Eng v SL 3rd ODI Review: Rain plays spoilsport after Sri Lanka falter again

After thumping the visitors by 10 wickets in the previous match, a chance beckoned for the hosts England to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the 5-match series, after the first game had ended in a tie. For the visitors, it was only about putting in a fight on a tour, where they have been thoroughly outplayed and outclassed thus far.

Coming into the 3^rd ODI at Bristol, it was English skipper Eoin Morgan, who yet again won the toss and elected to bowl first. The intention was pretty clear, replicate the heroics of the previous match and restrict the opposition to a low score. Sri Lanka left out Suraj Randiv and brought in an extra pacer in Suranga Lakmal.

The Sri Lankan team did not have a good start, a story that has been almost synonymous this ODI series thus far for the visitors. Danushka Gunathilaka was dismissed in the very first over of the match on just 1 by David Willey. His opening partner, Kusal Perera hung in the middle for the brief while but had to walk back in the 9th over after struggling for 25 balls for his 9 runs as Liam Plunkett got an edge of his bat.

It was down to Kusal Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal to resurrect the Sri Lankan innings after being 34/2 in 10 overs. The duo did a fairly good job with Kusal Mendis being the accelerator as Chandimal played the second fiddle on the occasion. It was in the 19th over when Mendis reached his half century and looked good for more. However, the resistance didn’t last long as Plunkett came back to bag his 2nd wicket when he dismissed Mendis for 53 that came off 65 balls.

Skipper Angelo Mathews joined his deputy in the middle as the crisis situation awaited the hosts yet again. As the two have been doing throughout the series, they took serious efforts to bail out Sri Lanka of the crisis. Chandimal eased past another half century in the series in the 33rd over. Together they put 80 runs in 87 balls for the 4th wicket. A couple of overs later, in the 35th over, the partnership was broken when Chandimal perished on 62 off 77 balls as he mishit a hook shot off the bowling of Woakes to take a top edge that went safely in the hands of the third man fielder.

Seekkuge Prasanna failed for the 2nd time in 2 games as he became Plunkett’s 3rd wicket of the night. In walked Upul Tharanga, the man who rescued Sri Lanka in the last match. He lost the support of the skipper soon as Mathew departed soon after scoring his half century. Chris Jordan was the bowler who sent him packing on 56 that came in 67 balls. Meanwhile, Tharanga lost support in clusters as no other batsmen could get into the double digits. The lone ranging Tharanga was dismissed in the penultimate over on 40 that came in just 33 balls.

It was his efforts that saw Sri Lanka post a respectable total of 248/9 in their 50 overs. For the hosts, Woakes and Plunkett bagged 3 wickets each. The target never looked challenging at the onset. The English openers, Alex Hales and Jason Roy had made a mockery of Sri Lankan bowling in the last match.

The match, however, had an interruption by rain just before the commencement of the 2nd innings. A delayed start brought fortunes for the Lankan bowlers. Suranga Lakmal struck early to send Alex Hales back to the pavilion for a golden duck in the first over itself. In walked Joe Root to join Jason Roy at the crease. As the 4th over ended, with England being on 16/1, it started drizzling again. The umpires decided to bring the covers on.

After more than a couple of hours of wait, the rain refused to go away and the play had to be officially called off. With this, England lead the series 1-0 with two matches to play. One thing is for sure, the possibility of a drawn series is ruled out now, unless another match ends in a tie or gets abandoned by rain.

Brief Scores:

Sri Lanka – 248/9 in 50 overs (Chandimal 62, Mathews 56, Woakes 3/34, Plunkett 3/46)

England – 16/1 in 4 overs (Root 11*, Roy 5*, Lakmal 1/8)