England Clinches Sri Lanka Series 2-1 After Thrilling Colombo ODI Victory

Colombo. Aided by explosive batting from Joe Root and captain Harry Brook, England secured a 53-run victory in the third One Day International against Sri Lanka, clinching the three-match series 2-1. Chasing a massive target of 358 set by England at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Wednesday, Sri Lanka was bowled out for 304 in 46.4 overs.

With this win, England ended Sri Lanka's unbeaten streak in home ODI series. Since being defeated by India in 2021, Sri Lanka had won 12 consecutive home ODI series, a record that England has now broken.

England, who won the toss and elected to bat first, had a very poor start. Early batters Ben Duckett fell for 7 and Rehan Ahmed for 24, leaving the team in a precarious position of 40-2 within 11 overs. However, veteran Joe Root and young star Jacob Bethell stabilized the innings with a 126-run partnership for the third wicket. After Bethell was dismissed for 65, captain Harry Brook, who came in next, mercilessly attacked the Sri Lankan bowlers.

Brook played a blistering unbeaten innings of 136 runs off just 66 balls, including 11 fours and 9 sixes. On the other hand, the composed Joe Root completed his 20th ODI century off 108 balls, scoring 111 runs.

After these two formed an unbeaten 191-run partnership for the fourth wicket, England posted a massive total of 357 for 3 wickets in 50 overs. England scored 88 runs in the final five overs alone.

In reply, Sri Lanka got off to an aggressive start but came under pressure due to regular loss of wickets. Although opener Pathum Nissanka gave the team a good start by scoring 50 off just 25 balls, the middle order failed to perform. However, Dhananjaya de Silva played a fighting innings of 121 runs off 120 balls, hitting his maiden career century, attempting to win the match for his team. But his effort was not enough without support from other batters.

For England, Jamie Overton, Will Jacks, Adil Rashid, and Liam Dawson all took 2 wickets each, stopping Sri Lanka 53 runs short of the target.

Although Sri Lanka won the first match by 19 runs, England made a comeback in the series by winning the second match by 5 wickets.