Sri Lanka were already 2-0 down in the series, which means that England still won it 2-1 but the manner in which they lost the last Test raised a few eyebrows. Former captain Michael Vaughan even said that England “disrespected” Test cricket and Sri Lanka with the way they approached the match.

“I felt that they disrespected Test cricket, and disrespected Sri Lanka in the third Test by being over-aggressive with both bat and in their field placings,” Vaughan wrote in The Telegraph.

‘England have made a habit of being complacent’

Vaughan pointed out to instances in the recent past where England aggressive approach ended up costing them series wins. “England have made a bit of a habit of becoming a bit complacent after a good period – I think of the start of the Ashes, or earlier this year in Rajkot – and I hope it serves as a wake-up call for the tougher Tests that lie in wait in 2025,” he said.

England face Australia in the Ashes and host India for a five-match Test series next year. “There is no way they will get away with playing like this against India or Australia,” he said.

A moment of history for Sri Lankan Test cricket

Sri Lanka’s previous Test win in England came in June 2014 when then-captain Angelo Mathews powered his team to a 100-run win with a sensational all-round performance. Incidentally, that was also the last time Sri Lanka beat England in a Test series. Mathews was at the crease on Monday as well when Pathum Nissanka hit the winning runs. Nissanka was unbeaten on a towering 127 off 124 balls while Mathews had scored 32 in 61. The pair put up an undefeated stand of 111 runs in 126 balls for the third wicket.

After their impressive end to Sunday’s final session, where fast bowlers Lahiru Kumara and Vishwa Fernando wreaked havoc on the England lineup, Sri Lanka resumed at 94/1. They needed 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.