Joe Root’s second successive half century, followed by Jos Buttler’s unbeaten knock sealed England’s 5-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second game, to level the three-match ODI series, registering their first ODI win at the R. Premadasa Stadium since 2007 on Saturday (24 January).
England spinners made good use of the slow surface in Colombo as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 219 in 49.3 overs after batting first.
In the chase, the experiment of Rehan Ahmed at the top did not work for the visitors, as Dhananjaya de Silva cleaned up the opener with an inswinger in his very first over. Just like the first game, Ben Duckett and Joe Root then tried to steady the innings, with Root in particular batting positively from the start without playing many dot balls.
Jeffrey Vandersay castled Duckett for 39 to break the 72-run partnership, coming off 68 balls. Jacob Bethell couldn’t get going and became Dhananjaya’s second victim, leaving England three down for 97. However, Root then shared an 81-run stand with captain Harry Brook, putting pressure back on the home side. In the process, Root reached his second fifty of the series, while Brook batted patiently, making the bowlers toil hard.
Asitha Fernando returned to the attack and trapped Root plumb in front, before Brook fell to Vandersay, as Sri Lanka tried to pull things back with the visitors on 189/5. However, Jos Buttler struck an unbeaten 33 off just 21 balls to take England home without any further hiccups.
Earlier, the two Sri Lankan openers failed to deliver once again, with the first wicket falling at 16 as Ben Duckett held onto a catch from Kamil Mishara on the second attempt. The second-wicket stand had just started to gather momentum, but both batters departed after making 26. Pathum Nissanka chipped one straight to long-off, while Kusal Mendis was run out following a mix-up with non-striker Dhananjaya, courtesy of a superb diving effort and throw from Will Jacks.
After slumping to 68 for 3, Dhananjaya and Charith Asalanka tried to revive the innings. They added 66 runs off 93 balls, but both fell in the 40s, while Janith Liyanage’s stay lasted just 11 deliveries. After getting a start, Pavan Rathnayake also threw his wicket away with five overs remaining, leaving the home side on 193 for 7. Dunith Wellalage contributed 20 runs to help Sri Lanka push closer to the 220 mark.
The spinners did a fine job, with Adil Rashid returning figures of 2 for 34, before Joe Root wrapped things up by claiming the final two wickets. Only nine overs were bowled by the pace duo of Jamie Overton and Sam Curran, with the former also picking up two scalps.
Earlier in the day, skipper Charith Asalanka won the toss for the second consecutive time and chose to put runs on the board, given the history of the venue. Sri Lanka remained unchanged following their 19-run win in the first ODI.
The visitors, desperate to make a comeback and level the series, made one change. Zak Crawley missed out due to injury, while Will Jacks returned to the side after missing the first game through illness. Rehan Ahmed was slotted in to open the batting.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pathum Nissanka | c Will Jacks b Adil Rashid | 26 | 37 | 2 | 1 | 70.27 |
| Kamil Mishara | c Ben Duckett b Jamie Overton | 5 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 41.67 |
| Kusal Mendis | run out (Will Jacks) | 26 | 45 | 2 | 0 | 57.78 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | c Joe Root b Liam Dawson, | 40 | 59 | 4 | 0 | 67.80 |
| Charith Asalanka | c Ben Duckett b Adil Rashid | 45 | 64 | 1 | 0 | 70.31 |
| Janith Liyanage | c Adil Rashid b Jamie Overton | 12 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 109.09 |
| Pavan Rathnayake | c Liam Dawson, b Will Jacks | 29 | 34 | 3 | 0 | 85.29 |
| Dunith Wellalage | c Sam Curran b Joe Root | 20 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 105.26 |
| Pramod Madushan | st Jos Buttler b Rehan Ahmed | 8 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 80.00 |
| Jeffery Vandersay | not out | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 25.00 |
| Asitha Fernando | c & b Joe Root | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 7 (b 0 , lb 2 , nb 0, w 5, pen 0) |
| Total | 219/10 (49.3 Overs, RR: 4.42) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamie Overton | 5 | 1 | 21 | 1 | 4.20 | |
| Sam Curran | 4 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 4.00 | |
| Liam Dawson, | 10 | 1 | 41 | 1 | 4.10 | |
| Will Jacks | 10 | 1 | 47 | 1 | 4.70 | |
| Adil Rashid | 10 | 0 | 34 | 2 | 3.40 | |
| Jacob Bethell | 3 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 6.67 | |
| Rehan Ahmed | 5 | 0 | 21 | 1 | 4.20 | |
| Joe Root | 2.3 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 5.22 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rehan Ahmed | b Dhananjaya de Silva | 13 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 72.22 |
| Ben Duckett | b Jeffery Vandersay | 39 | 51 | 2 | 1 | 76.47 |
| Joe Root | lbw b Asitha Fernando | 75 | 90 | 5 | 0 | 83.33 |
| Jacob Bethell | c Charith Asalanka b Dhananjaya de Silva | 6 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 42.86 |
| Harry Brook | lbw b Jeffery Vandersay | 42 | 75 | 2 | 0 | 56.00 |
| Jos Buttler | not out | 33 | 21 | 3 | 1 | 157.14 |
| Will Jacks | not out | 8 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Extras | 7 (b 0 , lb 1 , nb 0, w 6, pen 0) |
| Total | 223/5 (46.2 Overs, RR: 4.81) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asitha Fernando | 7 | 0 | 31 | 1 | 4.43 | |
| Pramod Madushan | 3.2 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 6.25 | |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | 7 | 0 | 37 | 2 | 5.29 | |
| Dunith Wellalage | 10 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 5.00 | |
| Charith Asalanka | 8 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 3.38 | |
| Jeffery Vandersay | 10 | 0 | 45 | 2 | 4.50 | |
| Pavan Rathnayake | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 12.00 | |
Playing XI
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis (WK), Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka (C), Janith Liyanage, Pavan Rathnayake, Dunith Wellalage, Pramod Madushan, 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
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