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Even though Pathum Nissanka’s celebration for his second Test century was well-known, it was nonetheless razor-sharp.
Arms extended, hair pointed, helmet in one hand, bat in the other. For a brief while, the nearly 10,000 people present at the Kia Oval on Monday were being milked for applause. A good foot shorter than Jude Bellingham’s, but with an aura of its own. It was a replica. The words “you came for the last day of the English Test season, but you’ll leave thinking of me” expressed everything that needed to be said.
There weren’t many more deserving contenders for the third Test hero in Sri Lanka. How clever it was for Sri Lanka to win at the Kia Oval for the first time since 1998, all because of a man who was born in that year. Similarly, during the post-match ceremonies, captain Dhananjaya de Silva was pleased to refer to someone as “the best batsman in Sri Lanka right now” after leading his team to a fourth Test victory on home soil.
Nissanka’s unbeaten 127 was split overnight, finishing 53 off 44 on Sunday night and 74 off 80 the following morning. This indicates how proactive the team is. A kick over the finish line with a flurry of boundaries, crisp from the gates and composure throughout.
Naturally, England won the series. However, there was a sting to the ease with which they were eliminated with such deliberate yet aggressive vigour. Nissanka treated them the way that they try to treat other people.
However, do not misunderstand. Nissanka was the greatest version of himself, not just the greatest version of England. And that’s not by coincidence; rather, it’s a tale of constant expansion rather than just steady technical advancement.
The disparities and the thirty months that separated this century’s number one on debut from this one in his eleventh cap speak for themselves. He was at the wicket for just under six hours in a match against the West Indies in March 2021, eventually making 103 off 252 balls. With 191 off 175 balls at the end of the match, he earned the distinction of becoming the eighth batsman in Test history to reach fifty in less than fifty balls in both innings.
His debut in the Test arena was preceded by an average of 65 in Sri Lanka’s first-class system, which not only distinguished him from the others but also left beards speculating as to whether he was a normal occurrence or only an anomaly.
His 26 fours in the four innings he has played on this tour are more than half of his 15 in the preceding five. He has now tripled his total number of Test sixes thanks to the Olly Stone bouncers he launched into the stands at backward square leg on Sunday.
It seems that Dhananjaya intended Nissanka to be involved from the beginning. If it’s any comfort, the captain of Sri Lanka won’t be beginning a series without him very soon.
This will inevitably lead to some patronising of Sri Lanka. that it is beneficial to both the sport and Test cricket as a whole. That might have some validity. However, England’s tactics were a major factor in this Test’s detour into dull areas.
But happily, Nissanka offered a sophisticated conclusion that showed a gifted person starting a brand-new chapter in their life.