Pavan Rathnayake’s maiden One Day International hundred went in vain as England broke Sri Lanka’s home dominance in bilateral ODI series, securing a 53-run win in the third and final ODI on Tuesday (27th January) in Colombo.
Joe Root’s 20th ODI century, followed by skipper Harry Brook’s career-best 66-ball 137*, propelled England to 357 for 3 after batting first.
With a massive target to chase, Sri Lanka showed intent from the start, racing to 48 in five overs before Will Jacks sent back Kamil Mishara. Kusal Mendis struck 4, 6, 4 but fell to Jamie Overton in the same over. Pathum Nissanka brought up his fifty in just 24 balls but was dismissed off the very next delivery, becoming Overton’s second victim as the hosts slipped to 94 for 3 inside 10 overs.
Pavan Rathnayake was promoted to the No. 4 position. Despite scoring at a rate well above the required run rate, he continued to lose partners as pressure mounted. Sri Lanka’s highest partnership came for the seventh wicket, with Rathnayake and Dunith Wellalage adding 50 runs before Wellalage was dismissed for 22 against the run of play.
Rathnayake, playing only his fourth ODI, reached 50 for the first time and went on to bring up a sensational maiden century in a pressure chase. However, a lack of support from the rest of the batting meant his efforts were not enough to overhaul England’s massive total. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 304 in 46.4 overs, with Rathnayake dismissed for a superb 121 as the final wicket.
Will Jacks, Adil Rashid, Jamie Overton and Liam Dawson picked up two wickets apiece as England sealed a crucial away series victory.
Earlier in the day, the visitors lost both openers cheaply, within 40 runs in 10.3 overs, as Dhananjaya de Silva and Wanindu Hasaranga made immediate impacts, dismissing Ben Duckett and Rehan Ahmed in their first overs.
However, Joe Root and Jacob Bethell steadied the innings with a brilliant century stand. Both completed their fifties before Bethell was caught by Janith Liyanage off Jeffrey Vandersay for 65, after Sri Lanka had used up both of their reviews on unsuccessful LBW appeals.
Root then joined forces with captain Harry Brook, and the two right-handers put the Sri Lankan attack under severe pressure. Root continued his fine form, reaching three figures, while Brook played a blistering knock, blasting a hundred in just 57 balls. The duo shared an unbeaten 191-run partnership off just 113 balls, with England hammering 88 runs in the final five overs alone. Brook’s innings included 11 fours and 9 sixes.
Sri Lanka’s bowlers struggled, particularly after Brook arrived at the crease. Having decided to play two leg spinners, England’s powerful batters took them apart, scoring 152 runs off their 20 overs, with 76 runs coming in each bowler’s 10-over spell.
Earlier, England opted to bat first after winning the crucial toss, retaining their winning combination. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, made one change to their XI, bringing back premier leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga after he was rested for the first two ODIs, with Pramod Madushan left out.
Playing XI
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis (WK), Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka (C), Janith Liyanage, Pavan Rathnayake, Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jeffrey Vandersay, Asitha Fernando
England: Rehan Ahmed, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook (C), Jos Buttler (WK), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rehan Ahmed | c Jeffery Vandersay b Wanindu Hasaranga | 24 | 37 | 3 | 0 | 64.86 |
| Ben Duckett | c Dunith Wellalage b Dhananjaya de Silva | 7 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 41.18 |
| Joe Root | not out | 111 | 108 | 8 | 1 | 102.78 |
| Jacob Bethell | c Janith Liyanage b Jeffrey Vandersay | 65 | 72 | 8 | 0 | 90.28 |
| Harry Brook | not out | 136 | 66 | 11 | 9 | 206.06 |
| Extras | 14 (b 4 , lb 3 , nb 0, w 7, pen 0) |
| Total | 357/3 (50 Overs, RR: 7.14) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asitha Fernando | 9 | 0 | 77 | 0 | 8.56 | |
| Janith Liyanage | 3 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2.33 | |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | 5 | 0 | 45 | 1 | 9.00 | |
| Dunith Wellalage | 10 | 0 | 49 | 0 | 4.90 | |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | 10 | 0 | 76 | 1 | 7.60 | |
| Jeffery Vandersay | 10 | 0 | 76 | 1 | 7.60 | |
| Charith Asalanka | 3 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 6.67 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pathum Nissanka | c Jonny Bairstow b Jamie Overton | 50 | 25 | 5 | 2 | 200.00 |
| Kamil Mishara | c Rehan Ahmed b Will Jacks | 22 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 129.41 |
| Kusal Mendis | c Harry Brook b Jamie Overton | 20 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 222.22 |
| Pavan Rathnayake | b Sam Curran | 121 | 115 | 5 | 0 | 105.22 |
| Charith Asalanka | c Harry Brook b Adil Rashid | 13 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 81.25 |
| Janith Liyanage | run out (Harry Brook) | 22 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 61.11 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | c Harry Brook b Will Jacks | 9 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 56.25 |
| Dunith Wellalage | c Will Jacks b Liam Dawson, | 22 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 91.67 |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | c Ben Duckett b Adil Rashid | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Jeffery Vandersay | c Sam Curran b Liam Dawson, | 14 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 93.33 |
| Extras | 2 (b 0 , lb 1 , nb 0, w 1, pen 0) |
| Total | 304/10 (46.4 Overs, RR: 6.51) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamie Overton | 4 | 0 | 48 | 2 | 12.00 | |
| Sam Curran | 5.4 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 8.15 | |
| Liam Dawson, | 10 | 0 | 48 | 1 | 4.80 | |
| Will Jacks | 8 | 0 | 43 | 2 | 5.38 | |
| Adil Rashid | 10 | 0 | 61 | 2 | 6.10 | |
| Jacob Bethell | 5 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 5.60 | |
| Rehan Ahmed | 4 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 7.75 | |
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