England Lions win five-match series

Yasaratne GAMAGE

England Lions won the ODI series 3-2 when they defeated Sri Lanka ‘A’ by 117 runs in the fifth unofficial one day match concluded at R Premadasa Stadium yesterday. When the teams took the field yesterday morning, the series hung in the balance with both teams winning two matches each. England Lions batting first scored 330 for 6 in their 50 overs and in reply Sri Lankan ‘A’ were all out for 213 in 42.2 overs.

Englishmen who chose to bat first after winning the toss, proved that it was a brilliant decision by scoring 330 for 6 wickets at the end of their 50 overs.

An unbeaten 110 runs by Joe Root and a quick knock of 64 in 40 balls by the highest scorer in the tournament, Jos Buttler made it easy for them to exceed 300 run mark in the 47 over.

Root contributed for two noteworthy partnerships with Taylor (86) for the third wicket and with Buttler (97) for the fifth wicket.

In reply, Sri Lanka ‘A’ struggled since the early stages of their innings. Mahela Udawatte was the only one to go past the 50 run mark and ultimately the home team were all out for 213 in 40.2 overs.

English Lions 330 for 6 in 50 overs (Joe Root 110, Jos Buttler 64, Alex Hales 46, Tharanga Laksitha 2 for 64, Malinga Bandara 2 for 65)

Sri Lanka ‘A’ all out for 213 in 40.2 overs. (Mahela Udawatta 52, Ashan Priyanjan 35, Pattel 3 for 55, Briggs 3 for 27)