Root and Brook's centuries guide England to 53 run win over Sri Lanka in series-decider

England defeated Sri Lanka in the ODIs by 2-1 [Source: RahulYadav61762/X.com]

Sri Lanka and England collided for the third and final ODI of the series in Colombo on Tuesday afternoon, with the series well-poised at 1-1 after the visitors clinched the 2nd ODI a couple of days ago to make it an interesting final ODI.

As it was expected, England were up to the task once again, having found momentum in the second match, as they posted a mammoth first innings total of 357 runs to put themselves in a commanding position. The hosts also did not back down and went for the target till the very end; however, eventually fell short by 53 runs to end an entertaining series.

Root and Bethell build a solid foundation

Upon deciding to bat first at the R Premadasa Stadium, England lost both their openers, Rehan Ahmed and Ben Duckett, in 10.3 overs, when the score read 40/2, with Rehan doing the bulk of the scoring for his 24 off 37, with three fours to his name.

Joe Root, who was coming into the match after consecutive fifties in the first two matches of the series, walked in at 19/1 and was soon joined by Jacob Bethell, and the duo stitched a big third-wicket partnership, adding 126 runs in 118 balls, before Bethell was dismissed for a well-made 65 (72) with eight fours to his tally.

After scoring his fourth fifty, the southpaw looked set for his second ODI century; however, threw his wicket away, trying to pull Jeffrey Vandersay and was caught by Liyanage on the boundary.

Root shines with his 20th ODI ton; Brook goes berserk for a quick-fire 136

What followed was mayhem from captain Harry Brook, who came in to bat with the intention of finishing the innings strongly. He joined Root when the set-batter was 65*(61) and took a few overs before unleashing from 38* (32) to score a massive 136* (66) to end the innings with a 191-run stand with Root.

The senior-pro stuck to one end and got to the three-figure mark in 100 balls and became only the 8th player overall and the first Englishman to score 20 hundreds in both Tests and ODIs. He played second fiddle in the partnership and ended the innings with 111* (108) with 9 fours and a six. Brook, on the other end, got 11 fours and nine towering sixes.

Dhananjaya de Silva, Wanindu Hasaranga and Jeffery Vandersay picked a wicket each but were all expensive on the day.

Pathum Nissanka gives early jitters to England

While chasing the target, Sri Lanka got off to a flier, thanks to Pathum Nissanka’s fifty, where he went hammer and tongs to score his fifty in just 24 balls before he was immediately dismissed on the next ball by Jamie Overton, as he handed over a catch to substitute fielder Tom Banton.

The opener scored the fifty with five fours and three sixes, and was complemented by Kamil Mishara’s 22 (17) and Kusal Mendis’ 20 (9) with three fours and a six to his name.

Rathnayake’s maiden international century goes in vain

Pavan Rathnayake joined Nissanka in the middle in the 8th over and held to one end throughout the innings to keep the hosts alive in the chase, while stitching short partnerships with captain Charith Asalanka (37 off 34), Janith Liyanage (43 off 66) and de Silva (28 off 32) before another crucial fifty partnership with Dunith Wellalage.

Wickets kept falling from one end at regular intervals, but the 23-year-old showed his mettle to reach his maiden ODI hundred in 104 balls. The constant wickets did not help the hosts’ cause, and they were eventually bundled for 304 runs. Rathnayake finished with 121 (115), scoring 12 fours and a six.

With this 53-run win, England won the series 2-1 after losing the first match. Will Jacks was the pick of the bowlers for England with 2/43 (8). Adil Rashid, Jamie Overton and Liam Dawson also picked two wickets each, followed by Sam Curran's yorker to dismiss the centurion to end the match.