England vs. Sri Lanka, 3rd ODI: Highlights, Scorecard, Report
England turned the tables on Sri Lanka in extraordinary fashion, bouncing back from a humiliating loss to beat their visitors by 10 wickets in the third one-day international of the series at Old Trafford.
Sri Lanka were all out for just 67 in tricky but not unplayable conditions—a pitiful effort, as Chris Jordan finished with figures of 5-29.
In response, England hardly came out of their shells to chase the target down, but they did not need to with Ian Bell and Alastair Cook seeing them safely home in just 12.1 overs.
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The home side now have a 2-1 lead in the five-match series, with the two sides next clashing at Lord's at the weekend.
Cook was back in the team to lead England after recovering from a groin injury, while Sri Lanka brought in left-arm spinner Rangana Herath.
Cook, winning the toss, elected to field first, and the results were devastating.
| Thirimanne | c Buttler | b Anderson | 7 | 20 | 16 |
| Dilshan | c Buttler | b Anderson | 2 | 12 | 11 |
| Sangakkara | c Buttler | b Jordan | 13 | 33 | 23 |
| M Jayawardene | lbw | b Tredwell | 12 | 62 | 33 |
| Chandimal | c Bell | b Jordan | 6 | 20 | 15 |
| Mathews | c Buttler | b Jordan | 11 | 19 | 12 |
| Priyanjan | run out (Bopara) | 2 | 15 | 9 | |
| N Kulasekara | c Tredwell | b Jordan | 5 | 10 | 13 |
| Senanayake | c Sub | b Tredwell | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Malinga | lbw | b Jordan | 2 | 6 | 6 |
| Herath | not out | 0 | 5 | 5 | |
| Extras | 0nb 4w 0b 3lb | 7 | |||
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | |
| Anderson | 7.0 | 2 | 10 | 2 | |
| Gurney | 6.0 | 1 | 23 | 0 | |
| Jordan | 8.0 | 0 | 29 | 5 | |
| Tredwell | 3.0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
James Anderson began with an impeccable display of swing bowling which presented few chances of scoring. As Lahiru Thirimanne and Tillakaratne Dilshan tried to get going, they fell victim to his seam bowling.
Anderson missed a run-out opportunity, but that aside he was impeccable, while Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara fought doggedly to resuscitate the innings.
They could not—the introduction of Jordan put paid to that, with Sangakkara becoming the first of his five victims.
Meanwhile, every bowling change seemed to wreak havoc. James Tredwell's cameo was equally effective—he bowled three overs and yielded just two runs for as many wickets.
Sri Lanka's final score of 67 all out—made in just 24 overs—was an embarrassment; a remarkable turnaround given that they had dismissed England for just 99 in the previous game.
"Sri Lanka 67 all out - their 3rd lowest ODI total ever. Jordan with the best ODI figures at @EmiratesOT 5-29 #EngvSL pic.twitter.com/4THL5occ9D
—England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) May 28, 2014"
Cook and Bell began the innings with customary caution, assessing the conditions as Nuwan Kulasekara and Lasith Malinga looked for early wickets fruitlessly.
| Batsman | Dismissal | Bowler | Runs | Mins | Balls |
| Cook | not out | 30 | 50 | 40 | |
| Bell | not out | 35 | 50 | 32 | |
| Extras | 0nb 2w 0b 0lb | 2 | |||
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | |
| N Kulasekara | 3.0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | |
| Malinga | 3.0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | |
| Herath | 3.0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | |
| Senanayake | 1.0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Priyanjan | 2.0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
When Sri Lanka turned to spin through Herath and Sachithra Senanayake, England stepped up the pace, and with the finish line so close the fight seemed to leave the Sri Lankans.
In the end, the 100-over contest lasted just 36.1 and culminated in an almighty six from Bell over the top.
With three such one-sided victories between the sides already, it's a brave man who'd predict where the series goes next.
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