Debacle Continues For Sri Lanka; England Win 1st ODI By 5 Wickets | Match Summary

Chris Woakes was the pick of the bowlers for England who picked up 4 wickets and just gave away 18 runs in 10 runs. Read the Full Match Summary below.

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Chester Le Street: Sri Lanka's bad run in international cricket continues. After losing the T20I series against England, they lost the 1st ODI too. England won the match by 5 wickets courtesy of brilliant bowling by Chris Woakes. 

Earlier in the match, England won the toss and put Sri Lanka into bat first. Captain Kusal Perera scored the maximum runs but could only take Sri Lanka's score to 185. Perera scored 73 runs in 81 balls. Chris Woakes was the pick of the bowlers for England who picked up 4 wickets and just gave away 18 runs in 10 runs. 

Woakes also won the man of the match for his performance. On winning the award, he said, "You are always worried about your bowling figures as a bowler. You have to assess the conditions and adapt quickly as an opening bowler. It is all about not giving freebies in one-day cricket."

Later, Sri Lanka picked up some early wickets and at one point England were 80/4. Joe Root, as responsible as he is, stabilised the innings by playing a not out 79 runs and won the match for England in the 36th over itself.

Sri Lankan captain would be disappointed after such a performance. Kusal Perera said, "I'm trying to back myself and do my basics. I got a start, If I had batted till the 40th or 50th over, it'd have been great but things didn't go our way. He (Hasaranga) did a good job for the team with his bowling and batting. We got a partnership, but that didn't help. We have to get together and post a good total for our bowlers."

 

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Such a dismal performance by Sri Lanka, who once were the world champions in 1996 and then reached the finals consecutively in 2007 and 2011, is a rare sight. They changed the captain recently. Sri Lankan cricketers are not building a great reputation around their team. During South Africa’s tour of Sri Lanka, when SL lost the series 0-2, some players were caught smoking, drinking and getting involved in all sought of 'objectionable activities'.