Banton and Brook lead England home in style
Big hitting leaves Sri Lanka looking out of their depth
England extended their extraordinary hex over Sri Lanka to a 14th game, with the tourists looking as out of their depth as the balls that were repeatedly deposited into the River Taff as their opponents cantered to their target of 146 to win by six wickets, with 47 balls remaining.
More than a dozen years have passed since Sri Lanka, crowned world champions in the format a month earlier, beat England by nine runs at the Oval. They have lost every meeting since and with this one also the series, and while much about this game contrasted with Tuesday’s first encounter in Southampton – starting with England winning the toss and choosing to chase – the outcome did not: another emphatic home win, sealed in the end in slapdash style: no-ball, wide, single, wide, single, muted celebration.
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