Pathum Nissanka fittingly hit the winning runs as he led Sri Lanka to their first win in a Test match in England in over a decade. Nissanka remained unbeaten on 127 off 124 balls as he followed up on incredible fast bowling displays by Lahiru Kumara and Vishwa Fernando. Sri Lanka thus beat England by eight wickets at The Oval in the third Test.

Veteran India spin-bowling all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin hailed Nissanka as “easily one of the best batters” to have come from Sri Lanka. “Pathum Nissanka is easily one of the best batters to have come out of Sri Lanka in the recent past and he has delivered once again. Quality 4 innings ton,” said Ashwin in his post on X.

Ashwin may have not played any top level cricket matches since his last IPL game for RR in May this year but he has never shied away from giving his keen observations on matches and tournaments from around the world. He has been airing his thoughts on the ongoing Duleep Trophy, in which he is one of few major Indian stars who is not participating. He will be next seen in action later this month when India host Bangladesh for a two-match Test series.

A milestone for Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka's last Test win in England came June 2014 when captain Angelo Mathews led the way with a sensational all-round performance to power his team to a 100-run win. Incidentally, that was also the last time Sri Lanka beat England in a Test series. Mathews was at the crease on Monday while Nissanka hit the winning runs. Pathum Nissanka was unbeaten on a towering 127 off 124 balls while Mathews had scored 32 in 61. The pair put up an undefeated stand of 111 runs in 126 balls for the third wicket.

After their impressive end to Sunday's final session, where fast bowlers Lahiru Kumara and Vishwa Fernando wreaked havoc on the England lineup, Sri Lanka resumed at 94/1. They needed a further 125 to win and knocked them off in a little over two hours to finish on 219/2 and win by eight wickets.

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