England defeated Sri Lanka by 5 wickets in the fifth ODI to stay alive in the ODI series. The match was split into two days because of heavy rainfall. England started their innings on Thursday instead of the day before and chased the target set by the Lankans with ease.
Joe Root scored an unbeaten century to guide his team home. He scored 104 and James Taylor scored 68. Senanayeke was the peak of the Sri Lankan bowlers who took 2 wickets for 35 runs.On Wednesday Sri Lanka batted first after loosing the toss to England and scored 239 runs. Sangakkara top scored with 91, while Dilshan and Mathews scored 35 and 40 respectively. Thisara Perera scored some quick runs at the end but rest of the Lankan batsmen failed to make any impact.
Chris Woakes took 6 wickets for 47 runs and destroyed Sri Lankan batting. Joe Root was declared man of the match. Sixth ODI of the series will be played at Pallekele on December 13. Sri Lanka leads the series 3-2. – News Desk
