Dhananjaya de Silva slams his 17th Test fifty: Key stats
Sri Lankan Test captain Dhananjaya de Silva hammered a 69-run knock versus England at the Kennington Oval. Dhananjaya resumed Day 3 on an unbeaten 64 in SL's score of 211/5. However, he could only add five runs to his tally. Debutant Josh Hull dismissed the batter early on Sunday. Dhananjaya and Kamindu Mendis had added 118 runs on Saturday. They added nine runs further.
A solid effort from Dhananjaya
Despite an early batting collapse, Dhananjaya and Kamindu revived Sri Lanka's innings with a solid partnership. They capitalized on the final session when England was forced to bowl spin due to fading light. Both players are skilled at playing spin, which allowed them to score runs smoothly even as the ball gripped and bounced steeply. Dhananjaya departed in the 3rd over on Sunday.
How was Dhananjaya dismissed?
Hull banged in a delivery short on middle, Dhananjaya took it on and the ball hit the top-edge before flying down to Shoaib Bashir at fine-leg. The spinner did well to take the catch safely.
5th fifty against England for Dhananjaya
Dhananjaya's 69 was laced with 11 fours. He consumed 111 balls. Playing his 57th Test (101 innings), Dhananjaya has raced to 3,786 runs at 40.70. This was his 17th fifty in Tests (100s: 12). As per ESPNcricinfo, he also surpassed 450 fours (453). Versus England, he owns 372 runs from six matches at 33.81. This was his 5th fifty.
Summary of the 3rd Test
The visitors bounced back to bowl out England for 325 in the latter's first innings. England resumed Day 2 at an overnight score of 221/3. The hosts experienced a significant batting collapse, losing seven wickets for just 64 runs. Skipper Ollie Pope (154) was England's stand-out performer. Milan Rathnayake (3/56) was the pick of the SL bowlers. England bowled SL out for 263 thereafter.
