First ODI - England v Sri Lanka (The Oval) 2014

England thrash Sri Lanka in rain-hit first ODI

England 247-6 (39 overs) defeat Sri Lanka 144 (27.5 overs) by 81 runs (Duckworth-Lewis Method). England lead ODI Series 1-0.

Sri Lanka chose to field first after winning the toss in what proved to be a poor decision. England started really well, reaching 101-1 from their first twenty overs as Bell and Ballance put on a fifty partnership from 59 balls. Bell then went on to reach a fifty of his own from 52 balls before being caught in the field. Rain stopped play for quite some time which meant that the game was reduced from 50 to 39 overs. Morgan (3) was bowled by Senanayake shortly after play resumed as England fell to 104-3. Ballance went on to pass fifty before being dismissed for 64. Bopara and Root were the next two wickets to fall as England were reduced to 193-6 in the 37th over. However, Buttler (26*) and Jordan (38*) put on a quick-fire fifty from the last 21 balls to push England up to 247-6.

Sri Lanka lost their first wicket inside the first over as Thirimanne (0) was caught lbw by Anderson. Thus, their innings didn’t get off to the best start and it only got worse. Rain stopped play after the 11th with Sri Lanka struggling at 50-2. When play eventually resumed, Sri Lanka fell apart and suffered quite a disastrous batting collapse. Dilshan (33) and Jayawardene (35) were dismissed as Sri Lanka were reduced to 88-4 in the 18th over. Jordan and Tredwell took two wickets apiece as Sri Lanka were only able to score a further 56 runs as they lost six wickets in the space of ten overs as they were bowled out for 144. That meant that England secured a crushing 81 run victory in what was a strong start to the ODI Series.

My Opinion:

That was more like it from England who impressively whittled Sri Lanka all out for 144. It was a really strong batting display in the first place that heaped plenty of pressure onto the Sri Lankans and they crumbled. Bell and Ballance both passed fifty whilst there were some key contributions from Root, Buttler and especially Jordan at the end. Senanayake was the key wicket taker, dismissing Morgan, Ballance and Bopara. Cook, Morgan and Bopara all failed to make an impact as they all fell early in their innings. However, 247-6 from 39 overs was a decent effort and gave the bowlers something to work with. Jordan starred with the bat earlier in the day and was the best bowler with three wickets. The Sri Lankan innings started terribly and they found themselves 19-2 in the sixth over. It didn’t get too much better as they fell to 88-4. Their remaining six wickets could only produce a further 56 runs as they suffered a crushing batting collapse in what was a disappointing batting display for the visitors. Overall, a great start to the Series for England who will have gained a lot of confidence from that performance and hopefully can go on to become stronger throughout the next four games.

Match Guide: Key Moments

Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field.

England Innings:
(5.2) 22-1, Cook 11 (23), 1 four, caught Sangakkara, Kulasekara.
(11.3) 50-1, Bell 20*, Ballance 18*.
(15.1) 72-1, 50 partnership between Bell 35* and Ballance off 59 balls.
(19.3) 100-1, Bell 49*, Ballance 37*.
(20) 101-1, Fifty for Bell off 52 balls.
(20.4) 101-2, Bell 50 (56), 4 fours, 1 six, caught Malinga, Mathews.
Rain Stops Play.
(21.2) 104-3, Morgan 3 (3), bowled by Senanayake.
(25.3) 120-3, Fifty for Ballance off 62 balls.
(29.2) 147-4, Ballance 64 (32), 5 fours, 1 six, caught Chandimal, Senanayake.
(30.5)150-4, Root 16*, Bopara 3*.
(31.2) 152-5, Bopara 3 (6), lbw Senanayake.
(36.3) 193-6, Root 45 (41), 2 fours, 1 six, lbw Kulasekara.
(37) 201-6, Buttler 12*, Jordan 8*.
(39) 247-6, Fifty partnership between Buttler 26*(20), 1 four, 1 six and Jordan 38*(13), 5 fours, 2 sixes off 21 balls.

Batsman of the Innings: Ballance 64 (72)
Bowler of the Innings: Senanayake 3-30 from 8 overs.

Sri Lanka Innings:
(0.5) 0-1, Thirimanne 0 (5), lbw Anderson.
(5.3) 19-2, Sangakkara 8 (13), 2 fours, bowled by Gurney.
(11) 50-2, Dilshan 27*, Jayawardene 12*.
Rain Stops Play.
(13.3) 60-2.
(14.1) 63-3, Dilshan 33 (40), 5 fours, caught Ballance, Jordan.
(17.3) 88-4, Jayawardene 35 (41), 4 fours, caught Morgan, Tredwell.
(19.1) 100-4, Chandimal 8*, Mathews 5*.
(20.3) 108-5, Chandimal 8 (8), 1 four, caught Buttler, Jordan.
(21) 108-6, Kulasekara 0 (3), caught Buttler, Jordan.
(22) 114-7, Mathews 18 (21), 2 fours, caught Cook, Tredwell.
(23.2) 118-8, T. Perera 2 (6), caught Root, Tredwell.
(26.3) 138-9, Senanayake 11 (11), 1 four, caught Bell, Gurney.
(27.5) 144 all out, Malinga 10 (16), 1 four, bowled by Bopara. Lakmal 4*(5).
England win by 81 runs (Duckworth/Lewis Method) and lead the ODI Series 1-0.

Batsman of the Innings:  Jayawardene 35 (41)
Bowler of the Innings: Jordan 3-25 from 6 overs.

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