Sri Lanka beat England in Tests for the first time in 10 years as an eight-wicket victory denied the hosts a clean sweep.
The tourists resumed day four on 94-1 under grey skies at The Oval, and Pathum Nissanka (127no) notched his second Test ton in an emphatic and accomplished manner to see Sri Lanka comfortably to their 219 target.
It was fitting that Nissanka hit the winning runs by cutting Shoaib Bashir (0-28) to backward point for four, victory coming after England’s 156 all out in their second innings.
It is the highest successful fourth-innings run chase by any team from the subcontinent in a Test in England – and only Sri Lanka’s fourth Test victory in this country.
There was a glimmer of hope when Bashir took a stunning diving catch under low light to remove Kusal Mendis (39) off Gus Atkinson (1-44) early but it was the only breakthrough England made and with eight wickets in hand, Nissanka and Mathews batted with a new-found freedom to set up the win.
England were seeking their first clean-sweep summer in 20 years after beating the West Indies 3-0 and winning the first two Tests against Sri Lanka, but the tourists won in south London for the first time since 1998.
More to follow…
What’s next?
England’s multi-format white-ball against Australia gets underway on Wednesday September 11, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 6.00pm ahead of the first ball at 6.30pm.
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