After 4 one sided matches for one or the either this match deserved to be an series decider as it had many twists and turns which England came out on top on in the end. The pitch was an interesting choice for England as this was an slow and low wicket which is more to Sri Lankan liking and pitches they are use to back at home. With this in mind England made an tactical change in bring in Patel for Broad. Sri Lanka also made changes 1 enforced with Lakmal's injury and Prasad was in while also taking out the out of form Kandamby and bring in Karunaratne who would open the innings. The toss was won by England and they elected to bat knowing this pitch will slow down the openers had to get off to an quick and bright start.
An good start is exactly what England got as Cook and Kieswetter got them off to an flying start. They went at the ball hard and went after the bowling in the first powerplay. With the pitch as it is Dilshan decided to ball first up as England struggled with him in Colombo in these conditions but England raised to the task well as they went after his bowling. England really saw him as the weak link in the attack and went after his bowling quickly after an few overs reverting to strike bowler Malinga. By the of Malinga's first over the opener's had raced to an 50 partnership off just 7 overs. They carried that momentum right throughout the first powerplay being an incredible 75-0 off the first 10 overs. Normally the bowling powerplay is taken straight away after the first powerplay but Dilshan didnt and after an couple of overs of not taking the bowling powerplay Cook decided to force the powerplay and take it at the start of the 13th over.
The decision didnt pay off for Cook and England. Randiv was brought on for the first over and his spin was deserving Cook all over and he tossed an ball up for Cook to come down the wicket and have an go which Cook went for and he missed and Sangakkara stumped him. 3 balls later Prasad playing his first match of the series got an ball to keep low which Kieswetter was not able to keep out and he was bowled. This brought out 2 new batsman in quick time. It got bad to worse for England as Prasad bowled an wideish ball which Pietersen went after and was only able to knick to the keeper. It wasnt an pretty shot and England from 83-0 when the powerplay started to 95-3. This brought out Trott and Morgan to the crease having to re-build the innings but the good thing for England they had an platform to build from as the openers had such an good start. At the end of powerplay 2 England were 97-3 only hitting 14 runs and losing 3 wickets in that 5 and over period but were still in an decent position going over 5 and a half a over.
The batsmen knew they had to build an partnership and set each other small targets to reach and try and keep the score ticking. An couple tight overs later England got to there 100 in just 106 balls. Sri Lanka sensing the moment took the bowling power play in the 19th over knowing an wicket then would really put England on the back foot. The batsman knowing this played sensibly but positively. Looking to rotate the strike and by the end of the 5 over period they had given no chances and scored at an rate of 7 an over scoring an impressive 35 runs. By the end of the powerplay England run-rate was over 6 an over and the gaps in the field were there for the two batsman to take advantage of. The partnership soon got to an 50 partnership off just 54 balls as England were 149-3 at the half way point of the match. England at this point were looking at an score of excess of 300.
The calm cricket continued as this partnership was building to an massive score for the big hitters to come later in the innings. They were showing how boundaries were not critical to keep the score ticking along. After 30 overs England were 177-3. Some experts say you need to double the score if you have wickets in hand and an score of over 300 was defiantly on the cards still. The question was more who would to get to there 50 first they both looked assured at the crease and both didnt seem to troubled by the bowling. Trott was the first one to reach 50 in the 33rd over with an nice drive and he got it in with only 63 balls and only hitting 1 four in that 50 showing how important rotating the strike is and to keep the rate up. The next over the pair reached there 100 partnership of just 106 balls. The over after that Morgan reached his 50 as England reached there 200. Morgan's 50 came off just 54 balls and only 1 four in that innings and England's 200 just came off 207 balls as England were not racing to an big score.
The partnership was finally broken in the 37th over as Morgan was enticed to an ball which was pitched up Morgan missed the ball and was stumped off Dilshan bowling as Sangakkara did the rest. That ended an super innings by Morgan hitting 56 off 60 balls with just 2 fours. The partnership broken after an stand of 118. Bell was in trying to continue the work Trott and Morgan were doing but Bell was unable to continue the work as he chipped an ball trying to hit an gap. He normally hits the gap 9 times out of 10 but this time he hit it to an moving fielder as Kulasekara took an good catch.
It got worse for England as an couple of overs after that Trott was bowled in the most unlucky way as Radiv spin hit his body spun away and then came back to hit the stumps as England became from 213-3 to 233-6 with just over 8 overs to go. England then never got the momentum back and struggled for the rest of the innings as they kept losing wickets as Patel, Bresnan and Swann went out quickly afterwards as England slumped to 253-9 in 48.1 overs as Swann was run out. Some quick runs by number 10 and 11 getting an quick 15 brought England's innings to an end at 268-9. Still an big score by 40-50 runs short of where they thought they would be. Randiv pick of the bowlers getting 5 wickets with only 42 runs hit off him and Prasad getting 2-26 off 6 overs and Dilshan getting the other wicket plus running out Swann.
England started very fast again this time with the ball Karunaratne was caught by Trott in the slips in the second over by Bresnan bowling. In Bresnan next over Dilshan played an hock shot which went wrong and was caught on the boundary edge making it 12-2. It brought out the 2 big stars of Sri Lankan cricket Sangakkara and Jayawardene. England were bowling brilliantly to these 2 and should have broken the partnership when Jayawardene went for an hock which he also miss timed and Dernbach had an easy chance which was put down. Could have been an costly mistake but Jayawardene played an un-Jayawardene type shot to Anderson's bowling and hit the ball straight to Cook to take an easy catch. Sri Lanka were in big trouble at 29-3. England were in full control by the end of the first powerplay as Sri Lanka were 34-3 after 10 overs. England on the front foot takes the second powerplay to get it out of the way. Chandimal and Sangakkara though were able to live with England bowling and counter punched themselves as they an impressive 38 runs in that 5 over period and didnt loss an wicket. They hit more than they did in the first powerplay which was 10 overs long. Sri Lanka were 72-3 after 15 overs going at an rate of just under 5 an over.
England then reverted to there spinners to try and contane the batsman and try and knick an wicket in the process. Despite Chandimal hitting an 6 in Swann's first over him and Patel really did put the screws on Sri Lanka. Swann responding with 2 maiden overs after the first over while Patel was only conceding 2-3 runs per over 4 at most. Both men started to rattle through the overs able to not let Sri Lanka into any rhythm or even rotating the strike. The good bowling was backed up with good fielding. These 2 batsman were unable to at least rotate the strike were starting to get frustrated and were trying to hit bigger shots. During the 23rd, 24th, and 25th over they were trying to hit the bowlers for boundaries they were unable to connect but Cook saw knew if they did momentum might swing in this tight match. He decided to put Dernbach on for the 26th over to change things up. The change of pace seemed to work for Cook as it created doubt in the batsman mind with an different pace and thinking this Swann tossed an ball up next over which Chandimal went down the wicket for and like Cook and Morgan missed the ball Kieswetter does the rest swinging the match slightly back in England's favour after 27 over Sri Lanka were 123-4.
England's new tactics were bowling Swann at one end and rotating the seamer's at the other. This tactics is used in tests for England and it seemed to work as England got an big break through Bresnan was brought back into the attack and bowled Sangakkara with an little inside edge could not prevent the bowl going onto his stumps. It looked as if England were going towards victory as he was out just short of his half century for 48. Sri Lanka were 131-5 at the end of 30 overs. This brought out the last real batting pair in Mathews and and Mendis. They took an few overs to get use to the conditions and have an good look at the England bowlers but with that taking time Sri Lanka were falling behind the rate and required rate was around 7 and half per over. To combat this raise in the rate Sri Lanka took the batting powerplay in the start of the 35th over. This was seen as a good time as Sri Lanka were falling behind and the ball was changed after 34 overs so the ball would be an bit harder and easier to hit. The risk seemed to have paied off as Sri Lanka got an couple of big overs and hit 37 runs off that 5 over period without losing wicket. There were an few edges here and there but as the slips were pulled out they were safe enough shots and effective shots as they were going to the boundary. Strangely England didnt use there main strike bowlers they bowled Bresnan and Dernbach for the full 5 overs holding Swann and Anderson for the final overs. The two batsman reached 50 partnership off just 46 balls and the danger signs were there for England. With the success of the powerplays the match was nicely poised at 196-5 off 40 overs needing 75 from 60. Still in England's favour with 5 wickets in the bag but these 2 were fighting in there for Sri Lanka.
The possibility of Sri Lanka grew each over as they were able to rotate the strike and find the gaps and England were unable to get dot balls to build the pressure and after 4 more eventful overs Sri Lanka for the first time was in the driving seat. Patel bowled an poor over 220-5 off 44 overs and the equation was 49 needed off 36 balls. The tension was evident for everyone to see as the players faces showed it the fans were tense. Swann then bowled his last over and gave Cook that reliable control that Cook needed and was able to just build that pressure and bowl an tight over just conceding 4 runs ending with super figures of 1-40 in his 10. With such an tight over the pressure was back at Sri Lanka with England taking an slight advantage but an super Human effort by Mathews hit an big over by hitting an mow to get an couple and another mow which reached the fence. He scrambled 9 over the over and equation was 36 needed off 24 balls needing 9 per over. It also brought up the 100 partnership with these 2 bring Sri Lanka right back into this match and Mathews hitting an brilliant 50 under pressure in just 56 balls hitting 5 fours.
Because England had not bowled more than the 5 bowlers they had they had to bowl Patel his final over but Patel seemed to do the trick as he bowled an brave ball which he tossed up and Mendis went for he connected seemed to hit the ball long but fortunately hit it to one of the two long boundaries and was caught on the offside boundary by Pietersen. He had 48. But with Mathews still at the crease anything was possible and Mathews got an boundary and somehow still got 8 runs off the over keeping Sri Lanka in it and still stay favorites for the match. Anderson the bowled the next over as the first couple of balls were singles Kulasekara hit the third ball into the gap to steal 2 runs knowing he needed to score an boundary he tried to club the ball to the boundary but he hit it to the other long boundary and Morgan did the rest. It then got bad to worse for Sri Lanka as the next ball Mathews drove the ball to the offside only an single but Randiv wanting to get Mathews back on strike tried for an second run was sent back and was run out. Now England were in the driving seat with the 2 wickets in 2 balls with Anderson just having 1 ball left in his spell. It brought out Malinga who was on strike and incredibly swung his bat at the first ball and played an perfect straight drive for 6 shifting the momentum back to Sri Lanka as Sri Lanka needed 17 off 12 balls and England main bowlers were bowled out and Mathews was still there.
Dernbach was given the ball for the 49th over known for his bowling at the death and his slower balls was under tremendous pressure bowled an slower straight ball first up which Mathews could not predict and was hit straight up in the air and Bresnan took an simple catch to put England in an commanding position and Dernbach delivering the goods. The batsman crossed Malinga was facing the next ball and Dernbach gave Malinga an taste of his own medicine as bowled an quick Yorker which Malinga could not do anything about and he bowled Malinga and won the game for England by 16 runs in an incredible match. The atmosphere was like an football match and it was an huge roar when England won. Trott got man of the match for his 72 and Cook got man of the series for his captaincy and his way he has led from the front.
Review of Sri Lanka- This has been an bad tour on and off the field for Sri Lanka. On the Field they lost the Tests and One Day Internationals Series. There captain wasnt in form through-out the series and they didnt do themselves justice and will be participially disappointed loosing the One Day Internationals. Off the pitch it has been an bad time for Sri Lankan cricket as there cricket board has been sacked through corruption, Sangakkara critical how cricket is run in Sri Lanka when speaking at the spirit of cricket lecture, protest where ever they go, farce about Jayasuriya playing just one 20/20 and 1 ODI match and Sri Lankan premier league will not go ahead this year plus falling out with the BCCI over player availability. This was on back drop of also having to find an new coach as Laws is about to take up an post of being Bangladesh head coach after there tour here in the UK is finished. Sri Lanka go from here to go to Scotland Edinburgh to play an triangular competition against Scotland and Ireland and then move on from there back to Sri Lanka Colombo to face Australia as they start to re-build the team again. Positives were there as young players came through Jayawardene the wicket-keeper is an real find in tests while in ODI Chandimal and Mendis have an good future and players like Prasad are coming through so it isnt doom and gloom for Sri Lankan cricket but a lot of work needed on and off the field to get them back to where they think they should be.
Review of England- It has been an good start to there summer. The test we didnt find out too much of them as there were a lot of rain delays and were not able to play some tight situations but seeing past experience the test team is settled and players like Pietersen were getting back to form. In test they are in an good place and are still on track to be the "number 1 team" in world cricket. In ODI format its working progress. Yes they won the series but there is an lot to work on as England still struggle on flat wickets and the one day format the balance is key and England feel they havnt got that yet. Saying that progress is being made Cook was an big question mark before the series but he ended up man of the series leading the team well and expanding his one day game well. Him and Kieswetter have had an good partnership. He wasnt afraid to make the tough decisions but winning the series will give him and the England selectors confidence. England move on to play the other super power in Asian cricket as India come to down on the back of and ODI and Test series victory against the West Indies and will be tested fully there ability when they host India in 2 weeks time. They play 4 tests 5 ODIs and 1 20/20.
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