SCORECARD

After Kusal Perera opted to field, England got off to a brilliant start, with the new opening pair of Jonny Bairstow and Dawid Malan setting up a brilliant platform for their side to post 180/6.

They scaled a partnership of 105 runs, before Bairstow was scalped by Isuru Udana for 51. In the second half of the innings, the Sri Lankan bowlers were largely successful in putting a leash on the scoring rate. A clever use of change of pace brought wickets for Sri Lanka, as no English batter was able to support Malan, who was holding the fort at the other end, and ended up scoring 76.

Dushmantha Chameera was the pick of the bowlers for Sri Lanka, with excellent figures of 4/17 in his four overs. 

In reply, Sri Lanka got off to the worst possible start as David Willey scalped the wicket of Danushka Gunathilaka in the very first over. The Lankans then failed to gain any momentum in their chase, losing wickets in quick succession. 

A combination of some tight bowling and some poor shot selection led to the downfall of the visitors – it was the latest below-par display from their batting line-up this series.

Binura Fernando top-scored with 20, while Willey picked up three wickets for the hosts. Sri Lanka only managed to post a score of 91 in reply, losing the contest by 89 runs.