Joe Root was at his imperious best on a tough pitch to bat on as he showcased his class on a tricky chase. Joe Root not only shone with the bat but before that shone with the ball as well as his 2-wickets in an all-round bowling display helped England restrict Sri Lanka to 219 in 49.3 overs with players getting starts and not going on with it for the Lankans as there were a couple of 40s, but no one carried onto play the big innings for the hosts.
In reply chasing 220 to level the series 1-1, England rode on a batting masterclass from Joe Root and able assistance from other players like Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, and the finish from Jos Buttler enabled England to eventually get over the line by 5 wickets. Sri Lanka had their moments with the ball and troubled England for sure but it was not enough as Root showcased his class to take the side over the line with 5 wickets and 22 balls to spare.
All-Round bowling performance led by Joe Root restricts Sri Lanka to 219 in 49.3 overs
Winning the toss and electing to bat first, Pathum Nissanka and Kamil Mishara came out to open for Sri Lanka while Jamie Overton took the new ball for England. The openers took their time settling in and giving the team a good start but they added 16 for the first wicket before Mishara fell for 5 off 12 balls with one boundary to his name to Jamie Overton. Wicket-keeper batter Kusal Mendis came out to bat next in the 5th over.
The duo tried to rebuild the things under tricky conditions taking their time to settle into the crease. England bowled tight lines and lengths as well. The score at the end of the mandatory first 10 overs of powerplay was 36/1 for the home side. The duo got themselves in and built a good stand for the second wicket as they put on 42 for the second wicket before Nissanka fell after getting a start as he fell for 26 off 37 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name to Adil Rashid. Dhananjaya de Silva came out to bat next.
Dhananjaya de Silva and Kusal Mendis could add only 10 runs to the score before Mendis fell for 26 off 45 balls with 2 fours to his name as he was run out. Captain Charith Asalanka joined Dhananjaya de Silva in the middle with the score at 68/3 in 17.1 overs. DDS and Asalanka started to build a partnership to rescue Sri Lanka from this predicament. The duo took their time getting in and scoring the runs as Sri Lanka were in desperate need of a partnership.
Both the batters complimented each other really well as they put on 66 for the 4th wicket and took the score from 68 in the 18th over to 134 in the 33rd over before de Silva fell for 40 off 59 balls with 4 fours to his name to Liam Dawson. Janith Liyanage came in next and was quick off the blocks adding some quick runs to the side. Asalanka and Liyanage put on 17 runs in quick time for the 5th wicket before Liyanage fell for 12 off 11 balls with 2 fours to his name to Overton. Pavan Rathnayake came out to bat next.
The score was 151/5 in 35.3 overs at this stage of the game. Rathnayake came out of the blocks as well and played his natural game. The duo added 28 runs for the 6th wicket before Asalanka fell for 45 off 64 balls with one boundary to his name to Rashid. Dunith Wellalage came out to bat to join Rathnayake in the middle with the score at 179/6 in 41.4 overs.
Wellalage was also off the blocks quickly while Rathnayake got a start. The duo could only add 14 runs to the scoreboard before Rathnayake fell for 29 off 34 balls with 3 fours to his name to Will Jacks. Pramod Madushan came out to bat next with the score reading 193/7 in 45 overs. Wellalage tried to add quick runs while Madushan was hanging with him as much as he could as Sri Lanka went past 200. The duo put on 20 runs for the 8th wicket before Madushan fell for 8 off 11 balls to Rehan Ahmed.
Jeffrey Vandersay came out to bat next with the score at 213/8 in 48.2 overs and 10 balls left in the innings. The duo added 6 runs to the tally with Wellalage scoring most of it before Wellalage fell for 20 off 19 balls with 2 fours to his name to Joe Root. Asitha Fernando came in and fell first ball for a golden duck as Root finished things off with 2 wickets in 2 balls as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 219 in 49.3 overs. 7 extras given by the fielding side.
All the England bowlers bowled well with Joe Root finishing things off finishing with 2/12 in 2.3 overs. Adil Rashid finished with 2/34 in 10 overs. Jamie Overton finished with 2/21 in 5 overs. Liam Dawson finished with 1/41 in 10 overs while Will Jacks finished with 1/47 in 10 overs. Rehan Ahmed finished with 1/26 in 5 overs. Sam Curran finished with 0/16 in 4 overs while Jacob Bethell finished with 0/20 in 3 overs. There was also one run out in the innings. That meant that England needed 220 to win the match at level the series 1-1.
Joe Root aces the chase as England draw level in the series
Chasing 220 for the win, Rehan Ahmed and Ben Duckett came out to open for England while Asitha Fernando took the new ball for Sri Lanka. England got off to a steady start as the openers managed to put on 20 for the first wicket inside 6 overs with Rehan doing most of the scoring. Duckett took his time getting in. Rehan was the first to depart as he fell for 13 off 18 balls to Dhananjaya de Silva as he cleaned him up.
England’s best Joe Root came out to bat at 3 and showed intent straightaway. Root and Duckett had built up a solid stand in the first game as well and they were at it here again with Duckett playing within himself but a mature hand at that while Root played his positive game as well. They went through the mandatory first powerplay unscathed as England were 52/1 after the first 10 overs.
They went beyond that as well and took the partnership and innings deep. In a 220 chase, one good partnership sets you up and this was exactly that as they put on 68 for the second wicket before Duckett fell for 39 off 52 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name to Jeffrey Vandersay. Jacob Bethell came out to bat next. Bethell did not last long as just 9 runs were added between Bethell and Root before Bethell fell cheaply for 6 off 14 balls to de Silva. Captain Harry Brook came out to bat with the score at 97/3 in 19.3 overs.
Brook took his time settling in and curbed his natural game to a degree on this tough track while Root showed his class and was at his fluent best yet again. The duo of Brook and Root played the ball on merit and built a long stand to take the game deep and England closer to the finishing line. The duo came together in the 20th over and aced the next 20 odd overs acing the middle overs. Root got to his half-century and went beyond as well.
Brook after starting slow accelerated a little as well. The duo put on a solid 81-run stand for the 4th wicket and it ended in the 41st over the partnership that is. It was Root who had to go as he missed out on a deserved ODI ton. He made 75 off 90 balls with 5 fours to his name before being trapped in front LBW to Asitha Fernando. England were well-placed at 178/4 in 40.3 overs at this stage. Keeper batter Jos Buttler came out to bat next.
Brook and Buttler added 11 more to the score before the captain Brook departed for 42 off 75 balls with 2 fours to his name to Vandersay as England were now 189/5 in 42.4 overs and 31 runs away from the win. Will Jacks joined Buttler in the middle. The duo with 31 more to get made sure there were no more hiccups as Buttler took the role of aggressor while Jacks stayed put at the other end.
Buttler and Jacks added an unbroken stand of 34 runs off 22 balls with Buttler scoring the bulk of the runs as England got over the line by 5 wickets and 22 balls to spare finishing with 223/5 in 46.2 overs. The finisher Jos Buttler was unbeaten on 33 off 21 balls with 3 fours and one six to his name while Will Jacks was with him unbeaten on 8 off 8 balls with one four to his name. 7 extras given by the fielding side.
The Sri Lankan bowlers tried their best but had too less of a score to play with. Jeffrey Vandersay was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/45 in 10 overs. Dhananjaya de Silva supported him well with 2/37 in 7 overs. Asitha Fernando finished with 1/31 in 7 overs. Dunith Wellage finished with 0/50 in 10 overs. Charith Asalanka the captain finished with 0/27 in 8 overs. Pramod Madushan finished with 0/20 in 3.2 overs. Pavan Rathnayake finished with 0/12 in 1 over. So, England win by 5 wickets with 22 balls to spare to level the series 1-1. Joe Root was awarded the Player of the Match for his all-round display.
What Lies Ahead.Â
The series is set up nicely now with England winning this contest by 5 wickets with 22 balls to spare as it is all square at 1-1. The third and final match of the ODI series takes place in Colombo only at the same venue R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The fixture takes place on Tuesday 27th January, 2026 from 2:30 PM IST onwards. Let’s see who gets the bragging rights and wins the ODI series before they clash in the T20I series from Pallekele later on.
A cracking contest awaits us all on Tuesday afternoon/evening.
Also Read: SL VS ENG: Dunith Wellalage’s All-Round Show Helps Sri Lanka Draw 1st Blood In ODI Series.