Joe Root and captain Harry Brook hit unbeaten centuries as England defeated Sri Lanka by 53 runs in the third one-day international, their first away ODI series win in almost three years.
England recovered from a slow start and after winning the toss and choosing their batsmen they slumped to 40-2 to post 357-3, with Jacob Bethell (65) and Root rebuilding their innings before Brooke’s explosive finish.
Root scored an unbeaten ODI half-century of 111 in the first two ODIs, while Brook smashed 20 boundaries, including nine sixes, and posted England’s highest ODI score of 136 off just 66 deliveries.
Joe Root finished as the series’ top scorer, going unbeaten after hitting the 50-point mark in the first two games.
The pair’s unbroken partnership, which saw them score 191 runs in 118 deliveries, set Sri Lanka on the hook for the biggest run chase in ODI history, but any hopes at home were quickly dashed when Pathum Nissanka (50) fell for his first half-century off 24 balls, leaving the team 94-3.
Pavan Rathnayake produced a brilliant maiden ODI century, while Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson and Adil Rashid picked up two wickets each as England dismissed the hosts for 304 in 46.4 overs for a 2-1 series win.
The ODI victory gave England their first away series win in the 50-over format since defeating Bangladesh in March 2023, after an 11-game losing streak at Lord’s.
How England won the series in Sri Lanka
England, unchanged from Saturday’s five-wicket win, struggled from the start on a pitch that Brook described as “not good” before the game, with Ben Duckett (7) out when he reverse-swept straight to Dhananjaya de Silva (1-45) at point.
Wanindu Hasaranga (1-76) replaced Pramod Madhushan, who was rested for the first two matches, and Rehan Ahmed (24) got the goal after England’s hurried opener picked Jeffrey Vandersay (1-77) at midwicket.
England could only manage 77 runs in the first 20 overs, but they started to step up a gear with Root forming a steady partnership with Bethel. Bethel lifted the century stand, completing his own 64-ball half-century with back-to-back boundaries.
Jacob Bethel and Root (right) add 126 runs for third wicket
Bethel remained visibly frustrated when he drew Vanderssie to Janis Liyanage in the deep to end the innings and take the tourists to 166-3, but Root and Brook pushed England to their highest 50-over score at the ground since 2018.
Root narrowly avoided a run-out in his 99th at-bat, reaching his 100-pitch century two balls after his batting partner reached his first half-century of the series, but Brook was then to display his extraordinary ball-striking.
Brook recorded his highest ODI score in an innings that included nine sixes during the 53-run victory.
England had the upper hand with 130 runs from the final 10 overs (including 22 runs in the penultimate over), while Sri Lanka scored 48 from the first five overs, with Kamil Mishara (20) gifting his wicket off a long hop from Will Jacks.
Jamie Overton halted Sri Lanka’s fast start by removing Kusal Mendis (20), who hit his third straight boundary in the same over, and left the hosts third down in the power play when Nissanka was caught in the deep by side fielder Tom Bunton.
Sri Lanka changed tact as Adil Rashid removed Charice Asaranka (13), with Rathnayake and Liyanage clinging on for 43 runs until the latter was stranded in a disastrous mix-up and ran out of steam.
Rashid finished his 10 overs with 2 wins and 61 losses.
Dhananjaya (9) picked Brook from Jacks with another soft dismissal and Welaraju (22), who had a fifty partnership with Rathnayake and Hasaranga (9), was removed by Dawson, leaving Sri Lanka in eighth after ballooning Rashid to Duckett in the deep.
Rathnayake pushed Sri Lanka past 300, hitting 12 fours in his 115-ball innings before seeing his leg stump deflected back to Curran to end the innings with 3.2 overs remaining and seal England’s second win in the last eight ODI series.
Root and Brooke celebrate impressive win
England captain Harry Brook was the match’s man of the match with 136 and no hit: “Yesterday I did some practice in the nets with Rooty (Joe Root) and thankfully it paid off today. I felt good. Rooty is special to have in the team. It was an exceptional performance from the players.”
“I was very happy with the way the spinners bowled. They bowled in tandem with great communication. I liked the way the batsmen tried to put pressure on the bowlers even in difficult conditions.”
Brook recorded the highest ODI score of his career with three catches and one run out.
Joe Root, player of the series after unbeaten century: “I just want to win games and help win games. My role in this team is very clear and now that I’m a bit older it’s great to help the younger players develop.”
“Today (on my 111) was really good because of how (Jacob) Bethel played and then Harry Brook came into the game and showed us his versatility. It shows what we can do as a 50-over team.”
“This is a big step forward for the group, especially after a difficult period away from home. This creates confidence heading into the T20s.”
Sri Lanka captain Charice Asaranka: “It was a good game. We were blown away by some good batting from Root and Brook. I thought the ball could have curved more, but otherwise it’s hard to bowl spin at the death.”
England in Sri Lanka – Match results and fixtures
always UK and Ireland
1st ODI (22nd January, Colombo) – Sri Lanka won by 19 runs 2nd ODI (Saturday, 24th January) – England won by 5 wickets 3rd ODI (Tuesday, 27th January) – England won by 53 runs 1st T20 (Friday, 30th January) – Palekele (1.30pm) 2nd T20 (Sunday, February 1st) – Palekele (1:30pm) 3rd T20 (Tuesday, February 3rd) – Palekele (1:30pm)
