Sri Lanka beat England, Sri Lanka won by 20 runs

Over50

8 runs

ENG 237/9CRR: 4.74

LE Plunkett 14 (14b 1x4)SJ Harmison 5 (5b)

SL Malinga3/26 (9)

Sri Lankan win by 20 runs!

England would have fancied their chances chasing 258 but what the England bowlers lacked the Lankans had in abundance, they bowled with discipline and control, they struck at regular intervals and under the burden of reality, one after the other the England batsmen simply wilted away into oblivion.

Apart from Trescothick and Dalrymple all the other batsmen looked like strangers in an alien land, Jayawardene played his cards beautifully and his proactive approach did wonders for the Lankan cause and in the end it was a deserving win for the visitors. Just for the record Sri Lanka now lead the 5-match series 1-0.

Second match of the series will be played at The Oval, London on the 20th of June, we will be on live as and when the first ball is bowled - be sure to join us then. For the time being though this is Sajan Nair along with Gautham signing off, Good bye and good luck.

49.6

Malinga to Plunkett, 1 run

full and on the stumps, no room offered and Plunkett is made to drive straight, just a single down to long-on

49.5

Malinga to Harmison, 1 run

good length delivery, straight and on the stumps, Harmison makes room and lofts it away to deep cover

49.5

Malinga to Harmison, 1 wide

way outside the off stump and that's rightly called a wide

49.4

1lb

Malinga to Plunkett, 1 leg bye

fulltoss on the pads, Plunkett looking to flick it away on the leg side failes to connect and the ball rolls away off the pad

49.3

Malinga to Harmison, 1 run

again driven down to long-on, the writing is on the wall I guess

49.2

Malinga to Harmison, 2 runs

good length delivery, Malinga keeping it wicket to wicket, Harmison gets behind the line and punches it down to long-on, runs hard and comes back for the second

49.1

Malinga to Plunkett, 1 run

driven down to long-on, just a single

29 needed off the last over

Over49

9 runs

ENG 229/9CRR: 4.67 RRR: 29.00

LE Plunkett 12 (11b 1x4)SJ Harmison 1 (2b)

CRD Fernando3/51 (8)

48.6

Fernando to Plunkett, 1 run

driven to long-off, another single added to the total

48.5

•

Fernando to Plunkett, no run

short of a good length delivery, this one nipped back in shaprly, Plunkett once again goes for the pull, probably looking to clear the midwicket fence but on this occasion he failed to make contact and the ball went through to the keeper

48.4

Fernando to Harmison, 1 run

fulltoss outside the off stump, driven down to long-off for a single

48.3

Fernando to Plunkett, 1 run

good length delivery on the middle and off stump line, driven straight to Murali at midwicket - just a single there

48.2

Fernando to Plunkett, 2 runs

good length delivery outside the off stump, Plunkett drives off the back-foot and the ball flies over the fielder at point, there was a run out in the offing but the Lankans failed to capatilise.

48.1

Fernando to Plunkett, FOUR runs

short of a good length delivery, angled in from wide of the crease, Plunkett pulls and pulls well - ball flies away to the midwicket fence - keep them coming!

Over48

3 runs, 1 wicket

ENG 220/9CRR: 4.58 RRR: 19.00

SJ Harmison 0 (1b)LE Plunkett 4 (6b)

SL Malinga3/19 (8)

47.6

•

Malinga to Harmison, no run

full and speared in on the stumps, a well bowled yorker, Harmison somehow manages to dig it out

47.5

Malinga to Mahmood, OUT

good length delivery, nothing special there, just a wicket to wicket delivery, Mahmood comes down the track and has a wild swing at it, a typical tail-enders slog, short story shorter - Mahmood misses and Malinga hits, as simple as that

Sajid Mahmood b Malinga 8 (7b 0x4 0x6 10m) SR: 114.28

47.4

Malinga to Mahmood, 2 runs

driven down to long-off, gets it wide of the fielder in the deep and the comfortably come back for the second

47.3

Malinga to Plunkett, 1 run

slightly short and that's pulled away towards deep midwicket for a single

47.2

•

Malinga to Plunkett, no run

fuller length delivery, Malinga working up good pace here, Plunkett ends up driving it back to the bowler

47.1

•

Malinga to Plunkett, no run

short of a good length delivery outside the off stump, Plunkett steps forward and goes for the pull, ball zips past the outside edge

England require another 41 runs with 2 wickets and 18 balls remaining - all but over, one feels!

Over47

6 runs, 1 wicket

ENG 217/8CRR: 4.61 RRR: 13.66

LE Plunkett 3 (3b)SI Mahmood 6 (5b)

M Muralidaran1/47 (10)

46.6

Murali to Plunkett, 1 run

worked away on the leg side, easy single to end the over

England vs Sri Lanka, 1st ODI at London, Jun 17 2006 - Match Result