England A brilliant all-round performance to defeat Sri Lanka R. They clinched the series by defeating India by 53 runs in the third ODI at Premadasa Stadium. A breathtaking unbeaten century from harry brook And a brilliant innings from Joe Root took England to a strong score of 357 for 3, which proved beyond Sri Lanka’s reach despite a spirited chase.
Brook was named player of the match for his exceptional display of power-hitting, which decisively turned the match in England’s favour.
On the basis of Brook-Root partnership, England made a huge score of 357 runs.
Electing to bat after winning the toss, England had a cautious start and lost the wickets of Ben Duckett and Rehan Ahmed cheaply. The innings was then expertly rebuilt by Root and Jacob Bethel, who stitched a valuable 126-run partnership to steady England.
The turning point came when Brook joined Root at the crease. The duo made an amazing partnership of 191 runs for the fourth wicket and completely destroyed the Sri Lankan bowling attack. Root displayed trademark elegance and control and played a brilliant inning of 111 not out off 108 balls.
However, Brook grabbed the headlines when he scored an unbeaten 136 off just 66 balls with 11 fours and nine sixes at a strike rate above 200. Their attack inspired during the last 15 overs. England 357 runs for 3 wicketsOne of his most impressive additions to Asia.
Sri Lankan bowlers got some respite on a good batting pitch. Wanindu Hasaranga and Jeffrey Vandersay gave away 76 runs in their quota of 10 overs. Only Dunith Velazquez managed to keep things relatively tight, but the lack of wickets allowed England’s batsmen to score runs freely.
Pawan Rathnayake’s century went in vain as England restricted Sri Lanka to 304 runs
Chasing 358, Sri Lanka got off to a positive start with Pathum Nissanka scoring a quickfire 50. Contributions from Kusal Mendis and Kamil Mishra kept Sri Lanka going during the early overs, but regular wickets halted the momentum.
Captain Charith Asalanka struggled to convert his starts, while the middle-order partnerships failed to gather momentum. Despite a brilliant century from Pawan Rathnayake (121 off 115), the required rate continued to rise.
Despite a fighting performance, Sri Lanka were eventually bowled out for 304 in 46.4 overs.
England’s bowlers shared the workload efficiently. Jamie Overton struck early, while Adil Rashid provided the breakthrough in the middle overs.
Support also came from Will Jacques and Liam Dawson, who took timely wickets to ensure that Sri Lanka never fully threatened England’s advantage.
England won the deciding match of the ODI series by 53 runs. https://t.co/OTrZyVPwoJ#Cricket #SLvENG #3rd ODI pic.twitter.com/iozdb2Nqc2
– CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) 27 January 2026
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