Bristol: The 3rd ODI between England and Sri Lanka ended without a result. The second innings of the match was washed off due to rain. With this result, the series has now ended at 2-0 in favour of England.
Before this series, Sri Lanka also lost a T20I series against England 3-0. These are troubling times for Sri Lanka cricket as they have not won a single series in 2021.
In the 3rd ODI too, Sri Lanka was all out for 166 runs. The rain gods had a different plan for the day in Bristol. The match was cancelled due to constant downpour without even a single ball being bowled in the second innings. Thanks to the weather conditions, Sri Lanka was saved from yet another whitewash. Looking at the current form of English batsmen, England would have easily chased down 167 runs.
There wasn't a single stand out performance for Sri Lanka throughout the series, nor a single century in the entire series. Sri Lankan captain Kusal Perera sounded disappointed after the series loss. He said, "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. Lot of positives for us but we need to be consistent."
It has been a series of disappointing performances by SL cricketers. SL cricket fans on social media unfollowed the cricketers with the hashtag #UnfollowSLCricketers. Former Sri Lankan legend, Sanath Jayasuriya had expressed his concern over the form that the Sri Lankan team currently is in. The former explosive opener, in a tweet, wrote, "Very sad day for Sri Lankan cricket. The situation is critical. We need immediate measures to save cricket."