After a convincing 10-wicket win on Friday, England will look to continue their domination against Sri Lanka in the third one-day international of the five-match series in Bristol on Sunday.
Sri Lanka showed immense promise in the first ODI and almost won the game but a six off the last ball by Liam Plunkett ensured a dramatic tie for the home nation. But in second ODI, England openers completely dominated the Lankan bowlers and ensured a superb 10-wicket win.
Alex Hales and Jason Roy, England's openers, were brutal in their approach and unperturbed by the bowling from the Sri Lankans. With only 254 runs on the board to defend, the visiting bowlers lacked determination and the Hales-Roy combo cashed in with centuries.
In the batting department too, the Sri Lankans struggled.
Barring Dinesh Chandimal (52), no batsman registered a half-century. Plunkett and Adil Rashid were the two most impressive bowlers for England, bagging two scalps each. Apart from the 82-run partnership between Angelo Mathews, the Sri Lanka skipper, and Chandimal, there were no substantial partnerships to boost Sri Lanka.
England skipper, Eoin Morgan, was all praise for his openers, but did not ignore the contribution of the bowlers after the match.
"It was a lot more like us in the field and we bowled well too; we weren’t great at Trent Bridge but restricting them to 254 was a great effort," Morgan said.
"Roy and Hales were exceptional – they put on a clinic for everyone watching in the crowd, and it was a pleasure to be here and witness it," he added.
England will be pleased with how they bounced back after a near-defeat in the first game. Sri Lanka has been pushed back into a corner. The injury that prevented Mathews from bowling in the second match doesn't bode well for it either.
In the post-match press conference, Mathews sounded uncertain on whether he'd be able to roll his arm over. "I'll try my best, I'll give it a go tomorrow and see if I can come up with a few overs," he said.
The deflated Sri Lankan side will have fingers crossed in hope that its captain can take the field for the third ODI in full capacity in order to give his team the best chance to turn the tables in a must-win game.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - Agencies)