diving to his left to dismiss Mendis (39) off the bowling of Gus Atkinson.

Nissanka cements top order spot

However, Nissanka and Angelo Mathews soon took the game away from their hosts, particularly Nissanka who was motivated to better his 64 from 51 in the first innings.

The 26-year-old was subsequently record his second century in Test cricket and his best score to date, an unbeaten knock of 127 runs from 124 deliveries.

Mathews batted at a far more pedestrian rate, yet his contribution of 32 from 61 was equally effective in ensuring that Sri Lanka’s win was never in any doubt.

England now switch their attention to the one-day format with three T20 and five one-day internationals against Australia before they resume Test duties versus Pakistan next month.

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Preview: Test Series: England vs. Sri Lanka – prediction, team news, series so far

Sports Mole previews the third and final Test match between England and Sri Lanka, scheduled to get underway on Friday at The Oval.

England will look to complete a clean sweep over Sri Lanka when the three-match Test series heads to the Oval for the final instalment, set to get underway on Friday morning.

The hosts sealed the series win against the Lions at Lord’s earlier this week, and with that victory, they now have the chance to record their first perfect Test summer for 20 years.

Match preview

Gus Atkinson of England looks on during the England v Sri Lanka 2nd Rothesay Test Match on August 31, 2024© Imago

It will be a big week for English cricket, as not since 2004 when Michael Vaughan led the team to victories over New Zealand and West Indies, have the Three Lions won every Test in a home season.

However, they now have a chance to end the two-decade wait after a five-wicket haul from rising star Gus Atkinson and another masterclass performance from Joe Root secured the hosts the series victory against Sri Lanka.

Atkinson continued his Lord’s love affair by also scoring 190 runs, including his maiden first-class ton, to claim a fifth mention on the dressing room honours boards in just his second Test at the famous venue.

The all-rounder became only the third England cricketer, following in the footsteps of legends Tony Greig and Ian Botham, to score a century and take five wickets in the same Test match.

Root, meanwhile, equalled the record for the most centuries by an English cricketer in Test cricket (33) in the first innings before claiming the outright lead in the second, and he is now lining up to surpass Alastair Cook‘s record for the most Test runs by an English player ever.

However, while there is plenty to be optimistic about with England’s recent performances, there are questions being raised about stand-in captain Ollie Pope‘s suitability at number three after he managed just 18 runs in his two innings at Lord’s and 12 in the first Test in Manchester.

Angelo Mathews of Sri Lanka reacts after being dismissed by England during the Test Match at Lords on August 31, 2024© Imago

Meanwhile, after giving England a tough challenge at Old Trafford, Sri Lanka’s performance unravelled at Lord’s, and the side were clearly second-best in the contest from day one.

Lions’ skipper Dhananjaya de Silva made a somewhat surprising decision to field under blue skies on the first day, and the side, evidently lacking a genuine strike seamer, struggled to make in-roads early in the match.

With the bat, Sri Lanka’s only in-form player Kamindu Mendis was again sent in at number seven in the first innings, and worse, at eight in the second innings, raising serious questions about the team’s tactics and decision-making.

Elsewhere, Nishan Madushka kept wicket for 102 overs and looked like a cheap early wicket waiting to happen when sent in at the top of the order. He eventually ended up adding just 20 runs across both innings.

In the end, chasing what would have been a record fourth-innings total of 483, the Sri Lankans were bowled out for 292 after tea on the fourth day, despite valiant fifties from Dinesh Chandimal (58), Dimuth Karunaratne (55) and De Silva (50).

Team News

England's Joe Root after win over Sri Lanka in first Test on August 24, 2024.© Reuters

England have made just one change to the squad that they sent out in the second Test, with Leicestershire seamer Josh Hull set to earn his debut for the Three Lions at the Oval.

Hull was originally called up to the squad last week in place of the injured Mark Wood and now comes into the side for Matthew Potts, who took just two wickets across both innings in the Lord’s Test.

For Sri Lanka, one of the biggest tasks will be figuring out how to dismiss Root, who has handled the likes of Asitha Fernando and Lahiru Kumara with relative ease over the first two Tests.

In this match, the Lions may have to consider bringing in a fifth specialty bowler after Mendis was given a three-over spell in the first innings at Lord’s and went for 27 runs.

England squad: Ollie Pope (c), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Josh Hull, Dan Lawrence, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes,

Sri Lanka squad: Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (vc), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara, Nisala Tharaka, Prabath Jayasuriya, Ramesh Mendis, Jeffrey Vandersay, Milan Rathnayake

Series so far

Test 1 of 3: England won by 5 wickets
Sri Lanka – 236 & 326
England – 358 & 205/5

Test 2 of 3: England won by 190 runs
England – 427 & 251
Sri Lanka – 196 & 292

SM words green background© PA Photos

We say: England to win

Given the form of the likes of Root and Atkinson, combined with the lack of spark shown by the visitors in the first two matches, we feel England will wrap up this series with another victory and record their first perfect Test summer for 20 years.

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