Pathum Nissanka smokes his first Test half-century in 2.5 years
Sri Lankan opener Pathum Nissanka scored a whirlwind half-century on Day 2 of the third and final Test against England at the Kennington Oval, London. He batted with great intent and made 64 off just 51 balls. He smoked nine boundaries during his stay. Notably, this was his first Test half-century in nearly 2.5 years. Here we look at his stats.
A brilliant knock from Nissanka
England initially struggled with their bowling, despite favorable conditions. Nissanka capitalized on this, delivering a series of impressive strokes. However, Sri Lanka also made mistakes, notably with Dimuth Karunaratne's run out when England were struggling. Nissanka, meanwhile, looked at his best as he completed his fifty in no time. Debutant pacer Josh Hull trapped him eventually.
Sixth Test fifty for Nissanka
The second Test of the ongoing series saw Nissanka return to SL's Test XI after over two years. As per ESPNcricinfo, his last half-century in the format came way back in March 2022 against India. The one against England was his sixth Test fifty as he has raced to 627 runs across 11 games at 36.88 (100: 1). In First-Class cricket, he now owns 15 tons and 19 fifties.
England's seam attack triggers mini collapse
Chris Woakes dismissed Kusal Mendis, while Olly Stone claimed the wickets of Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal. As mentioned, debutant Josh Hull claimed his first international wicket by dismissing Nissanka. This led to Sri Lanka's score plummeting from 70/1 to 93/5, putting them at risk of a low first innings total. However, Kamindu Mendis (54*) and skipper Dhananjaya de Silva (64*) slammed unbeaten fifties as SL ended Day 2 at 211/5.
SL's remarkable show with the ball
Earlier on Day 2, Sri Lanka staged a remarkable comeback after a disappointing first day. The visitors bounced back to bowl out England for 325. England had resumed at an overnight score of 221/3. The hosts experienced a significant batting collapse, losing six wickets for just 35 runs. Skipper Ollie Pope (154) was England's stand-out performer. Milan Rathnayake (3/56) was the pick of the SL bowlers.
