Nissanka joins elite company of Bradman, Greenidge, Smith following Sri Lanka's win over England in 3rd Test

London [UK], September 9 (ANI): Sri Lankan batter Pathum Nissanka on Monday joined the elite company of Don Bradman, Graeme Smith, and Gordon Greenidge, among others, becoming the seventh batter to have smashed a century in successful run-chases on English soil. Nissanka accomplished this feat during the third Test against England at The Oval. After a fine half-century in the first inning, Nissanka smashed an unbeaten 127 in 124 balls, with 13 fours and two sixes. His runs came at a strike rate of over 102 in the run-chase of 219 runs.

Other players to have smashed centuries in England during successful run-chases are: West Indies' Greenidge (214* in 1984), Arthur Morris of Australia (182 in 1948), Australia's Bradman (173* in 1948), South Africa's Smith (154* in 2008), West Indies' Shai Hope (118* in 2017) and West Indies' Conrad Hunte (108* in 1963).

Nissanka has become only fifth Sri Lankan batter to have slammed a match-winning fourth-inning century, besides Kusal Perera (153* against South Africa in Durban, 2019), Aravinda de Silva (143* against Zimbabwe in Colombo, 1998), Mahela Jayawardene (123 against South Africa in Colombo in 2006) and Dimuth Karunaratne (122 against New Zealand at Galle in 2019).

Nissanka has now surpassed his teammate Kusal Mendis (1,111 runs in 32 matches) to become the top run-getter in international cricket this year. In 2024, Nissanka scored 1,135 runs in 23 matches and 25 innings at an average of 54.04, with four centuries and four fifties. His best score is 210*. Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal is at number three, with 1,033 runs in 19 innings at an average of 60.76, with two centuries and five fifties, and a best score of 214*.

Coming to the third match, Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to field first. England was bowled out for 325 runs in the first inning, with contributions from Ollie Pope (154 in 156 balls, with 19 fours and two sixes) and Ben Duckett (86 in 79 balls, with nine fours and two sixes) taking England to a solid score.

Key highlights of the innings were a 95-run partnership for the second wicket between Duckett and Pope and the latters' half-century stands with Joe Root (13) and Harry Brook (19), in which Pope did the majority of the scoring. Milan Rathnayake (3/56) was a top bowler for SL. Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara and Dhananjaya de Silva got two wickets each.

In the first innings, Lankan Lions lost wickets at regular intervals. SL was reeling at 93/5 at one point, but a fine 127-run partnership between Dhananjaya de Silva, the skipper (69 in 111 balls, with 11 fours) and Kamindu Mendis (64 in 91 balls, with seven fours) took SL to 263, trailing by 62 runs. Pathum Nissanka had contributed 64 in 51 balls, with nine fours at the top, but did not get support from his batting partners.

Olly Stone (3/35) and Josh Hull (3/53) were the top bowlers for England. Chris Woakes got two scalps and Shoaib Bashir got one wicket. In England's second innings, Lankan bowlers asserted their dominance. Other than a half-century by Jamie Smith (67 in 50 balls, with 10 fours and a six), nothing really stood out. England was reduced to 82/7 at one point, but then Jamie launched a counter-attack with some solid support from Stone (10), in which wicketkeeper-batter displayed his free-flowing strokeplay and immense game awareness while batting with the tail.

England was bowled out for 156 runs, and England set 219 runs to win for Sri Lanka. Lahiru (4/21) was the top bowler for SL, while Vishwa (3/40) got key wickets of Root, Brook, and Jamie. Asitha Fernando took 2/49 in 12 overs, while Milan got one wicket. Sri Lanka lost Dimuth Karunaratne early during the run-chase. But Pathum Nissanka stitched a 69-run partnership with Kusal Mendis (39 in 37 balls, with seven fours) to bring the team back on track. Nissanka went on to score his second Test ton, making 127* in 124 balls, with 13 fours and two sixes. All-rounder Angelo Mathews was also unbeaten at 32 in 61 balls, with three fours.

Brief Scores: England: 325 and 156 (Jamie Smith 67, Dan Lawrence 35, Lahiru Kumara 4/21) lose to Sri Lanka: 263 and 219/2 (Pathum Nissanka 127*, Kusal Mendis 39, Gus Atkinson 1/44). (ANI)