Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva and in-form Kamindu Mendis mounted a spirited resistance against England on the second day of the third Test at The Oval on Saturday. The tourists, who were struggling at 93-5 before tea, managed to recover to 211-5 when bad light forced an early close, leaving them 114 runs behind England’s first-innings total of 325.
De Silva was unbeaten on 64, and Mendis, in sensational form, reached 54 not out. Their unbroken stand of 118 runs gave Sri Lanka a glimmer of hope in the match as they looked to salvage some pride after falling 2-0 behind in the three-match series.
Kamindu Mendis, a left-hander with a remarkable Test average of over 85, continued his outstanding run by passing fifty for the seventh time in just six matches, including three centuries. Meanwhile, De Silva survived a major scare on 23 when England debutant Josh Hull dropped a straightforward catch at mid-on off the bowling of spinner Shoaib Bashir.
Sri Lanka’s innings got off to a disastrous start when captain Dimuth Karunaratne was run out for nine after a miscommunication with Pathum Nissanka, who called for a non-existent single only to see Olly Stone hit the stumps with a direct throw from short cover.
Nissanka, who had looked in good touch, reached a fluent fifty with seven boundaries in 40 balls, but Sri Lanka’s collapse soon continued. Stone, making his second Test appearance in three years, dismissed veteran Angelo Mathews for three, caught in the gully by Ollie Pope.
Josh Hull, standing at 6ft 7in, claimed his first Test wicket when Nissanka drove a ball that was brilliantly caught by Chris Woakes diving at cover. Sri Lanka found themselves in deeper trouble at 93-5 when Stone trapped Dinesh Chandimal lbw for a duck.
However, Mendis responded with elegance, hitting five boundaries, including a stylish square drive off Gus Atkinson from the last ball before tea, setting up a crucial partnership with De Silva.
Earlier, England resumed their innings on 221-3 but collapsed, losing their last six wickets for just 35 runs. Ollie Pope, captaining England in the absence of Ben Stokes, who was injured earlier in the series, top-scored with a commanding 154, his first century as skipper. His innings on his Surrey home ground included 19 fours and two sixes before he was dismissed, hooking left-arm quick Vishwa Fernando to deep square leg.
Milan Rathnayake was the standout bowler for Sri Lanka, finishing with 3-56 in 13.1 overs as their attack finally found some rhythm after struggling on the opening day.
England, having already sealed the series, are chasing their first home Test clean sweep since 2004 under Michael Vaughan, while Sri Lanka will look to fight back and end the series on a high note.
