Player of the Match
Player of the Match
  • BATSMEN
    R
    B
    M
    4s
    6s
    SR
    10.3 Moon-ball! The Eagle has landed! Curran flobs his back-of-the-hander way, way above the eyeline, no power, engines cutting out like Apollo 13... drifting down to surface level. Nissanka swings mightily and gets his timing all wrong. Mid-on gathers the floppy slog. 50/1
    27
    37
    54
    2
    1
    72.97
    13.4 takes on the sweep, bowled round his legs! It was the googly, full length, and gripping as it landed, on the crease line. Mishara gave himself too much room to access the ball, misjudged the length, and had no second line of defence with his legs already shuffled across to the off-side. Reward for a very fine start from Rashid 54/2
    not out
    93
    117
    148
    11
    0
    79.48
    21.2 misses a sweep, given lbw! Dhananjaya trudges off without a thought of reviewing... Looped up and DDS just wafted over it with his attempted paddle to be hit on the front boot bang in front of middle and off. He knew it, the umpire knew it. Rashid, the wily old fox, has another 97/3
    26.3 top-edged and taken! Rehan strikes now. Asalanka didn't know where the ball had gone, but Brook walked up from slip to take the catch and SL's captain has to go. Went for the big sweep and only managed to deflect it up off his body/helmet. Buttler didn't seem to pick it up either, but was a simple take for slip 124/4
    42.5 skids straight through, and back to the bowler! Back of a length, it's a top-spinning googly, cramping the batter with extra bounce and a hint of turn back into the cut. Caught it high on the blade, and scuffed it back into the bowler's midriff 212/5
    47.2 opens the face on the angle into the stumps, Rathnayake looked for the inside-out launch over extra cover, but the ball wasn't quite full enough for the stroke. Gets underneath his shot and picks out Overton's bucket hands in the deep 239/6
    not out
    25
    12
    13
    3
    1
    208.33
    Extras
    20 (lb 10, w 10)
    TOTAL
    271/6 (50 Overs, RR: 5.42)
    Fall of wickets: 1-50 (Pathum Nissanka, 10.3 ov), 2-54 (Kamil Mishara, 13.4 ov), 3-97 (Dhananjaya de Silva, 21.2 ov), 4-124 (Charith Asalanka, 26.3 ov), 5-212 (Janith Liyanage, 42.5 ov), 6-239 (Pavan Rathnayake, 47.2 ov)
    BowlingOMRWEcon0s4s6sWDNB
    J Overton906607.33287220
    SM Curran804015284110
    LA Dawson1013113.1412010
    AU Rashid1004434.4315000
    Rehan Ahmed1006116.1237010
    JG Bethell301906.3381100
  • BATSMEN
    R
    B
    M
    4s
    6s
    SR
    2.5 loose drive, nicked behind! Crawley's return to one-day colours is short and unconvincing. Pitched up, drawing the drive and there's just a hint of nibble to find the edge. Perfect new-ball approach from Asitha, though it's a pretty dismal shot from the English perspective - after an Ashes winter full of them 12/1
    27.1 gets in a tangle on the reverse sweep! Duckett is given lbw, but he is reviewing. That straightened sharply, beating the edge as he wiped urgently across the length... was it pitching outside leg? Thumped the back leg in front of leg off stump ... three reds! ... and yes, he is a left-hander... as you were! 129/2
    61
    90
    114
    5
    0
    67.77
    32.4 urgent sweep, close to the line of leg stump, but probably just pitching outside. Root is struck on the knee-roll either way, and for that reason Sri Lanka review. There's no bat involved, It's pitched on leg! The seam is shown to be just in line, it's three reds on BallTracker and that's a huge, huge moment in this previously serene chase! 144/3
    37.3 Bethell goes for a walk, another stumping! Pushed through wide and he's reaching for the shot, nowhere near the ball as it turned through the gate to Mendis. Much easier job to complete this one, and England are teetering on the ropes now 159/5
    36.4 lures him forward, the ball then spins sharply down leg... did Brook get back? Not quite a regulation stumping, Mendis was a little unsighted and had to move a long way... But the glovework was sharp enough, and Brook departs! Asalanka knocks over his opposite number and the equation gets that bit tougher for England. Called wide, but that won't help them much 157/4
    45.2 bowled 'im, and that might be the game! Huge cheer from the minority of SL fans in Khettarama. Madushan holds his nerve, pulls out the slower ball. It dips, grips and rattles off stump as Buttler aims another slog down the ground. SL edge closer 211/8
    39.2 slapped back to the bowler, great catch! Curran goes cheaply. The third umpire is going to double-check but looked to me that Wellalage held this brilliantly by his bootlaces. Turn once again, Curran was tucked up on the back foot. Struck it firmly but not where he wanted, and the bowler snapped up the offering 165/6
    44.5 superbly taken in the deep! Rehan holes out, although that makes it sound far more simple than it was. Wellalage was the man at wide long-off, he took the catch right on the rope and then tossed it straight back into the air as he went out of bounds. Took a couple of steps, hopped back over the cushion, and completed the catch. Smart self-relay in the blink of an eye, and England lose another 203/7
    49.2 Madushan's the hero as Overton holes out! Low full toss and he can't get hold of it, the ball looping tamely into the covers. Overton is aghast, wondering if it might be a no-ball on height - Adrian Holdstock has a look, but it's clearly below waist height. SL survive the late onslaught. They think it's all Overton, it is now 252/10
    45.4 snaffled at backward point by the leaping DDS! Dawson falls swinging for the fences. Another pace-off delivery, back of the hand and wide of the stumps as Dawson frees the arms. Thick outside edge and it goes at a nice height for Dhanajaya to spring into the picture and take a spectacular grab low to his left. One for the cameras, SL one away 213/9
    not out
    0
    6
    25
    0
    0
    0
    Extras
    15 (lb 5, nb 1, w 9)
    TOTAL
    252 all out (49.2 Overs, RR: 5.1)
    Fall of wickets: 1-12 (Zak Crawley, 2.5 ov), 2-129 (Ben Duckett, 27.1 ov), 3-144 (Joe Root, 32.4 ov), 4-157 (Harry Brook, 36.4 ov), 5-159 (Jacob Bethell, 37.3 ov), 6-165 (Sam Curran, 39.2 ov), 7-203 (Rehan Ahmed, 44.5 ov), 8-211 (Jos Buttler, 45.2 ov), 9-213 (Liam Dawson, 45.4 ov), 10-252 (Jamie Overton, 49.2 ov)
    BowlingOMRWEcon0s4s6sWDNB
    AM Fernando816418268231
    Pramod Madushan5.203937.31195140
    DM de Silva802212.75322000
    DN Wellalage1004124.1303000
    KIC Asalanka703314.71172010
    JDF Vandersay1003923.9291010
    K Mishara1090920100

Match Details

Toss

Sri Lanka , elected to bat first

Player Of The Match

Series result

Sri Lanka led the 3-match series 1-0

Match number

Season

Hours of play (local time)

14.30 start, First Session 14.30-18.00, Interval 18.00-18.45, Second Session 18.45-22.15

Match days

22 January 2026 - day/night match (50-over match)

Reserve Umpire

Match Referee

Match Notes

England 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st12BM DuckettZ Crawley
2nd117JE RootBM Duckett
3rd15JE RootJG Bethell
4th13HC BrookJG Bethell
5th2JC ButtlerJG Bethell
6th6JC ButtlerSM Curran
7th38JC ButtlerRehan Ahmed
8th8JC ButtlerJ Overton
9th2LA DawsonJ Overton
10th39AU RashidJ Overton