Eng v SL 2nd, ODI Review: Tons from Roy, Hales crush Sri Lanka by 10 wickets

After a thrilling encounter in the first ODI of the 5 match series, both England and Sri Lanka clashed in the 2nd ODI at Birmingham. The game promised to be yet another exciting prospect. While the Sri Lankans lost the plot at the very end in the previous match after having dominated the proceedings for major part, the England team were high on confidence coming into the big clash.

The English lower middle-order rescued the team from the jaws of defeat and eventually secured a tie on the occasion. The second match commenced with Sri Lanka opting to bat after having won the toss. Openers Kusal Perera and Danushka Gunathilaka made sure that they saw the first few overs with the new ball through.

However, after a cautious start that saw 39 runs being put on the board in 38 balls for the first wicket, Liam Plunkett drew first blood for the hosts. He managed to get an edge off the bat of Gunathilaka’s (22 off 21 balls) bat that carried to Jos Buttler. Kusal Mendis was promoted up the order but the move seemed to backfire as he was trapped lbw by Plunkett on a duck soon to have Sri Lanka kneel down to 51/2 by the end of 10 overs.

With Dinesh Chandimal and Kusal Perera at the crease, it was expected for the Lankan team to settle down. It wasn’t to be though. After having done all the hard work, Perera perished as a result of a run out in the 17th over after scoring a 45-ball 37. Angelo Mathews was the new man in. The skipper and his deputy had the job of rebuilding in hand and the duo did it with perfection. Without taking too many risks, Sri Lanka moved past the 150 run mark.

The 82 run stand between Mathews and Chandimal came to halt when Adil Rashid got the better of the Sri Lankan skipper to send him back for 44 in the 34th over. An over later, Seekkuge Prasanna departed as well, scoring just 2. Upul Tharanga, the man who once opened for Sri Lanka, walked in at number 7. Meanwhile, Chandimal scored a gritty half century and looked to be waging a lone war. His resistance came to an end in the 40th over after he fell victim to a run out on 52 that came off 86 balls.

Tharanga took the counter attack as the slog overs approached. He lost the support of Chandimal early and then Farveez Maharoof as well. Suraj Randiv, the spinner, gave good support to Tharanga as the two batsmen took Sri Lanka over 250 mark. In the process, Tharanga brought up a well fought and well paced half century.

Tharanga’s unbeaten 53 off 49 balls and Randiv’s 27-ball 26 saw Sri Lanka post a decent total of 254/7 in their 50 overs. For the hosts, it was Adil Rashid and Liam Plunkett who picked up two wickets each.

The English openers, Alex Hales and Jason Roy, made a steady start to ensure that England did not face the same crisis as they did in the last game. Farveez Maharoof bowled a maiden early in the innings but that didn’t quite bother the mindset of the England openers. They continued to bat with flair. While Alex Hales showed some slog hitting, Roy’s knock was relatively calmer and more composed.

England brought up their 100 runs in the 18th over and it was in the 17th over when Hales slog swept a delivery to bring up his half century. 3 overs later, his partner, Jason Roy, also brought up his half century – the 4th of his ODI career. Nothing seemed to stop the English batsman as they made a mockery of the Sri Lankan bowling with ease.

Both the openers took special liking to the Sri Lankan spinners, Seekkuge Prasanna and Suraj Randiv. Randiv was taken for 62 runs in his 8 overs while Prasanna received a beating of 78 runs in his 8.1 overs. Alex Hales raced to his 4th ODI in style with a boundary in the 29th over. Soon, Sri Lanka had their opportunity in the 31st over, when Hales slammed a delivery by Maharoof to backward point but Gunathilaka couldn’t hold on to the catch. It was all about England batting from thereon.

Jason Roy went an inch better to reach his ton in the 33^rd over by coming down the track to Prasanna and clobbering him for a six. An unbeaten 133 from 110 balls by Alex Hales saw him hit 10 fours and 6 sixes. On the other hand, Roy remained not out on 112 from 95 balls with 7 fours and 4 sixes as England eased past the Sri Lankan target in just 34.1 overs. It was a thumping win for the hosts as they go 1-0 up in the series.

Brief Scores:

Sri Lanka – 254/7 in 50 overs (Tharanga 53*, Chandimal 52, Rashid 2/34, Plunkett 2/49)

England – 256/0 in 34.1 overs (Hales 133*, Roy 112*)

Man of the match: Jason Roy