England v Sri Lanka, 2014-15
Wisden's review of the sixth ODI, England v Sri Lanka, 2014-15
15-Apr-2015
At Pallekele, December 13, 2014. Sri Lanka won by 90 runs. Toss: Sri Lanka.
Sangakkara delighted his home crowd with his 20th one-day hundred in what was scheduled to be his final international appearance in Pallekele. On a day when the grass banks were packed with well-wishers, it felt almost incidental that England were condemned to another limited-overs series loss. The turning point, Cook said, came when he put down a simple chance at mid-off as Sangakkara, arriving on the back of four consecutive half-centuries, mistimed a drive off Bopara on 41. Sangakkara's second-wicket stand with Dilshan, worth 83 at the time, had ballooned to 153 when Tredwell finally broke through. England, announcing an unchanged XI for the first time in the series, had started well, as Woakes and Finn restricted Sri Lanka to 27 for one during the powerplay. But they leaked 130 from the last 15 overs, putting the chase beyond the realms of anything previously achieved to win in Sri Lanka. Cook's day dipped further with a second-ball dismissal by Senanayake, the fourth time he had fallen to off-spin in five innings. And, although Ali fired briefly, England were soon in trouble at 84 for five. Root continued an impressive tour by passing 50, and Woakes's highest international score helped inch the total towards 200, but England were dismissed with 8.3 overs unbowled. Sangakkara collected four catches and the match award as Kandy celebrated, although his big day was spoiled slightly by a fine for dissent, after an argument with umpire Oxenford about the timing of the batting powerplay.
Man of the Match: K. C. Sangakkara.
Sangakkara delighted his home crowd with his 20th one-day hundred in what was scheduled to be his final international appearance in Pallekele. On a day when the grass banks were packed with well-wishers, it felt almost incidental that England were condemned to another limited-overs series loss. The turning point, Cook said, came when he put down a simple chance at mid-off as Sangakkara, arriving on the back of four consecutive half-centuries, mistimed a drive off Bopara on 41. Sangakkara's second-wicket stand with Dilshan, worth 83 at the time, had ballooned to 153 when Tredwell finally broke through. England, announcing an unchanged XI for the first time in the series, had started well, as Woakes and Finn restricted Sri Lanka to 27 for one during the powerplay. But they leaked 130 from the last 15 overs, putting the chase beyond the realms of anything previously achieved to win in Sri Lanka. Cook's day dipped further with a second-ball dismissal by Senanayake, the fourth time he had fallen to off-spin in five innings. And, although Ali fired briefly, England were soon in trouble at 84 for five. Root continued an impressive tour by passing 50, and Woakes's highest international score helped inch the total towards 200, but England were dismissed with 8.3 overs unbowled. Sangakkara collected four catches and the match award as Kandy celebrated, although his big day was spoiled slightly by a fine for dissent, after an argument with umpire Oxenford about the timing of the batting powerplay.
Man of the Match: K. C. Sangakkara.