Sri Lanka’s formidable home record in ODI cricket is on the line, with their five-year unbeaten run under threat heading into the series decider at RPS on Tuesday after Joe Root’s masterclass helped England square the contest and throw the gauntlet down.
The hosts have not lost a bilateral ODI series at home since 2021. In that time, they have played 12 series, winning 11 and drawing one, a sequence built largely on spin-friendly surfaces and an acute understanding of local conditions. The ongoing England series has followed the same script, but Sri Lanka now face a familiar problem: how to put the brakes on a batter in irresistible touch.
Root has been the axis around which England’s resistance has revolved. In the second ODI, he was the only player to raise a half-century in a come-from-behind win that turned the series on its head. While the modern antidote to spin is often the sweep and reverse sweep, Root has batted to a different rhythm. He does unfurl the sweeps when required, but his real strength lies in playing late, using soft hands and milking the bowling for singles, nudging the field out of shape ball by ball. It was a clinic in how to bat on turning tracks and Sri Lanka’s batters could do worse than take notes.
England’s reliance on spin this series has been striking. They bowled 33 overs of spin in the opening ODI and followed it up with 41 in the second, using six different options. It was the most overs of spin bowled by an England side in an ODI, surpassing the 36 they delivered against Pakistan in Sharjah in 1985.
Among Sri Lanka’s current line-up, Kusal Mendis remains their most accomplished player of spin. The application he has shown recently has been encouraging. A natural team man, Mendis has been backed through thick and thin and his cricketing intelligence is evident not just with the bat but behind the stumps. Had he not been run out in the second ODI, Sri Lanka would likely have pushed past 250, a total that may well have proved decisive.
Where the hosts came unstuck was in shot selection. Too many wickets fell to ambitious strokes when discretion was the better part of valour. On pitches offering assistance, the smarter route is to work the ball into gaps, run hard between the wickets and let the scoreboard tick over. It is the Root method and one Sri Lanka would be wise to borrow.
Pathum Nissanka is due a big score and when he gets going, Sri Lanka usually run away with the game. His return to form at the top could be the difference between holding serve and surrendering their prized record.
Further down the order, Janith Liyanage continues to grow into a batter who thrives alongside the tail, making number seven a natural fit for him. There is little logic in pushing newcomer Pavan Rathnayake into that role. More often than not, Rathnayake has been asked to swing from the hip in the closing overs, but his temperament and technique are better suited to a longer stay at the crease.
Sri Lanka have also felt the absence of Wanindu Hasaranga and Dushmantha Chameera. Hasaranga is part of the ODI squad and with the series on the line, could return for the decider, while Chameera has been rested throughout with one eye firmly on the World Cup.
One area where Sri Lanka have clearly won the series so far is in the field. Their sharp catching and energy have been a breath of fresh air. If they can maintain those standards and marry them with smarter batting, Sri Lanka have every chance of defending their fortress and carrying that momentum into the World Cup.
