Jacob Bethell was the star with the ball and was ably assisted by Will Jacks as the duo picked up 7 wickets between them to give England a famous win. Jacob Bethell picked up 3 wickets in an over which was the 18th over in the chase and turned the game on its head while Jacks did his bit in the middle overs. England first batted first after winning the toss and struggled as Dushmantha Chameera picked up 5 wickets but Sam Curran fought for England and scored 58 to take the score to 128/9 in 20 overs for England.
In reply, Sri Lankan batting had no answer to the England spin bowling, There were a few starts like a 23 from Pathum Nissanka and 26 from Kusal Mendis the keeper batter while Pavan Rathnayake, Kamindu Mendis, and Janith Liyanage went to double figures but they just couldn’t get going and convert it to a significant score. Jacob Bethell picked up 3 wickets in an over and finished with 4/11 in 3.3 overs while Will Jacks chipped in with 3/14 in 4 overs as England came from behind to complete a memorable 12-run win.
Dushmantha Chameera’s 5-wicket haul restricts England to 128/9
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Jos Buttler the keeper batter opened the batting with Ben Duckett while Dushmantha Chameera had the new ball in hand for Sri Lanka. The Lankans got to a perfect start as they removed Ben Duckett for a golden duck LBW to Chameera thanks to good usage of DRS as England had scored 2 runs in 2 balls. Jacob Bethell came out to bat next.
Bethell too did not last long as 12 runs were added to the score mostly by Buttler before Bethell fell for 3 off 7 balls to Matheesha Pathirana. Tom Banton came out to bat next. Banton managed to hit a boundary and tried to form some sort of partnership with Buttler. But the duo could add only 14 runs for the third wicket before Banton fell for 7 off 7 balls with one boundary to his name to Dunith Wellalage who cleaned him up. Captain Harry Brook came out to bat next.
Just 6 runs were added to the score before Brook fell to a soft dismissal from Pathirana chipping it to covers as Liyanage took the catch with the captain scoring 4 off 3 balls with a boundary to his name. England were 4 down and reeling in the powerplay as Sam Curran joined Buttler in the middle. The powerplay score was 35/4 in 6 overs for England.
Buttler and Curran started to form a partnership as England had to rebuild the proceedings from here. But the duo could add 13 runs for the 5th wicket before the keeper batter and set batter at that time Buttler fell for 25 off 21 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name as Maheesh Theekshana struck in his first over. England had lost half their side for 47 in 7.4 overs. Will Jacks came out to bat next.
Jacks and Curran tried to take the innings forward but Jacks did not last long as he fell for 3 off 4 balls to Chameera. Liam Dawson came to the crease with the score at 60/6 in 10.3 overs. Dawson hung in there from one end as England needed a partnership while Sam Curran scored most of the runs as England went at just over run a ball throughout the innings. It was important to build a partnership of note which they did. The duo of Curran and Dawson played through the middle and into the death overs phase.
The duo put on 47 for the 7th wicket before Dawson fell holed out at deep midwicket off Chameera as he fell for 14 off 20 balls with one boundary to his name with Kamindu Mendis taking the catch. Jamie Overton came out to bat next. Overton did not last long as only 2 runs were added to the tally before Overton fell for 2 off 3 balls with Chameera getting 2 wickets in the over.
Adil Rashid came out to join Sam in the middle with England at 109/8 in 17.5 overs. The duo of Rashid and Curran took the innings forward with Curran scoring most of the runs and completing a hard fought half century while he hit two more boundaries after that as well. Rashid managed to hit a boundary by lapping it over fine leg region. The duo added 18 runs for the 9th wicket before Curran finally fell for 58 off 48 balls with 6 fours and one six to his name to Chameera.
Luke Wood came out to bat with one ball left in the innings and he got off the mark as England ended with a paltry 128/9 in 20 overs. Rashid was unbeaten on 7 off 5 balls with one boundary to his name while Luke Wood was unbeaten on 1 off 1 ball. 4 extras given by the fielding side.
Sri Lanka bowled really well out there in the middle. Dushmantha Chameera was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 5/24 in 4 overs. Matheesha Pathirana complimented him well with 2/27 in 4 overs. Dunith Wellalage chipped in with 1/28 in 4 overs. Maheesh Theekshana chipped in with 1/16 in 4 overs. Dasun Shanaka bowled 3 overs for 23 runs while Kamindu Mendis’ only over went for 9 runs. So, this meant that Sri Lanka needed 129 runs to win off 20 overs to avoid the whitewash.
Jacob Bethell and Will Jacks shares 7 wickets between them to give England a famous win and whitewash
Chasing 129 for the win, Pathum Nissanka and Kamil Mishara came out to open the batting for Sri Lanka while Luke Wood had ball in hand for England. Sri Lanka like England got off to a shaky start as Mishara was dismissed for a silver duck by Luke Wood. Kusal Mendis came out to bat next to join Nissanka in the middle. The duo of Kusal Mendis and Nissanka started to form a partnership to lay the base for the chase. The duo added 33 runs for the second wicket before Nissanka threw his wicket away for 23 off 12 balls with 3 sixes to his name to Liam Dawson.
Pavan Rathnayake came out to join Kusal Mendis in the middle. The duo took their time to settle as the required rate was not a problem for Sri Lanka in this match. The powerplay score was 46/2 in 6 overs in a decent start for Sri Lanka. Mendis and Rathnayake tried to forge a long partnership but added 28 runs for the 3rd wicket before Rathnayake was cleaned up for 13 off 15 balls with one boundary to his name to Adil Rashid.
Kamindu Mendis came out to bat next. Kusal fell in the next over at the same score as he fell for 26 off 26 balls with 4 fours to his name to Will Jacks as he helped it on its way to short fine leg. Janith Liyanage came in with the score at 62/4 in 9.1 overs when players took a quick drinks break. Kamindu and Liyanage started to play sensibly and keep the scoreboard ticking as they put on another 28 run stand for the 5th wicket before Kamindu fell for 14 off 11 balls with one six to his name to Jacks yet again LBW as half the side was gone for 90.
Dunith Wellalage came out to bat next. Just 7 runs were added to the tally before Liyanage fell for 17 off 19 balls with 2 fours to his name to Will Jacks yet again. Captain Dasun Shanaka finally came out to bat at 97/6 in 15.1 overs. Wellalage got a lifeline as he was adjudged NOT OUT for LBW appeal and England decided not to review and replays showed it to be hitting the stumps i.e. three reds. Wellalage and Shanaka tried to take the innings forward and added 15 runs for the 7th wicket before Wellalage finally fell for 9 off 14 balls to Jacob Bethell.
Dushmantha Chameera came out to bat next. Chameera did not last long as he fell for a silver duck to Bethell again as the catch was taken by Brook at covers. Maheesh Theekshana came out to bat next and got off the mark in the end. Shanaka too fell in the same over as Bethell was on a roll as the captain fell for 4 off 6 balls stumped as Bethell turned the game on its head. Sri Lanka went from 112/6 to 113/9 in a matter of 4 balls. Matheesha Pathirana came out to bat at the end.
Once Shanaka fell, the end was near for Sri Lanka and after some chaotic running between the last pair and Pathirana survived a LBW call with a successful review as he got some bat to it. The duo added 3 runs to the score before Theekshana tried to go for the slog leg side and got the ball up in the air down to short third man as Theekshana fell for 2 off 6 balls with Bethell getting another. Liam Dawson took the catch, Pathirana remained unbeaten on 2 off 4 balls as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 116 in 19.3 overs with 6 extras given by the fielding side.
England turned it around and how with the ball. Jacob Bethell was the pick of the bowlers for England with figures of 4/11 in 3.3 overs. Will Jacks chipped in with 3/14 in 4 overs. Adil Rashid bowled well for his 1/25 in 4 overs. Liam Dawson finished with 1/25 in 4 overs. Luke Wood finished with 1/13 in 2 overs. Jamie Overton bowled an over for 14 runs. Sam Curran bowled an over for 9 runs. So, England win by 12 runs and whitewash the series 3-0. Sam Curran was awarded the Player of the Match and Player of the Series.
So, England completed the 3-0 whitewash as Sri Lanka will never know what hit them in the series. They should have won the last game but it was not to be. So, both teams will now head into the World Cup as England travels to Mumbai, India tomorrow while Sri Lanka stays at home and prepares for the World Cup what is ahead of them. Let’s see how the World Cup turns out for both teams.
Also Read: SL vs ENG: Dushmantha Chameera’s 5-Wicket Haul Dismantles England