Root and Taylor see off Sri Lanka in fifth ODI

England 240 for 5 (Root 104*, Taylor 68) beat Sri Lanka 239 (Sangakkara 91, Woakes 6-47) by five wickets

Taylor played a superb innings and shared
a vital stand with Root.

Joe Root led a superb run-chase as England kept their hopes of winning their ODI series with Sri Lanka alive with a five-wicket victory in Pallekele.

The Yorkshire batsman reached his third ODI hundred and shared crucial partnerships with Ravi Bopara and James Taylor, who continues to impress despite his tender age, as England chased 240 on the reserve day of this game after heavy rain had intervened yesterday.

Chris Woakes shined with the ball, claiming 6-47 in Sri Lanka’s innings to restrict the hosts to 239 all out from 49 overs. Woakes’ figures proved to be the third best by an Englishman in ODI’s and his second six-wicket-haul in this format of the game.

England’s delayed run-chase was not always as comfortable as it seemed given that the visitors reached 35/2 after Sachithra Senanayake had dismissed both of England’s openers.

But the youthful duo of Taylor and Root put together a composed partnership worth 104 for the third-wicket, England’s highest partnership since June of last year.

Root continued to play well alongside Ravi Bopara (28) adding a further 86 runs as England edged ever closer to their target of 240 in this must-win game.

A nervous conclusion saw Bopara and Eoin Morgan (5) both caught at long-on in an attempt to bring the game to an end, but Root and Jos Buttler (2*) ensured that England made it 3-2 to the hosts with two games remaining.

Not for the first time this series, England made a positive start with the ball by removing Kushal Perera for no score and Sri Lanka soon found themselves 54/2 when Tilikaratne Dilshan (35) was bowled by Chris Jordan.

Dilshan’s record of five hundreds in 11 innings before this game in Pallekele made him a key target for the visitors and England were fortunate to see him drag on after attempting an expansive drive through the covers.

Other Sri Lankan batsmen have not had such a gratifying time on this ground; Jayawardene and Mathews both average a score in the low twenties, and their plight continued when the former found an edge to Jordan at 59/3.

A fourth-consecutive fifty for Kumar Sangakkara (91) led the Sri Lankan recovery and captain Mathews made another vital contribution with the bat to continue his rally as the highest run-scorer in ODI cricket this year.

He added a patient 40 in his 85-run stand with Sangakkara to keep Sri Lanka in check, but it became clear that this wasn’t going to be a particularly high-scoring affair.

Sangakkara’s innings was therefore crucial and he very nearly registered a 20th ODI century before he fell to Woakes at 199/6. After the dismissal of Mathews the hosts struggled to retain their hold on the game, losing their final seven wickets for 95 runs.

Woakes played a key hand in this prodigious collapse, claiming the final five wickets of the innings, including that of Sangakkara who unselfishly forfeited his wicket in an attempt to accelerate.

Lahiru Thirimane had been dismissed by the economical James Tredwell (1-33) before Woakes removed Sangakkara, who had earlier registered a measured fifty in 81 deliveries.

The Warwickshire all-rounder then persisted with the short ball and, despite conceding a number of wides, this tactic made it difficult for the Sri Lankan tail-enders to put their foot on the accelerator.

It also accounted for Jeevan Mendis (12) who top-edged the ball back to Woakes at 202/7 with limited room to play the pull shot as he had intended to. Thusal Perera’s late antics profited a brisk 27 but Woakes collected his fifth victim when he picked out Root on the boundary.

The innings was then brought to a close when Woakes clattered the stumps of Ajantha Mendis, and the rain that stayed clear for the entirety of Sri Lanka’s innings came down in installments, causing England’s run-chase to be pushed back to the reserve day.

Woakes claimed 6-47 as he reduced Sri Lanka to 239 all out.

England needed to chase 240 to be able to stand a chance of winning the series and went on to make it 3-2 to Sri Lanka with two games remaining in what proved to be one of England’s most impressive one-day victories for some time.

The run-chase was made to progress on uncertain foundations after both of England’s opening batsmen failed to make a significant impact. Moeen Ali played an ugly swipe across the line and was bowled by Senanyake (2-35) for 4 and the reintroduced spinner made further inroads by trapping Cook (20) leg before.

Despite this uncertain start England were chasing an achievable target on a pitch which continued to ease for the batsmen as the game progressed, but the visitors would not have won the game without such a key innings from Taylor and later Root.

Taylor’s re-introduction into the international set-up has been a breath of fresh air. His footwork, use of hands, 360 degree striking and strike rotation all left Sri Lanka hapless and when Root started to play with a similar ethic, scoring runs in the middle overs became straightforward for England.

Taylor reached his second half-century in as many matches in 67 deliveries and continued to play an eye-catching innings before he picked out Ajantha Mendis on the fine leg boundary and was dismissed with the score at 139/3.

Root had enjoyed the more passive role in his partnership with Taylor but it was his stand with Bopara which allowed him to truly flourish. The Yorkshire batsman soon followed Taylor’s example by reaching fifty in two fewer deliveries than his old batting partner.

Bopara nurtured Root’s enthusiasm by allowing him the majority of the strike but as the overs began to run out his approach needed to change, although his first attempt to clear the fence resulted in him being caught on the boundary off Dilshan (1-45).

All of a sudden a fairly measured approach had turned into a slightly nervy affair, but England’s reserve of batsmen offered them the rare luxury of being in control at the death.

Morgan hit a trademark reverse-sweep off his first delivery to ease the pressure on Root, who brought up his century with a six through mid-wicket and, despite Morgan falling to Ajantha Mendis (1-49), the visitors went on to win the game with five balls to spare when Buttler guided the ball down to fine leg for two.

The series continues in Pallekele on Saturday.