Morgan guides England to victory in rain-hit ODI

DAMBULLA, Sri Lanka: Captain Eoin Morgan hit 92 decisive runs to guide England to a damp squib win over Sri Lanka with rain halting play for the second straight match in their one-day series.

England were awarded a 31-run victory on a faster run rate after torrential downpour at the Dambulla ground.

The tourists scored 278-9 from 50 overs, with Morgan hitting 11 fours and two sixes in his innings, while Test captain Joe Root made 71.

The umpires stopped play with Sri Lanka on 140-5 after 29 of their overs. Thisara Perera was on 44 and Dhananjaya de Silva on 36 when play was halted. They put on 66 for the sixth wicket after Sri Lanka looked in trouble at 74 for five.

Heavy rain was still falling an hour after the suspension and England were given victory under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern run rate system.

Morgan and Root put England on target to reach 300 but veteran paceman Lasith Malinga took critical wickets at the start and in the lower order to finish on five for 44.

He claimed England opener Jason Roy on the fourth ball of the day, brilliantly ended Morgan’s innings caught and bowled and also took Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and Liam Dawson cheaply.

Malinga shook England, who slipped from 209 for four. Tailender Adil Rashid’s 19 runs off 15 balls helped raise England from 254 for nine to a respectable score.

Score Board

Sri Lanka won toss

England

J Roy c Dananjaya b Malinga 0

J Bairstow b T Perera 26

J Root c Dananjaya b de Silva 71

*E Morgan c and b Malinga 92

B Stokes c de Silva b Dananjaya 15

†J Buttler b Pradeep 28

M Ali b Malinga 0

C Woakes lbw Malinga 5

L Dawson b Malinga 4

A Rashid not out 19

O Stone not out 9

Extras (lb 3, nb 2, w 4) 9

Total (9 wickets, 50 overs) 278

Fall: 1-0, 2-72, 3-140, 4-190, 5-218, 6-218, 7-245, 8-249, 9-254

Bowling: Malinga 10-1-44-5 (nb 1, w 1); Pradeep 10-0-52-1 (w 2); Dananjaya 10-0-64-1; T Perera 7-0-37-1; Sandakan 9-0-59-0 (nb 1, w 1); de Silva 4-0-19-1

Sri Lanka

†N Dickwella c Buttler b Stone 9

W Tharanga c Buttler b Woakes 0

*L Chandimal b Woakes 6

K Perera c Roy b Dawson 30

M Shanaka c Buttler b Woakes 8

D de Silva not out 36

T Perera not out 44

Extras (b 1, lb 2, w 4) 7

Total (5 wickets, 29 overs) 140

Did not bat: A Dananjaya, P Sandakan, L Malinga, N Pradeep

Fall: 1-9, 2-16, 3-20, 4-31, 5-74

Bowling: Woakes 5-0-26-3 (w 1); Stone 6-0-23-1 (w 2); Dawson 6-0-26-1; Ali 10-0-47-0 (w 1); Rashid 2-0-15-0

Result: England won by 31 runs (D/L method)

Man of the Match: Eoin Morgan (England)

Umpires: Ranmore Martinesz (Sri Lanka) and Paul Reiffel (Australia). TV umpire: Aleem Dar (Pakistan). Match referee: Richie Richardson (West Indies)