[Source: Reuters]

Sri Lanka completed a rare test victory in England on Monday as they reached their target of 219 with untroubled ease on the fourth day at The Oval, with Pathum Nissanka’s unbeaten 127 leading them to a consolation win in a 2-1 series defeat.

After their impressive end to Sunday’s final session, Sri Lanka resumed at 94-1, needing a further 125 to win and knocked them off in a little over two hours to finish on 219-2 and win by eight wickets.

It was their fourth victory in 21 tests in England over 40 years and their first since a 1-0 victory in a two-test series 10 years ago.

Their Sunday evening assault had set them up to be favorites but the few England fans scattered around The Oval knew that a few early wickets could make things interesting.

Kusal Mendis had added nine to his overnight 30 before a brilliant running catch by Shoaib Bashir gave Gus Atkinson another wicket, but it proved the only bright note for England on an overcast south London day.