England dominated Sri Lanka again on Thursday to win the second ODI in London by eight wickets.
Half-centuries from Jason Roy, Joe Root and Eoin Morgan followed 5/48 and 4/64 from Sam Curran and David Willey respectively with the ball in a near-perfect day for the home side to leave Sri Lanka plenty to ponder going into the final match of the series on Sunday.
Dhananjaya de Silva had earlier scored 91 for Sri Lanka to hold their batting innings together, but the tourists were again under par with the bat and set a modest 241/9 which England chased down with ease.
England's rapid start
England captain Eoin Morgan won the toss and decided to bowl at the Oval, making two changes to his team from the win in the opening game with Jason Roy and Tom Curran replacing Liam Livingstone and Chris Woakes. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, brought in Dhananjaya de Silva, Avishka Fernando and Asitha Fernando for Ramesh Mendis, Dhananjaya Lakshan and Praveen Jayawickrama.
David Willey opened play for England with the ball and the first runs of the game came off the bat of Pathum Nissanka via a neat cover drive for four off the third ball of the over. The very next ball he was given out LBW, but a review showed a big inside edge onto his pad.
Kusal Perera was gone off his second ball though, LBW to Sam Curran, who pulled off an impressive 'celebrappeal' after the delivery - a review couldn’t save the Sri Lankan captain.
💪EARLY BREAKTHROUGH 💪
— England's Barmy Army (@TheBarmyArmy) July 1, 2021
Sammy Shearer gets Kusal Perrera trapped LBW!#ENGvSL pic.twitter.com/vBPb55rU1L
New man Avishka Fernando was also given out LBW to Sam Curran off his second ball, stepping across the line and ignoring the swing generated by Curran. He too lost his review, leaving the visitors with none left before two overs were completed, with the system showing three reds to leave Sri Lanka 6/2.
Nissanka was then added to Sam Curran’s victim list as the left-armer bowled the opener for five with a perfect in-swinging delivery, leaving Micky Arthur’s side 12/3.
Eoin Morgan put three slips in for the left handed Dhananjaya de Silva, and David Willey was in on the action soon, forcing Charith Asalanka to pull a short ball to substitute George Garton at short mid-wicket for three, leaving Sri Lanka 21/4.
Sri Lanka rebuild
de Silva pulled Sam Curran for back-to-back fours as he tried to build some sort of partnership for his side, and it appeared the Sri Lankan number four was playing a different game to the rest of his team as the visitors reached 47/4 at the end of the powerplay.
Mark Wood applauded Jonny Bairstow’s efforts when the England wicketkeeper dropped Wanindu Hasaranga off a short ball, but replays showed the chance should have been taken despite the one-handed effort.
A poor Sam Curran throw meant a chance to run out de Silva on 40 went amiss, injuring wicketkeeper Bairstow in the process, and the 50 partnership between de Silva and Hasaranga followed - much needed in the circumstances.
Hasaranga upped his strike rate as the innings moved towards the halfway stage, pulling and then driving Sam Curran for two fours in the 19th over.
The all-rounder threw his wicket away just two overs later however, pulling a short ball from Sam Curran to Sam Billings in the deep for a cheap dismissal for 26.
The de Silva show
de Silva reached his 50 from 58 balls off a misfield by Jason Roy, featuring seven fours and passing 1,000 ODI runs in the process - an impressive knock considering the carnage around him.
Sri Lanka’s 100 followed with a big six from Dasun Shanaka off Sam Curran, with the Sri Lankans 104/5 at the halfway stage.
de Silva moved to 70 with a pull for four off Tom Curran, and the 50 partnership between he and Shanaka arrived from 60 balls in the 31st over.
de Silva upper cut Willey for four more, and he moved past his highest ODI score of 84 with a lofted four over mid-off off Tom Curran.
He went past 90 with a guided four between Bairstow and Sam Curran at short third man, but was out the next ball for 91, pulling David Willey high to Joe Root at deep square leg, who took a simple catch to leave de Silva nine runs short of his century.
WILLEY GETS THE BIG ONE 👏
— England's Barmy Army (@TheBarmyArmy) July 1, 2021
Great knock from Da Silva for 91 but Root holds in the deep 👐🏻#ENGvSL pic.twitter.com/JSKLpR8e5D
Success for the left-armers
The visitors attacked Adil Rashid’s final over and passed 200 in the 45th over, but Shanaka fell three runs short of 50 when he cut Willey to Sam Curran at deep point.
Curran then picked up his first ODI five-fer when Chamika Karunaratne top-edged a short ball to Bairstow behind the stumps, eventually finishing with figures of 5/48.
David Willey picked up his fourth of the innings off the first ball of the final over as Binura Fernando became the latest man to fall to the pull shot, caught by Adil Rashid running in at deep fine leg, and Dushmantha Chameera managed to pick up a single to deny the Yorkshireman his hattrick.
Chameera then slapped Willey over Billings at long-on for six, followed by two over Joe Root’s head at mid-on as Willey chased his own five-fer.
The final ball was pulled high but landed safe, and Willey, finishing with figures of 4/64, closed things well. Sri Lanka, however, recovered from 21/4 and 86/5 to reach 241/9 at the end of their 50 overs, giving themselves a total to bowl at.
Opening success again
Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow opened the batting for England, with the impressive Chameera with ball in hand for Sri Lanka. The visitors lost their first review within four balls as an LBW call against Roy hit outside the line - Roy responded with a near cover drive for three.
Roy continued to accelerate and moved to 28 from 21 balls, with Bairstow slightly more conservative at six from 14 balls.
The 50 partnership was up in the eighth over as Roy punched Binura Fernando for four to move to 40, before a frustrated Bairstow drove Asitha Fernando for four more.
He then pulled a slower ball over mid-wicket for another four, and followed that up with a lofted effort over the long-off boundary for the first six of the England innings.
England were 65/0 at the end of the powerplay and in a more-than-comfortable position in their quest for 242 to win.
Bairstow looked to take on Hasaranga and seemed uncomfortable, chopping onto his stumps for 29 after an inside edge for four the previous ball.
That brought test captain Joe Root to the middle and he was off the mark first ball. Roy then brought up his 50 from 47 balls with eight fours to his name.
England’s 100 arrived in the 17th over with back-to-back fours from the Surrey opener, but he was soon on his way back to the dressing room for 60, lofting a short-arm jab off Chamika Karunaratne to Dhananjaya de Silva at short mid-wicket.
Ease for Root and Morgan
New man Eoin Morgan raced to 17 from 14 balls with back-to-back fours in an attempt to find some form, and with ease he and Root moved England past 150 and past their own 50 partnership.
Perera then dropped Morgan behind the stumps off the bowling of Hasaranga with the England captain on 40, summing up Sri Lanka’s day.
Morgan and Root exchanged blows in a race to 50 which Morgan won, perhaps in thanks to a big leg side six off a Hasaranga full toss to take him to 49 - 50 balls including five fours and a six, despite surviving a couple of close shaves on 49.
Root’s 50 followed - from 63 including three fours - as did England’s 200, and it was a matter of how much the win would be by by this point.
The 100 partnership passed too and when it reached 119 it became the highest third wicket partnership against Sri Lanka for England.
Morgan and Root saw England over the line to an eight-wicket victory with 42 balls to spare. Morgan finished on 75 not out with Root unbeaten on 68, and England took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series ahead of the final ODI on Sunday at Bristol.