Pathum Nissanka put on an absolute show under tough conditions at the Oval, scoring a brilliant hundred in the fourth innings of the third Test between England and Sri Lanka. (More Cricket News)
The 26-year-old also became the first Sri Lankan opener to score a Test ton in 13 years in England, after former dynamic opener Tillakaratne Dilshan scored in 2011.
Nissanka’s solid, sound, and scintillating hundred helped Sri Lanka end a ten-year wait for a Test win in England.
He also joined an elite group of visiting batters, namely, Don Bradman, Gordon Greenide, and Graeme Smith, by scoring a ton in the fourth innings of a Test triumph in England.
The Nissanka heroics also helped Sri Lanka set a new Asian record for the highest successful chase in a Test, again in England.
The Galle-born cricketer scored a classic unbeaten 127 to help his side win the match by eight wickets.
Sri Lankan Openers To Score Test Hundreds In England
- S Wettimuny: 1984, Lord's
- Amal Rohitha Silva: 1984, Lord's
- Sanathan Jayasuriya: 1998, The Oval
- Marvan Atapattu: 2002, Lord's
- Russell Arnold: 2002, Old Trafford
- Michael Vandort: 2006, Edgbaston
- Tilakaratne Dilshan: 2011, Lord's
- Pathum Nissanka: 2024, The Oval
In his 11 Test appearances so far, Nissanka has scored 754 runs at an average of 44.35, with six fifties and two hundreds to his name.
