![England beat Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in 2nd ODI [Source: englandcricket/X.com]](https://onecricketnews.akamaized.net/parth-editor/oc-dashboard/news-images-prod/1769269703346_EnglandteamvsSL2ndODI.jpg?type=hq)
England beat Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in 2nd ODI [Source: englandcricket/X.com]
Sri Lanka and England met in the 2nd ODI of the three-match series at the R Premadasa Stadium on January 24 after the hosts had clinched the first ODI two days back by 19 runs to lead the series.
Similar to the first game, spinners were heavily involved in the 2nd ODI, making it a low-scoring match, keeping the batters under the pump throughout its course. However, this time around, England spinners, followed by Joe Root's masterful fifty, got the visitors on top to level the series 1-1 and take the game to the decider.
Adil Rashid-led spin attack restricts Lanka to 219 on a turner
Charith Asalanka won the toss in the second match at the same venue and decided to bat first on what was a very helpful track for the spinners, with the ball gripping and holding to make it difficult to freely score against.
While Jamie Overton struck early in the match during the powerplay to send Kamil Mishara back to the hut in the fifth over, most of the remaining job was done by the spin unit, led by the veteran Adil Rashid, who got a crucial scalp of Pathum Nissanka when he was building a partnership with Kusal Mendis for the 2nd wicket.
Having started slowly, the batter was looking to take on Rashid but got beaten in the length and flight to find Will Jacks at long off while batting at 26. He was soon followed by Kusal Mendis, who had scored a 93* in the last match but got run out at a juncture when they needed to build a partnership.
Sri Lankan middle order fails to convert starts
Leading from the front, captain Charith Asalanka scored 45(64) with a solitary four to his name, alongside Dhananjaya de Silva’s 40 off 59 with four fours before the duo was dismissed by Adil Rashid and Liam Dawson. All three of Janith Liyange, Pavan Rathnayake and Dunith Wellalage got starts but couldn’t convert the 10s and 20s into bigger scores, and England spinners kept chipping in with wickets.
The lead spinner Adil Rashid was the pick of the bowlers with 2/34 in his 10 overs, conceding at only 3.40 runs per over. Overton got 2/21 (5), alongside Joe Root’s 2/12 (2.3) towards the end. Both Dawson and Jacks bowled economical spells of 10 overs, scalping a wicket each and the hosts were bowled out for 219.
Joe Root’s masterclass builds a foundation for the chase
After Zak Crawley had to sit out injured from the 2nd ODI of the series, Leicestershire all-rounder, who has been among the runs throughout the recent season, was asked to open the batting for the Englishmen. However, he could only manage 13 off 18 balls at the top and was cleaned up by Dhananjaya de Silva’s menacing delivery coming in during the 6th over.
It was followed by a comfortable 68 off 67 partnership between Ben Duckett and Joe Root. The two steadily built a foundation for the run-chase, with Duckett adding 39(52) before getting his stumps dismantled on a big leg spin from Jeffrey Vandersay.
Root, who had spent time bowling on the wicket, kept batting to take the match deep and added an 81-run stand with captain Harry Brook after an early dismissal of Jacob Bethell. Before Asitha Fernando got Root lbw on a close call by the umpire, the senior batter had added 75 from 90 on the board, with five fours to his name, and the visitors needed 42 from 58 to win the match.
Buttler-Jacks avoid late drama
To make things nervy at the end, Vandersay trapped Brook plumb in front of the wickets at 42(75), but the experienced Jos Buttler and Will Jacks made sure they chased down the remaining 31 runs in 44 balls with the wicketkeeper taking the aggressive route for his quick-fire 33*(21). Jacks stayed unbeaten on run-a-ball 8 runs.
Vandersay was Sri Lanka's best bowler on the evening with figures of 2/45 from his quota of 10 overs. Dhananjaya de Silva also picked 2/37 but was expensive, as compared to the leggie.
