Morgan defies monsoon and eases England to second win in Sri Lanka

ENGLAND eased into a 2-0 series lead over Sri Lanka as Eoin Morgan’s unbeaten 58 and a disciplined bowling performance delivered victory in a rain-shortened third one-day international.

The match at Pallekele was cut down to 21 overs per innings after play was delayed by almost six hours, the latest frustration in a monsoon-season tour at odds with both common sense and the elements, but England’s welloiled machine powered through for a seven-wicket win with 15 balls to spare.

Morgan’s half-century was a fourth in his last five knocks, but his work was made considerably easier by the efforts of Adil Rashid and the returning Tom Curran.

Rashid claimed four for 36 as the home side were held to 150 for nine, with Curran turning in an exemplary three for 17 after replacing injured Liam Dawson.

Niroshan Dickwella got Sri Lanka off and running with seven boundaries from his first 12 deliveries, dancing around the crease as he directed the ball to all four corners of the ground.

There was a pair of authentic cover drives and a slog off Chris Woakes, then a pull off Olly Stone. England had barely digested his footwork by the time the scoreboard read 55 for nought off five overs.

That was as good as it got for the hosts, though, with their next 16 overs yielding 95 runs and nine wickets.

THIRD ODI: England 153/3 (18.3 overs) beat Sri Lanka 150/9 (21 overs) by seven wickets