England win the first ODI
Sri Lanka CricketNews article
Will Jacks completely dismantled Sri Lanka's middle order with 5 wickets for 22 runs as England eased to an 89-run win over Sri Lanka in the first ODI at the Riverside Ground in Durham tonight (22nd).
Chasing England's target of 266, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 176 in 37 overs, and apart from Kusal Mendis' 42 and Dunith Wellalage's 45, none of the Sri Lankan batters produced a successful knock.
Although this ODI was a somewhat keener contest than the three T20Is played against Sri Lanka previously, it was disappointing that the Sri Lankan innings never showed any stability while chasing the target set by England.
Making his international debut for Sri Lanka, leg-spinner Sachindu Colombage posed a significant challenge to the English batters, dismissing Joe Root, Jos Buttler and Jamie Overton to register figures of 3 wickets for 44 runs on debut.
England's middle order suffered a setback against Colombage's spin, and at one stage they lost 4 wickets for 29 runs in 7.5 overs.
England's top scorer was captain Harry Brook, who made 43, while Joe Root was dismissed for 40. As the pitch had a nature where the pace of the ball kept varying, scoring was not easy for the English batters either. It was also notable that England did not hit a single six in the match.
Winning the toss and batting first, England opener Tom Banton was dismissed to a ball that swung away from Asitha Fernando. Root and Brook then built the innings together, but with Root falling to a Colombage delivery, the first major collapse of the England innings began.
Brook too offered a catch while attempting a shot off Dushmantha Chameera. After that, Buttler fell to Colombage, Rehan Ahmed was run out by a direct hit from Charith Asalanka, and Overton was dismissed off Colombage's bowling.
With England slipping to near 200 for 6, Will Jacks came forward to rebuild the innings. Striking four consecutive fours against Chameera to give the England innings the momentum it needed, Jacks finished with 46 runs, remaining unbeaten.
But faced with the Sri Lankan bowlers' assault in the closing overs, England's innings was restricted to 265 in 48.5 overs. Dilshan Madushanka shattered Gus Atkinson's off stump, while Asitha Fernando claimed the last two England wickets by dismissing Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue.
Sri Lanka's batters, coming out to chase a target of 266, were put under heavy pressure by the England fast bowlers right from the start.
Kamindu Mendis, Pathum Nissanka and Pawan Rathnayake fell quickly, and Charith Asalanka and Kusal Mendis were not able to build a long partnership either.
As the wickets tumbled one by one, Sri Lanka's innings slipped to 133 for 7. At that point Dunith Wellalage came to the crease and injected some life into the Sri Lankan innings.
Batting aggressively, Wellalage struck the first six of the match off Jofra Archer, and also hit two consecutive fours and a six off Rehan Ahmed.
But on 45, Wellalage holed out to the fielder at mid-on off a Jacks delivery, and with his dismissal Sri Lanka's last hope collapsed as well.
Jacks then took three wickets in four balls to bring the final phase of the match to a very swift end. Asitha Fernando was dismissed offering a catch to long-on, and Jacks completed his five-wicket haul by breaking Dilshan Madushanka's stumps.
Jacks' effort of 5 wickets for 22 runs became the second-best bowling figures by an England spinner in a One Day International. Having also scored 46 runs with the bat for England, Jacks won the Player of the Match award as well.
Scorecard summary
England – 265 (48.5 overs) – (Harry Brook 43, Joe Root 40, Will Jacks 46*, Tom Banton 10, Ben Duckett 32, Jos Buttler 31, Rehan Ahmed 02, Jamie Overton 08, Gus Atkinson 14, Jofra Archer 02, Josh Tongue 00, Sachindu Colombage 44/3, Asitha Fernando 45/3, Dilshan Madushanka 45/1, Dushmantha Chameera 61/1, Dunith Wellalage 60/1)
Sri Lanka – 154 (35.4 overs) – (Dunith Wellalage 45, Kusal Mendis 42, Pathum Nissanka 27, Kamindu Mendis 14, Pawan Rathnayake 13, Charith Asalanka 01, Janith Liyanage 04, Sachindu Colombage 14, Dushmantha Chameera 07*, Asitha Fernando 00, Dilshan Madushanka 00, Will Jacks 22/5, Jamie Overton 21/2)
Based on Sri Lanka Cricket reporting