Sri Lanka batsmen thrash England to worst ODI defeat

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka batsmen put up a solid display and were ably aided by their bowlers to help their side thump England by 219 runs for the touring side’s worst ODI loss by runs in the rainshortened fifth and final match.

England had come into the match with an unassailable 3-0 series lead and opted to make three changes to their bowling attack with captain Eoin Morgan also resting himself and handing the reins to Jos Buttler. The weakened bowling attack seemed to have aided Sri Lanka as they put up a massive 366/6, buoyed by quickfire half-centuries from their top four batsmen, after winning the toss and opting to bat.

Fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera then took three wickets in his opening spell to derail England’s chase.

Brief scores

Sri Lanka 366/6 (Dickwella 95, Chandimal 80, Kusal Mendis 56, Samarawickrama 54). England 132/9 (Stokes 67, Dananjaya 4/19, Chameera 3/20). Sri Lanka won by 219 runs

(DLS method).

FAILING TO BAT ON

India B openers Mayank Agarwal (46) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (2) added 28 runs for the first wicket before pacer Mohammed Siraj got the better of the latter. Gaikwad looked to drive a good length delivery outside the off stump, but got an outside edge and Nair did the rest at first slip.

Agarwal, who was handed a lifeline early on when Shaw dropped him at point, stitched a 59-run stand with skipper Shreyas Iyer (41) for the second wicket before misjudging an arm ball from Krunal Pandya which deflected on to his stumps. Iyer too threw away a good start, falling to Ashwin.

Vihari, who made his India debut in England this year, combined with Tiwary to provide resistance. The duo’s 99-run stand for the fourth wicket was cut short by the run out of Bengal captain Tiwary’s departure. Vihari anchored India B’s innings but couldn’t get the support needed for the final flourish. India B managed 261/8.

ASHWIN, DK SHOW

In reply, India A opener Prithvi Shaw (7), who hurt his elbow early in the innings, became Manof-the-match Nadeem’s first victim. The slow left-arm bowler was on a hat-trick when he caught No 3 Karun Nair (0) in front of the

INDIA C IN ACTION

India B will face India C in the second game on Wednesday. India C captain Ajinkya Rahane was confident about his team’s chances. “Whenever I play domestic cricket, it’s all about ‘come out there and play with the same intensity with which you play international cricket’. We have got good fast bowlers, especially (Navdeep) Saini and (Rajneesh) Gurbani. I’m hopeful of an impressive show,” he said.