Chasing a target of 219 runs, Sri Lanka began the fourth day with 84 runs already on the board. Pathum Nissanka continued his exceptional performance against the English bowlers, even after Kusal Mendis was dismissed in the 20th over.
With Angelo Mathews supporting him, Nissanka closed the gap with aggressive shots. Known for his solid conversion rate, the young batsman reached his century after a 1265-day wait, making a bold statement to the Sri Lankan dressing room.
In the 35th over, after narrowly missing a ball that whisked past his outside edge, Nissanka played a backfoot punch off a delivery from Gus Atkinson.
The ball threaded the gap between point and cover, allowing Nissanka to run three runs and reach 101* off 98 balls, raising his bat to a cheering London crowd.
— Gill Bill (@bill_gill76078) September 9, 2024
Having been out of the red-ball setup for over a year, the 26-year-old scored his second Test century, earning widespread praise from the Twitterverse.