England win by six wickets and take an unbeaten 2-0 lead. That's their second-highest ODI chase ever. Jason Roy the standout performance, while Joe Root also played a good hand. This is a dynamic England team, regardless of the problems Sri Lanka are having. That was a demanding target and they did it with ease.
alex: "Would love to see England bat first, at this rate they would have scored over 400 runs in both this game and the second game of the series. This is the first time every batsman and the team hasn't had to depend on one or two players (except Morgan, and Ali who shouldn't be in the team, he doesn't add that much batting-wise and Jordan is a lot better bowler and fielder) has proved themselves, good signs for the future."
I'll bring you the presentations in a moment...
Angelo Mathews "I though we had a good score but our bowlers were pretty ordinary. Jason batted outstandingly. Once again we were not penetrative enough to get the batsmen, it was a brilliant wicket. We might make a few changes, we have so many casualties. But it's time to make a couple of changes. Every game has been one player down."
Eoin Morgan "That was pretty special. Jason Roy ever impresses and is making the most of his form. He cashed in today. I don't think there was much margin of error on that much, credit to the groundstaff. I don't think we helped ourselves but in patches we showed what we did in Bristol but we need to improve. We are growing the more we play. I'm sure [Roy] will push the record again. We are about winning games of cricket."
Jason Roy "What a day. I'm stocked. I've put in a lot of hard work and it's nice to pay off. I'll take second and a series win. Both hundreds extremely special but quite different. I might not be out of breath but my legs are feeling it. The crowd were incredible. I had a low point during the series but I'm stocked I've picked myself up."
Roy understandably elated. He should enjoy every moment. So, the series moves to Cardiff on Saturday. England have it in the bag. What can they provide for us at the weekend? We'll be back to find out, but for now it's goodbye from Gnasher and Miller and thanks for joining us.
Nishan G Shetty: "This English side is really fearless!!"
END OF OVER:40 | 13 Runs | ENG: 305/4 (3 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 7.62, RRR: 1.50)
- Jos Buttler13 (7b)
- Jonny Bairstow29 (27b)
- Nuwan Pradeep9-0-78-2
- Farveez Maharoof8-0-58-0
England are going to do this chase with an over to spare. An outstanding performance. Such control and composure.
END OF OVER:39 | 10 Runs | ENG: 292/4 (16 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 7.48, RRR: 5.33)
- Jos Buttler10 (6b)
- Jonny Bairstow24 (22b)
- Farveez Maharoof8-0-58-0
- Nuwan Pradeep8-0-69-2
Maharoof pulls out of his delivery again. A warning for Bairstow, or because Buttler was moving around his crease. The latter, perhaps. Some feeling between Maharoof and Buttler for some reason
Ah, the bowler bails out to warn Buttler over the Mankad. Buttler was actually okay, but he'll know Maharoof is watching
Maharoof returns. Any time for a twist?
END OF OVER:38 | 6 Runs 1 Wkt | ENG: 282/4 (26 runs required from 24 balls, RR: 7.42, RRR: 6.50)
- Jos Buttler1 (1b)
- Jonny Bairstow23 (21b)
- Nuwan Pradeep8-0-69-2
- Seekkuge Prasanna7-0-57-0
Buttler comes in with England needing 27 off 25 balls
Robin Smith's record stays intact, but there's rightly deserved standing ovation from his home ground
JJ Roy b Pradeep 162 (172m 118b 13x4 3x6) SR: 137.28
Alastair: "Bairstow is incredibly fast between the wickets, has to be amongst the top 5 in that respect in world cricket. Kohli, Dhoni, Warner are the other certainties in my mind."
I haven't double checked, but this looks like terrific work from Rajanand: "Highest Score by a player in an innings for their respective countries (ODI) : India : Rohit Sharma - 264, New Zealand : Martin Guptill - 237*, West Indies : Chris Gayle - 215, Zimbabwe : Charles Coverntry : 194*, Pakistan : Saeed Anwar - 194, Sri Lanka : Sanath Jayasuriya - 189, South Africa : Gary Kirsten - 189, Australia : Shane Watson - 185*, Ireland : Paul Stirling - 177, Scotland : Calum McLoed - 175, England : Robin Smith - 167*, Bangladesh : Tamim Iqbal - 155"
END OF OVER:37 | 10 Runs | ENG: 276/3 (32 runs required from 30 balls, RR: 7.45, RRR: 6.40)
- Jonny Bairstow21 (19b)
- Jason Roy159 (115b)
- Seekkuge Prasanna7-0-57-0
- Nuwan Pradeep7-0-63-1
Purna: "I don't know if anyone noticed this but I'm surprised to see Strauss feature thrice in top 6 ODI scores for England batsman! Isn't he a TEST only player? :P" A very under-rated ODI player