Colombo: Sri Lanka beat England in the first ODI of the three-match series as the spinners ran through the visitors’ bats during a tense chase of 272 at the R. Premadasa Stadium on Thursday.
Despite solid 60s from Joe Root and Ben Duckett, England fell for 19 runs, with their run rate below five an over for most of the innings.
England’s aggressive “baseball” approach saw them struggle to a comfortable victory against a quartet of Sri Lankan spinners who shared six wickets.
The visitors’ regular attacking batting resembled the restrained, often ineffective performances historically seen in South Asia.
Sri Lanka’s 271-6 was built on consistent contributions rather than explosive impact. Kusal Mendis scored an unbeaten 93 off 117 balls and Janith Lienake scored 46 runs.
Dunith Vellalake made an unbeaten 25 off 12 balls to push the total to a defendable level on the spin-friendly Khetarama track.
Jamie Overton’s late strike gave England hope, but by the 40th over, the required run rate had risen above 10 an over, with four wickets in hand.
In the last over, needing 20 runs to win, Overton was denied a run on the first ball, then caught trying to clear the infield, ending England’s challenge.
England’s middle order struggled as Duckett was caught lbw to Jeffrey Vandersay attempting a reverse sweep, Root fell lbw to Dhananjaya de Silva after a review, Harry Brook was stumped and Jacob Bethel fell as did Wellalage.
England lost 5 wickets between the 28th and 40th overs and never recovered.
Mendis batted cautiously, brilliantly, reaching 50 off 62 balls and laying the foundation for Sri Lanka’s unbeaten run in the 90s.
Wellalage’s late strike sealed the innings, while Adil Rashid was England’s most prolific bowler, picking up key wickets including Lienage.