England secured a five-wicket victory against Sri Lanka in the second ODI of the three-match series held at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, on Saturday. This win levels the series 1-1, with the decisive final match scheduled for January 27 at the same venue.
Sri Lanka, after winning the toss, elected to bat but were restricted to 219 runs in 49.3 overs. The hosts lost an early wicket when Kamil Mishara was dismissed at 16 runs. Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis then attempted to stabilize the innings with a 42-run partnership. Nissanka scored 26 before getting out, while Mendis contributed 26 runs.
Dhananjaya de Silva and captain Charith Asalanka built a crucial fourth-wicket stand of 66 runs, taking Sri Lanka to 134. De Silva scored 40 runs off 59 balls, hitting four boundaries, while Asalanka made 45 runs. In addition, Pawan Rathnayake and Dunith Wellalage added 29 and 20 runs respectively.
From the England bowling side, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, and Joe Root each took two wickets. Liam Dawson, Will Jacks, and Rehan Ahmed claimed one wicket apiece.
Chasing 220, England achieved the target in 46.2 overs with five wickets in hand. Early on, Rehan Ahmed was dismissed at 20 runs. However, Ben Duckett and Joe Root steadied the innings with a 68-run partnership for the second wicket. Duckett scored 39 runs before getting out, soon followed by the dismissal of Jacob Bethell for 6.
England had lost three wickets by the time their score reached 97. Then, Root and captain Harry Brook put together an 81-run partnership for the fourth wicket, bringing the team close to victory. Root played a confident innings of 75 runs off 90 balls, hitting five boundaries, while Brook contributed 42 runs. Finally, Jos Buttler remained unbeaten on 33 runs off 21 balls, including four boundaries, to guide England to victory.
For Sri Lanka, Dhananjaya de Silva and Jeffrey Vandersay took two wickets each, while Asitha Fernando claimed one wicket.
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