The series is tied neatly at one game apiece and will have both, England and Sri Lanka wanting to not go behind in the third ODI that will be played at the Lord’s. The third match of the England-Sri Lanka series will be played on Sunday and will be a day game.
It has been interesting to note that the teams’ wins were one-sided. In the first ODI, the rain-shortened game saw the English side pile a huge 229 in 32 overs before bowling Sri Lanka out for 121. James Anderson had been the star of the show with a four-wicket haul.
On the other hand, in the second game, Sri Lanka topped 300 in their 50 overs at Headingley in Leeds, before bowling England out for 240. Mahela Jayawardene’s superbly made century won him the man of the match award. There was an excellent mix of sublime and attack in his innings and he played 150 balls for his 144. Later, the Sri Lankan spinners made it difficult for the English side.
From England’s point of view, the good news obviously will be the form of Anderson. Anderson has been one of England’s best bowlers in the Test matches, but in the shorter format of the game, he has lost his ability to swing the ball and hence, pick up wickets. He had a poor series against Australia and followed it up with a forgettable World Cup. In the two games in the series, he has bowled 15 overs and conceded only 62, while picking up four wickets.
Where the English side could be facing a dilemma is with the form of their T20 captain Stuart Broad. He hasn’t got much going for him since he returned from his injury that he had sustained in the World Cup and the clamour to dump him has already become loud.
For Sri Lanka, the swing in momentum should help. However, more importantly, it is the presence of Angelo Mathews that has been one of the high points. One will recall that Sri Lanka’s issues have always been to do with the middle-order – the batsmen after Dilshan, Sangakkara and Jayawardene. Mathews’ presence in the middle-order should help them.
The third ODI will test the resolve of the English captain, Alastair Cook, who has come in for some criticism as well. Not too many are happy with his appointment and how he manages to overcome the critics and goes about wanting to continue with the winning momentum remains to be seen.