Tezzbuzz DeskAt one time, in the second ODI match played between England and Sri Lanka, England's victory seemed almost certain, but after the injury of Jos Buttler, the entire trend of the match changed. Batting first, Sri Lanka scored 321 runs thanks to a brilliant century by Kusal Mendis. In reply, England made a strong start, but in the last 12.3 overs, the Sri Lankan bowlers made such a comeback in the match that England's entire innings was reduced to 305 runs and Sri Lanka won by 16 runs. Sri Lankan captain Kusal Mendis batted brilliantly in this match played on 24 September at Headingley Cricket Ground, Leeds. Mendis, who came at number three, scored 121 runs in 100 balls, which included 14 fours and 3 sixes. This was his seventh century in ODI cricket. Thanks to his innings, Sri Lanka scored a strong score of 321 runs in 50 overs.
Mendis was well supported by Kamindu Mendis by scoring 54 runs and Pawan Ratnayake by scoring 48 runs. Janith Liyanage also played a quick inning of 32 runs. For England, Gus Atkinson and Rehan Ahmed took two wickets each. England had a very aggressive start while chasing the target. Tom Banton played innings of 73 runs and Ben Duckett played 67 runs. Both of them put England in a strong position by making a partnership of more than 140 runs within the first 20 overs. However, after this, four batsmen including both the openers were out in just 60 runs. During this time, Sri Lanka also got the wicket of Joe Root. Young spinner Dunith Vellalage took three of these wickets.
After this Jos Buttler took over the England innings. Butler completed his half-century in just 36 balls and was seen taking England to victory. But Buttler retired due to injury after the third ball of the 38th over. At that time England's score was 254/4 and the team needed only 66 runs in 12.3 overs i.e. 75 balls to win. After Butler went out of the crease, the Sri Lankan bowlers made a strong comeback in the match. England's batsmen continued to come under pressure and the team could score only two boundaries in the last 12.3 overs. Butler returned to bat again in the 49th over and scored 69 runs, which included 5 fours and 5 sixes. However, he could not lead England to victory. The England team could score only 305 runs in 50 overs and Sri Lanka won the match by 16 runs. With this victory, Sri Lanka registered its first win after four consecutive defeats on the England tour. This was England's fourth consecutive defeat in ODI cricket at Headingley.