Set in a chase of 219, Sri Lanka poised to beat whitewash against England at the Oval

Sri Lanka looks poised to avoid a whitewash against England as they limit the hosts to a chaseable score. Lanka dominated the session leading up to tea on the third day of the third Test against England, putting themselves in a commanding position. Vishwa Fernando and Lahiru Kumara exploited the Oval pitch that had become more lively with uneven bounce, causing significant trouble for England. Jamie Smith moved the English total to a respectable score with his aggressively scored 67 off 50 balls. For the first time in the series, Sri Lanka pacers exerted relentless pressure on the English batters who struggled to cope. Lahiru Kumara signed off the second innings with 4 wickets to his credit as Vishwa Fernando scalped 3 wickets.

Lahiru Kumara and Vishwa Fernando rattle England to set Sri Lanka in lead at the Oval

The session began with Dan Lawrence eager to play aggressively, but his approach proved unsuitable for the conditions. Though he managed to hit Asitha Fernando for a six and a four, he eventually fell victim to a delivery from Kumara. Vishwa Fernando then delivered a critical blow by trapping Joe Root LBW, marking a rare disappointing performance from England’s No. 4 batsman and giving Sri Lanka further momentum. Harry Brook and Chris Woakes also fell quickly, leaving Smith to fend for the lower order.

Despite the pressure, the wicket-keeper batsman showed remarkable composure, initially weathering the storm before switching to an aggressive T20 style. Sri Lankan bowlers contributed to his cause by deviating from their plans as Jamie Smith took charge. However, the session concluded positively for the visitors when Smith was dismissed just before tea, miscuing a pull shot to mid-wicket. As a result, Sri Lanka went into the break with a slight advantage, though chasing a target of over 200 on this challenging pitch will still be a formidable task.

With stumps on Day 3, Sri Lanka have climbed to a comfortable position in the match. Engaged in a chase of 219, Sri Lankan batters amassed 94 at the loss of a wicket as the day concluded. Pathum Nissanka remains unbeaten on an impressive score of 53 off 44. Moreover, Kusal Mendis has complimented Nissanka’s exploit seamlessly so far, registering 35 off 24 himself. When Day 4 kicks off at the Oval on Monday, Sri Lanka will walk on the pitch with just 124 needed to win the final clash and 9 wickets remaining to complete the chase.