Sri Lanka scores 150 for 9 wickets in 21 overs at the third ODI against England played in Pallekele.

Persistent rain frustrated both sides for most of the day as Sri Lanka and England hoped to get on the field. Once the game did start, on the dot at the cut-off time for a 21-over-per-side contest, Adil Rashid dominated the proceedings to keep Sri Lanka to 150 for 9.

Niroshan Dickwella (36 off 20) was lucky to survive the first ball of the game as the ball swung in and almost shaved the off stump. From there on, however, there were plenty of fireworks from the bat of the left-hander. His keenness to pepper the off side boundary paid good rewards as he picked up boundaries with ease. Sadeera Samarawickrama was scratchy to start with but did well to keep the momentum going by turning over the strike to his opening partner.

England did strike but not before Sri Lanka cantered past 57 before the sixth over. Dickwella was the first to fall as he failed to execute a drive over mid-off and was dismissed by Tom Curran. Kusal Mendis, back in the squad in place of Kusal Perera, bagged his third consecutive ODI duck - bowled after he failed to read a googly from Adil Rashid - as Sri Lanka were pushed back at 59 for 2.

By the end of the 11th over, things started to tilt in England’s favour rather briskly. Samarawickrama struggled to accelerate after getting set and Dinesh Chandimal was eyeing to get in. The former perished trying to take on Rashid and Thisara Perera threw away his wicket on the very first ball to give the legspinner two wickets in two balls. At 94 for 4, and with seven overs left, Sri Lanka needed the much-needed late thrust.

First rain frustrated the Sri Lankan fans and then their batsmen did their bit to add to the annoyance with some splendidly poor thinking and shot selection. England kept tightening the noose as the hosts kept gasping for momentum. Olly Stone did his World Cup ambitions no harm with a strong second spell while Chris Woakes too managed to pull things back in the end.

As wickets fell, Chandimal was forced to slow down with Ben Stokes and Tom Curran bullying the Sri Lankan batsmen. The star for Sri Lanka, however, was Rashid as he ended with four to ensure Chandimal never really got the freedom to attack at will. Sri Lanka scored just 36 in the last five overs after threatening to pick up a lot more.

Brief scores: Sri Lanka 150/9 in 21 overs (Dinesh Chandimal 34; Adil Rashid 4-36) vs England.

Source: Cricbuzz
-Agencies