England Beat Sri Lanka by 53 Runs to Clinch ODI Series 2-1

Both teams played really well and made it a close game, but England was better in some areas and won by 53 runs. They won the 3-match ODI series 2-1. England skipper Harry Brook won the toss and decided to bat first. His decision seemed to be not a great one as England became reduced to 40/2 in the 11th over. They lost both of their openers in Rehan Ahmed and Ben Duckett cheaply. 

Joe Root and Jacob Bethell then stepped up. They played very sensibly in the middle. Sri Lanka operated mostly with spin and England negotiated that phase nicely with sporadic boundaries. Their partnership yielded 126 runs to the team total. Jacob Bethell reached his fifty and eventually got out for 65 off 72 before Jeffrey Vandersay got the better of him.

The partnership between Harry Brook and Joe Root was of 191 runs but it was mostly of Brook's belligerence. Root got to his 20th ODI hundred and then turned into an anchor. Brook and Root together took 130 from the final 10 overs to post 357/3 in their 50 overs. Harry Brook top scored for his side with a blistering 136* off 66 balls with 11 fours and 9 sixes.

Joe Root got outscored and he finished unbeaten on 111 off 108 balls with 9 fours and a maximum. For Sri Lanka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dhananjaya de Silva and Jeffrey Vandersay took one wicket each.

England Beat Sri Lanka by 53 Runs to Win ODI Series 2-1

When Sri Lanka came to chase the hefty target of 358, their plan was to go berserk at everything in the powerplay. Kamil Mishara and Pathum Nissanka took 11 from the first over and added 48 runs from 31 balls for the opening stand. Then Kusal Mendis joined Nissanka and the former ran a little carnage to score 20 off 9 balls. Pathum Nissanka reached to his fifty in just 24 balls.

When Kusal got out, Sri Lanka promoted Pavan Rathnayake in the order. But misery arose when Nissanka got out for 50 in the 25th ball of his innings. Sri Lanka never had a long partnership as Charith Asalanka, Janith Liyanage and Dhananjaya de Silva- all fell after getting set. Liyanage and Rathnayake added 43 for the 5th wicket and were going strong.

But the plight is that a miscommunication led to a mix-up and Liyanage got out for 22. Pavan Rathnayake however didn't give up. He added 50 runs for the 7th wicket with Dunith Wellalage and build a strong partnership with Jeffrey Vandersay. They added 34 for the 9th wicket and Rathnayake got to his maiden ODI century. 

Rathnayake eventually got castled by a yorker from Sam Curran and finished his fighting innings on 121 off 115 balls with 12 boundaries and a maximum. Sri Lanka got bundled out for 304. For England, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid and Will Jacks took a couple of wickets each. Sam Curran took the final wicket of Rathnayake.

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SA vs WI 1st T20I: Where to Watch South Africa vs West Indies, H2H, Playing 11 & Full Match Details South Africa vs West Indies are set to play first T20I of their three-match series on Tuesday, January 27th at 9:30 PM.

by Dwijesh January 26, 2026