England Slam-Dunk Sri Lanka in Third ODI-by Andrew Fidel Fernando
Source:Thuppahis
Andrew Fidel Fernando in ESPNcricinfo, 27 January 2026, where the headlines run thus “Harry Brook blasts England to 2-1 series victory …..Joe Root ton bolsters team-mate’s quickfire effort as Pavan Rathnayake’s century goes in vain
England 357 for 3 (Brook 136*, Root 111*, Bethell 65) beat Sri Lanka 304 (Rathnayake 121, Nissanka 50, Jacks 2-43) by 53 runs
England’s batting might arrived in scrintillating style for the third ODI against Sri Lanka as Harry Brook smoked 136 not out off 65 balls, Joe Root struck 111, and England mounted a mammoth score of 357 for 3.
On a track that has historically been unkind to chasing teams, Sri Lanka made a valiant charge at the target, led by Pavan Rathnayake, who hit a maiden international hundred in his fourth ODI. Although Sri Lanka threatened at times, staying within range of the required rate, England’s bowlers struck too frequently, and were too economical through the middle overs. Sri Lanka were ultimately all out for 304 in the 47th over. Aside from Rathnayake’s 121 off 115, Pathum Nissanka‘s 50 off 25 was the only other substantial score.
This victory hands England the ODI series 2-1 – their first away series victory since beating Bangladesh in March 2023. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, have lost their first home ODI series since going down to India in 2021.
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In the second innings, England’s attack hunted together – Adil Rashid, Jamie Overton, Will Jacks, and Liam Dawson all claiming two wickets apiece before Sam Curran bowled Rathnayake to bring the match to a close. But it had been their utter domination of the first innings that set up this win. Only two of the five batters who came to the crease was dismissed for less than 50 – Jacob Bethell also hitting 65 in a 126-run stand with Root.
Even that stand didn’t compare to the partnership that was to come, however – Root and Brook put on 191 together off as few as 113 deliveries. Although Root sped up towards the death, that transforming of what would have been a good total into a gargantuan one was all Brook’s doing. He crashed nine sixes and 11 fours, reaping 101 runs off the last 40 balls he faced. The final overs were a showcase of Brook’s extraordinary clean hitting; the last five overs cost Sri Lanka a dizzying 88 runs. In cramming their attack with spinners, Sri Lanka had banked on getting wickets in the middle overs. When England arrived at the 40th over only three down, Sri Lanka were always likely to suffer in the final 10.
The three most-experienced bowlers’ figures make for the bleakest reading – Asitha Fernando went at 8.55 runs an over, while both Wanindu Hasaranga and Jeffrey Vandersay returned figures of 1 for 76 apiece from their 10 overs. Dunith Wellalage maintained an economy rate of 4.9, but this was largely a function of him having mostly bowled out before the death. In his last over – the 45th of the innings – Wellalage also conceded 13.
Before Brook’s assault, though, Root had given the innings some substance. When he arrived at the crease in the seventh over, England had made an inauspicious start – Ben Duckett and Rehan Ahmed having plodded along at less than three an over. Things did not seem to be improving when Ahmed pulled Hasaranga to short midwicket on 24, leaving England 40 for 2 in the 11th over.
But then Bethell and Root bedded down on a surface that wasn’t especially given to runscoring. As Sri Lanka unleashed its spin-heavy attack, the batters settled on spiking the scoring rate only occasionally, before returning to accumulating steadily. Root was brisker than Bethell, getting to fifty off the 54th ball he faced, but that’s only because he is a better manipulator of the field. Of those first 50 runs, only 18 came from boundaries. In fact, of his entire 111 off 108, 61 came from singles, twos, and threes.
The innings was already moving into a higher gear when Brook arrived. But Brook energised the advance, steering his first ball for four behind square, before unleashing the more powerful strokes. After 15 balls at the crease he had hit two fours and a six, but it was after the 43rd over that he really exploded.
The off-side hitting was spectacular; Brook would frequently make room to hit both spinners and seamers over the extra cover boundary to delight the thousands of England supporters who had made the trip for this series. Root completed his 20th hundred off the 100th ball he faced, and then largely just stayed out of Brook’s way.
While midwicket and cover were Brook’s favourite zones for six-hitting, he also peppered the boundary behind square on the offside with four. He faced all but two deliveries in the last two overs, and England scored 40 runs off them.
Nissanka set the hosts racing in response. He blasted five fours and three sixes inside the powerplay to get Sri Lanka ahead of the run rate, with a little help from Kamil Mishara and Kusal Mendis, who produced early cameos. But when Nissanka was dismissed in the 10th over, Sri Lanka’s chances nosedived, with two wickets having gone down already. Before long, they were 131 for 4.
Batting at No. 4 for the first time in ODIs, Rathnayake added the substance Sri Lnaka’s runaway train of a chase required, however. He was severe on errors of length especially, and used his feet against spin to devastating effect, coming down the track repeatedly to hit them aerially over midwicket.
But he progressed at roughly a run-a-ball, choosing to take the game deep even as he ran out of partners. There was a 50-run stand for the seventh wicket with Dunith Wellalage, but it wasn’t enough. England continued to take Rathnayake’s partners out.
He didn’t just close up and play for the hundred. Aside from a little hesitation in moving from 99 to a first international ton, Rathnayake continued to pursue an unlikely total, even when the required rate had climbed past 12. But in the 47th over, Curran bowled a yorker that prompted a tired shot, and Rathnayake’s stumps were rattled. He’d hit 12 fours and a six in all.
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ROSHAN ABEYSINGHE: Comment in FACEBOOK:
Pavan Rathnayake’s knock is special simply due to the role he played. His objective was to ensure he bats long lending support to someone more expressive as a batter at the other end, which he did in an efficient manner. He was challenged by the target, run rate required and his own strike rate to be up to it which was handled tremendously well. Sri Lanka has surely got someone with potential to add stability not just in the ODI format but Test cricket too. Congratulations Pavan, the silver lining for Sri Lanka in the series.
