Sri Lanka cruised to 94-1 before bad light halted play on Sunday, requiring just 125 more runs to secure a commendable comeback victory in the third Test against England and avert a 3-0 series sweep. Pathum Nissanka shone with an unbeaten 53, capitalizing on the late evening sunshine after England had earlier struggled under floodlights during a tumultuous third day at the Oval. The visitors appear poised to claim victory on Monday, barring any further twists in a Test match brimming with them. England quickly squandered a first-innings lead of 62 with a fatigued display of top-order batting, only to nearly redeem themselves thanks to one of their emerging stars. The fact that they had 218 runs to defend was almost entirely due to Jamie Smith, one of England's summer discoveries, who unleashed an incredible 67 to cover up the earlier collapse. Entering the game at a precarious 69-5, following some fine Sri Lankan swing bowling that dismantled England's innings, Surrey's Smith scored 20 runs off a Milan Rathnayake over en route to a superb half-century in front of his home crowd. Ben Duckett (7), Ollie Pope (7), Dan Lawrence (35), and Joe Root (12) all fell to aggressive shots, reflecting the relentlessly aggressive philosophy that has brought England much success in recent years but has also alienated their more traditional fans. Despite England's loose shots, Sri Lanka bowled effectively, finding consistent movement through the air after lunch. Vishwa Fernando claimed the crucial wicket of Root, hitting him on the boot with an inswinger, and then repeated the feat against Harry Brook. Once Smith was caught at midwicket, the tail could only add a few boundaries, leaving the hosts well short of a commanding total as the sun emerged and batting conditions improved at the wrong time for England. England started the day in control, quickly dismissing the overnight pair of Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis. Their latest surprise selection, the 6'7" (2.01m) left-arm seamer Josh Hull, had Sri Lanka's captain de Silva caught hooking in the deep and later took the third wicket of his nascent Test career, trapping Vishwa Fernando lbw. Chris Woakes, between those two wickets, claimed the prized scalp of Mendis, Sri Lanka's best batsman of the series, with a fine ball that seamed away and found the edge. Olly Stone removed the dangerous tail-ender Rathnayake before Shoaib Bashir mopped up Asitha Fernando, giving the hosts what seemed at the time a useful first-innings lead.