Sri Lanka beat England by 8 wickets in third Test, their fourth in England

Sri Lanka earned their only fourth Test victory on English soil after an unbeaten century by opener Pathum Nissanka helped the visitors secure an eight-wicket win in the third and final match of the series against England at The Oval here on Monday.

England won the series 2-1 but missed out on a second clean sweep of its international summer, having defeated the West Indies 3-0 in July.

Starting Day 4 on 94-1 and requiring 125 more runs to win, the Sri Lankans needed barely two hours to complete the job in clinical fashion. The platform was built on Sunday when they skittled England for 156 in just 34 overs and were given a victory target of 219.

Nissanka underpinned the chase with his second test hundred, reaching three figures in 107 balls and finishing 127 not out as Sri Lanka got to 219 in 40.3 overs.

The diminutive opener, who struck 13 fours and two sixes, spread his arms wide and soaked in the applause inside a half-full ground after passing 100, then kissed his bat and look