What could have been an opportunity for England to assert a triple clean sweep on Sri Lanka, was washed away by rain as the third and final ODI of the three-match series at Bristol was abond0oned due to rain. Only one inning of the game was completed on which Sri Lanka were bowled out for 166 courtesy of a brilliant spell by Tom Curran.
The senior Curran picked up four wickets for 35 runs in his 10 overs spell. Dasun Shanaka top scoured for Lankans with an unbeaten 48 from 65 balls. Other than Tom, David Willey and Chris Woakes picked up two wickets each while one wicket was taken by Adil Rashid.
After the end of the first innings, rain overtook and the match had to be abandoned at the county ground. England, having beaten Sri Lanka 3-0 in the T20I series in June and 2-0 in the Tets series when they toured the island nation in January this year, had the chance to complete a treble of clean sweeps if the match was completed.
The was no doubt that over the six matches, the English team had been ruthless and skipper Eoin Morgan reiterated the same as well. “We were dominant today, and we are delighted as we were ruthless. That has been the trend in the T20Is and ODIs, the guys haven't taken things for granted. The guys were willing to show character and fight at Cardiff too,” he said during the post-match presentation interview.
For Sri Lankan captain Kusal Perera, it has been a painful tour, on and off the ground and he believes that his players would trust their skillset and express themselves more freely in the coming series against India at home.
“It's a tough tour for us. We performed well in patches but it wasn't enough. We need to concentrate on our batting. The boys have to trust their ability and need to express themselves and that's the only way to move forward,” Perera said in the post-match interview.
Willey, for his outstanding bowling across three matches and picking up nine wickets, was adjudged Man of the Series.