Joe Root (93) and Jos Buttler (70) masterminded an imposing recital for England before the bowlers stood stern as they savoured a 122-run victory at Cardiff and a subsequent 3-0 ODI series wrap up, inflicting further woes in a forgettable tour for the Sri Lankans.
After Jason Roy and James Vince recorded 67 runs for the opening stand, Roy was dismissed by Suranga Lakmal for a run a ball 34 while Dhanushka Gunathilaka claimed two timely wickets to remove Vince for 51 and captain Eoin Morgan for 20. Vince, who skipped out of the crease, was stumped by Dinesh Chandimal and Morgan’s drive found Kusal Mendis at sweeper cover, who took a tumbling catch.
However, Joe Root continued to brace the innings and Jos Buttler joined him to swing the pendulum in their favour. Buttler took charge in a daunting partnership that piled up 109 runs off 86 balls for the fifth wicket. His galvanic knock contained 8 boundaries including a maximum over long off. The 45-ball cameo fueled 70 runs before finally being ended by debutant Chaminda Bandara.
Root missed a deserving century as Nuwan Pradeep sent him back to the pavilion for a composed 93 off 106 deliveries, in the final over.
Reaching 324/7 at the break, it was a commendable effort by England that resulted in them amassing 97 runs in the last 10 overs after being in a spot of bother halfway through the innings. Gunathilaka took 3 for 48.
Early on in the chase, Kusal Perera lost his wicket for 6 runs and was followed by a failed review on the decision. The 55 run partnership between Kusal Mendis and Dhanushka Gunathilaka was put to a halt by Jonny Bairstow’s brilliant fielding that ran out Mendis for 22. A delivery which seemed to have missed the leg kept Gunathilaka in doubt but the unavailability of a review removed him for 48.
Angelo Mathews’ aggressive approach saw him smashing Plunkett in a bullet-like strike before a terrific yorker castled him for 13. Already playing in a dead rubber and the crash of confidence in a crumbling innings, Upul Tharanga was welcomed with a peach by Adil Rashid that sent him for a golden duck.
Reeling at 106/5, Dasun Shanaka joined Dinesh Chandimal to entreat the forlorn condition. They added 34 for the sixth wicket but Rashid’s clever bowling saw Shanaka stumped for 22. England’s fabulous fielding was on show once again when David Willey took an outstanding catch at fine leg to dismiss Seekkuge Prasanna. Lone fighter Chandimal’s half ton proved futile in the fragmented pursuit which eventually perished at 202. David Willey took 4 for 34 while Liam Plunkett claimed 3 for 44.
 and Jos Buttler (70) masterminded an imposing recital for England before the bowlers stood stern as they savoured a 122-run victory at Cardiff and a subsequent 3-0 ODI series wrap up, inflicting further woes in a forgettable tour for the Sri Lankans.){kind=link}