Sri Lanka succumbed to their fourth defeat of the tour after England chased down a paltry target of 186 runs, thanks to impressive bowling followed by a half-century from Joe Root. Chris Woakes (10-5-18-4) was the pick of the bowlers.
Eoin Morgan called the toss correctly and put the opponent to bat first in Chester-le-Street. Sri Lanka, already weakened by the departure of three specialist batters, played three debutants. All of them had forgetful outings: Charith Asalanka got a six-ball duck; Dhananjaya Lakshan scored two runs and did not get much bowling; Praveen Jayawickrama bowled just an over.
Woakes and David Willey were probing in their opening spell, and managed to reduce Sri Lanka to 46/3. Kusal Perera started aggressively before slowing down as the innings progressed. Along with Wanindu Hasaranga, Kusal Perera added 99 for the fourth wicket.
Hasaranga himself made 54 in 65 balls before being dismissed by Woakes. Kusal Perera too departed after few overs, reducing Sri Lanka to 152/7. Chamika Karunaratne then added 19 runs to drag the total to 185.
Woakes and Willey picked up seven wickets between them, while Moeen Ali got one. The last two batters got run out.
A mediocre target allowed Jonny Bairstow to play his aggressive game. While his opening partner Liam Livingstone took his time, Bairstow attacked everything that came his way. He smashed six fours and a six before being bowled through the gate by Binura Fernando.
Eoin Morgan’s batting woes continued, as he played 17 balls for six runs before being dismissed by Dushmantha Chameera. Sam Billings and Moeen Ali were two other batters to fell prey to Chameera.
Root, meanwhile, anchored the innings, dealing mainly in singles and doubles to take England across the target. Root showed amazing restraint and scored only four fours for his 87 balls 79.
Brief scores: Sri Lanka 185 in 42.3 overs (Kusal Perera 73; Chris Woakes 4-18) lost to England 189/5 in 34.5 overs (Joe Root 79*; Dushmantha Chameera 3-50) by 5 wickets with 91 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Chris Woakes.