ENG VS SL 3RD TEST

Right then, that is it from our coverage of an immersive Day 3 of this final Test, Sri Lanka is in the driving seat with two of their accomplished batters standing unbeaten. Although, they will have to score 125 more runs to taste the sweet nectare of victory. Will they be able to prevent England from executing a 6-0 sweep in this summer? Or will England miraculously strike back as they have a decent attack in the bowling ranks? Only time will tell. The first hour of the new day's play will be very, very crucial from both teams' perspectives. We are far from drawing conclusions as of now, folks! Day 4 will commence on Monday, September 9th and the first ball will be bowled at 10 am GMT. Till then, take care!

So, the third day of this final Test has bounced back and forth in favor of both sides, but Sri Lanka surely will be the happier of the two sides to have managed to assert dominance as of now. England has been good, but in patches and now, they need 9 wickets but have 125 runs to defend. Well, a total of 98 overs were scheduled to be bowled today to cover the overs lost on the first two days, but since the light didn't permit it to continue any further, it means, we will have the same number of overs and if needed, another half an hour of extended play on Day 4, conditions applied with the weather permitting or we get the result before that.

In came the Pathum Nissanka-Kusal Mendis alliance who didn't flinch a bit and took the English bowlers, almost taking a leaf out of England's approach. They played on merit and avoided any risky shots that could create any inroad for the opposition. But fair to say, England wouldn't be really pleased with how the last session panned out for them.

However, as the third and final session began, Sri Lanka didn't waste much time to clean up the tail. They then faced the task of chasing 219 for victory, a target that, while seemingly moderate, carries significant weight in Test cricket where any pursuit exceeding 200 can prove challenging. Karunaratne and Pathum Nissanka approached their innings with poise and skill, initiating a steady start to the chase. Their composed batting, coupled with a brisk scoring rate, especially from Nissanka, soon began to exert pressure on the English side. Karunaratne, mostly watchful, fell courtesy of a spectacular catch from Woakes in his own bowling.

Cut to the second session, Sri Lanka came well-prepared as their pacers ran a riot and cleaned up the English top order in a flash. Root, Duckett, Pope, and Brook all went without any impact and Sri Lanka were sniffing a comeback with the lead not as threatening as it could. But in comes the young 24-year-old Jamie Smith who valiantly battled the storm single-handedly and bailed England out of an extremely turbulent situation. But, the Lankan bowlers are to be fairly blamed here, when the ball was doing its mischief when pitched on a fuller length, the ploy to drag the length back indeed cost them dearly as they were tonked mercilessly by Smith all over the park.

This dismissal triggered a procession of wickets. The pace bowlers, who had limited opportunities on the second day due to poor light, diligently performed their duties this time around, removing Sri Lanka's lower-order batters who struggled to add runs. Despite this, Sri Lanka managed to reduce the deficit to double digits. England's bowlers implemented a strategy of short-pitched deliveries to dismantle the Sri Lankan tail. This tactic proved effective, allowing England to execute their plans successfully and secure a 62-run lead. Coming to bat, the Englishmen didn't flinch from their 'Bazball' style of play and showed intent straightaway. Duckett however, couldn't stay long and perished with Pope too, following suit right before Lunch.

'Moving Day', as the cricket pundits call it, and the first session had a bit of everything - rain, aggressive strokes, brilliant bowling all combined. England aimed to lay a siege on Day 3 at their opponents by taking early wickets and the first hour of any day in Test cricket is very crucial and a bit tough for the batting side. The ball moved and curved in the early morning and tested the patience of the batters. Hull, in redemption, dismissed DDS whom he dropped on Day 2.

Well, it didn't take long, did it? The official word is in and that will be STUMPS ON DAY 3! SESSION SUMMARY - 110 runs and 3 wickets in 18 overs! An amazing day of Test cricket and this is exactly why we love this format. The game ebbed and flowed and both sides had their moments, but as things stand, it is Sri Lanka who have the upper hand in this game needing 125 runs to win with 9 wickets in hand, and plenty of time in the Test as well.

UPDATE - 5.47 pm GMT - One more over? Not as of now. The artificial light has taken over now and the players are being requested to walk off the field. It is not officially called Stumps as yet though. Nasser on-air reckons that the weather for Day 4 is not a promising one either.

Drags his length back, on middle, Pathum Nissanka moves back and pats it to the leg side.

Flighted, full and on middle, Kusal Mendis sweeps it away towards deep square leg for one.

TURN AND BOUNCE! Floats this up, short and outside off, this one lands in the rough and turns in viciously with extra bounce, Kusal Mendis has no time to get out of the way as it hits his gloves and falls on the pitch.

Short again, on middle, Pathum Nissanka heaves it towards deep mid-wicket for a run.

Goes short and on middle, Kusal Mendis moves back and pulls it away through mid-wicket for a single.

FOUR! Sweeps and sweeps well! Tossed up, full and around middle, Kusal Mendis goes down on one knee and swipes it away excellently through square leg, it zips away to the fence for a boundary.

Well, it has started to drizzle now, and the umpires also deem that the light is not safe enough for the pacers to bowl. Ollie Pope has a chat with the umpire and after having a discussion with his players asks Shoaib Bashir to come into the attack. This probably can be the last over of the day as well. We can see the shadows of the players and a thick cloud cover hovering over with a slight drizzle at The Oval. The floodlights are glittering now as well.

FOUR! Cracked away! FIFTY for Nissanka! His 7th in the Test career! Josh Hull overcompensates and lands a juicy half volley around off, Pathum Nissanka pats his front foot, slaps it through the cover and mid off gap for a boundary.

Oh, almost a chance created! Hull gets some inward movement on the fullish length, at the middle and off channel, Pathum Nissanka is a bit early in his defence and plays over the line of the ball, inside edges it onto the pads.