Tom Banton stood up in the series decider when it really mattered as his powerful ton powered England to a massive total. Tom Banton’s magnificent 126 runs alongside handy contributions from captain Harry Brook who scored 77, and Jordan Cox who scored 76 all in quick time while the others chipped in to take the score to a massive 355/7 in 50 overs which was huge at the Oval.
In reply, Sri Lanka were blown away by the mighty England attack as all of the bowlers bowled well with Liam Dawson picking up 3 wickets and Gus Atkinson picked up 2 wickets and others chipped in as England skittled Sri Lanka out for 132 in 29.1 overs to lose and surrender this contest by 223 runs as England ended their summer on a high.
Tom Banton’s superlative ton powers England to a massive 355/7 in 50 overs.Â
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Tom Banton and Ben Duckett came out to open the batting for England while Asitha Fernando had the ball in hand for Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka made a great start after losing the toss as just 6 runs were added to the tally before Duckett fell for a 5-ball duck to Dilshan Madushanka who cleaned him up. Joe Root came out to bat next. Banton looked good and Root struggled for timing throughout, but was hanging in there.
England limped to 50/1 in 10 overs in the first power play. The duo carried on in the middle overs phase and added a 50-run plus stand for the second wicket. The duo added 62 runs for the second wicket before Root fell for 18 off 37 balls with one four to his name to Janith Liyanage thanks to a great use of DRS by Sri Lanka. Captain Harry Brook came out to bat next.
Brook took the attack to the opposition and complemented Banton well who looked well set out there. The duo for the third wicket laid the platform for the others to come in as the middle overs phase was dominated by the duo. Banton was the anchor while Brook was the aggressor. The duo added a game-changing 150 runs off 117 balls and Sri Lanka were on the back foot now. Captain Brook completed his half-century and went beyond before he eventually fell for 77 off 66 balls with 9 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Asitha Fernando.
Keeper batter Jordan Cox came out to bat next as he replaced injured Jos Buttler in the XI, and Cox looked fluent from the word go. Banton, who had completed his superlative ton added 24 runs for the 4th wicket before Banton fell for 126 off 105 balls with 16 fours and 5 sixes to his name to Sachindu Colombage. Will Jacks came out to bat next.
Cox provided the finishing kick the team needed. The duo added 45 runs for the 5th wicket before Jacks fell for 25 off 21 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name to Colombage. Jamie Overton came out to bat next and showed real urgency out there. Cox was set and the duo added rapid runs to take the team past 300 and then past 350 in no time. The duo added 68 runs in quick time for the 6th wicket before Cox fell for 76 off 52 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Fernando.
Liam Dawson came out to bat next and fell first ball bowled to Asitha for a golden duck. Overton remained unbeaten on 21 off 14 balls with one four to his name as England finished with a mammoth 355/7 in 50 overs. 12 extras given by the fielding side.
The Sri Lankan bowlers had a tough day in the office at the Oval in London. Asitha Fernando was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/64 in 9 overs. Sachindu Colombage finished with 2/71 in 10 overs. Janith Liyanage finished with 1/37 in 6 overs. Dilshan Madushanka finished with 1/49 in 7 overs. Eshan Malinga finished with 0/65 in 9 overs. Dunith Wellalage finished with 0/62 in 9 overs. It meant that Sri Lanka now needed 356 runs to win off 50 overs in this winner take all match to take the series 2-1.
All-round England led by Liam Dawson skittle Sri Lanka out for 132 in 29.1 overs.Â
Chasing a massive 356 for the win, Pathum Nissanka and Kamindu Mendis came out to open the batting for Sri Lanka while Gus Atkinson had the ball in hand for England. England got off to a perfect start as the opening duo could muster only one run to the score before Nissanka fell for 1 off 3 balls to Sonny Baker. Captain Kusal Mendis came out to bat next. The two Mendis’ punished England in the last game and the duo had to rescue the side and take them back on track.
The duo added 35 runs for the second wicket before Kamindu fell for 12 off 19 balls with 2 fours to his name to Gus Atkinson. Pavan Rathnayake came out to bat next. Kusal and Rathnayake tried to forge a partnership to take the innings forward as they put on 17 runs for the 3rd wicket before the captain Kusal fell for 35 off 26 balls with 2 fours and 3 sixes to his name as Sri Lanka were 3 down in the power play. Charith Asalanka came out to bat next.
At the end of the power play of 10 overs, Sri Lanka were 63/3 in 10 overs and in a real spot of bother. The duo of Pavan and Asalanka tried to forge a partnership and added 24 runs for the 4th wicket before Rathnayake fell for 18 off 25 balls with 2 fours to his name as he was run out by Jofra Archer. Janith Liyanage came out to bat next. The score remained the same as Asalanka fell for 7 off 19 balls to Joe Root. Dunith Wellalage came out to bat next.
The wickets started to fall now at regular intervals for the Lankans. The duo added 5 runs for the 6th wicket before Wellalage fell for 5 off 6 balls with one four to his name to Liam Dawson. Sachindu Colombage came out to bat next. Liyanage tried to show some fight and take it to England and took the side past the 100-run mark. The duo added 22 runs for the 7th wicket before Colombage fell for 4 off 19 balls to Dawson. Eshan Malinga came out to bat next.
Just 2 runs were added to the tally before Liyanage fell for 19 off 20 balls with one four and one six to his name to Jamie Overton. Asitha Fernando came out to join Malinga as the end was near now for the visitors. The duo showed some resistance out there in the middle as they added 14 runs for the 9th wicket before Asitha fell for 6 off 9 balls with one four to his name to Dawson. Dilshan Madushanka came out to bat next.
The last wicket pair added 12 runs before Malinga was the last man out for 14 off 19 balls with 2 fours to his name to Will Jacks. Madushanka remained unbeaten on 2 off 10 balls as Sri Lanka were unbeaten on 132 in 29.1 overs. 9 extras given by the fielding side.
England bowled fantastically well. Liam Dawson was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/26 in 8 overs. Gus Atkinson finished with figures of 2/26 in 5 overs. Sonny Baker finished with 1/27 in 4 overs. Will Jacks finished with 1/8 in 3.1 overs. Joe Root finished with 1/15 in 3 overs. Jamie Overton finished with 1/10 in 3 overs. Jofra Archer finished with 0/15 in 3 overs. There was one run out in the innings.
So, England thrash Sri Lanka by a whopping 223 runs to win the series 2-1. Tom Banton was awarded the Player of the Match while Will Jacks was awarded the Player of the Series. Joe Root was awarded the Men’s ODI Player of the Summer.
So, with this the white-ball series between England and Sri Lanka comes to an end with England winning both the series 3-0 and 2-1 respectively. The English summer also comes to an end after this match. England and Sri Lanka will have more white-ball games now as they will go to Pakistan for various multi-format series. So, plenty to look forward to for both teams going ahead.
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