England suffered their heaviest defeat under head coach Brendon McCullum as Pathum Nissanka’s brilliant century guided Sri Lanka to a memorable win at The Kia Oval. England, hoping to secure a perfect home summer for the first time in 20 years, paid the price for a careless performance.
Despite losing the series 2-1, Sri Lanka snapped a 10-match winless streak against England, salvaging pride from what had been a challenging tour. After lackluster displays on days two and three, England entered day four needing quick wickets as Sri Lanka resumed on 94-1, chasing a target of 219.
Gus Atkinson briefly raised hopes by dismissing Kusal Mendis for 39, thanks to a sharp catch by Shoaib Bashir. However, with 111 runs still needed, Nissanka and Angelo Mathews steadied the ship. Nissanka, already past his century, was dropped by Bashir late in the innings, but by then the match was all but over.
Nissanka finished unbeaten on 127, while Matthews added 32 in a match-winning partnership of 111, securing Sri Lanka’s eight-wicket win and their fourth-ever Test victory in England.
Joe Root Comments on England’s Defeat
Joe Root acknowledged that England fell short in their performance against Sri Lanka, saying, “Coldplay can’t be number one every week.” England’s eight-wicket defeat in the third Test at The Kia Oval marked their worst showing since Brendon McCullum became coach. It also dashed their hopes of securing a 100% home summer for the first time in two decades.
“We’re not always going to get it right,” Root told Test Match Special. “For 90% of the summer, we’ve shown what a good team we can be.”
Despite the loss, England have won five of their six Tests this summer, defeating West Indies 3-0 and Sri Lanka 2-1. However, their Oval performance was wasteful, allowing Sri Lanka to claim their first win against England in 11 Tests.
England collapsed from 261-3 to 325 all out in the first innings, followed by a second-innings disaster, bowled out for just 156 in 34 overs. Sri Lanka chased their target of 219 comfortably, led by Pathum Nissanka brilliant 127 not out, securing Sri Lanka’s fourth Test victory on English soil.
“I don’t think we played our best cricket this week, and that happens sometimes,” Root added. “Coldplay can’t be number one every week.”
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