RESULT
5th ODI (D/N), Colombo (RPS), October 23, 2018, England tour of Sri Lanka
(26.1/26.1 ov, T:352) 132/9

Sri Lanka won by 219 runs (D/L method)

Player Of The Match
95 (97)
niroshan-dickwella
Player Of The Series
195 runs
eoin-morgan
New
ENG
Full commentary

9.45pm: Right, well, that's that then. There's a one-off T20 in Colombo on Saturday, so join us again for that, before the Test series begins next month. Hopefully (pretty please, fingers crossed), we won't spend quite so much time wittering about the rain. George's report is being updated, so from myself, Miller and Ollie, it's cheerio for now. Bye!

9.25pm: So, England claim the series 3-1, their ninth bilateral success in a row (usual disclaimer about the Scotland defeat). Time for the presentations: Niroshan Dickwella is Man of the Match: "I spoke to the coaches and they were talking about my batting. I had more control and was disappointed to get out in the 27th over. It was a proud and happy moment. I was taking time, it was hot and humid and I didn't get a cramp. I try to make room to score runs on the side [of the wicket], it's easy to use the pace instead of only clear mid-off and mid-on."

Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal: "Hard work from every one. Dickwella and Sadeera got a very good start and set the tone up front and after that myself and Kusal put a really good partnership. This is the hard work from everyone that's finally paid off. It's not an easy thing to do, when you lose the series to play a dead rubber game. We were mainly concerned about the fielding, like I said before the series, and the boys did their best today. We need to put in consistent performances, that's the main thing and we're working on."

England captain Eoin Morgan: "Sri Lanka took advantage of a very poor day from our part. Very disappointed to end the series like this. We gave some guys a chance and it really makes experience more valuable. Certainly we were outplayed. There were plenty of opportunities today. We go back to dissecting our plans, though process and skills we showed today. Individual form aside, what was best for the team was that younger players got some games under their belt. That was progress for the squad before the World Cup. It helps us improve our weaknesses between now and then."

9.15pm: "No chance of getting back on" seems to be the consensus from the ground... and there's the official word, Sri Lanka win by 219 runs (DLS method). It may not be much in the grand scheme of things, but Dinesh Chandimal and his players have produced a performance to instill confidence for the future. A bedraggled series gets a watery end, as England finish with a painful belly-flop of a performance.

9.05pm: Hello again, my thanks to Vishal for stepping in. The impending storm seemed to knock out the Sky cameras, as well as the power in the press box, from the sounds of it. Anyway, Sri Lanka are pretty much home and hosed (literally, in this case), so we'll see how long it takes for them to call things off. England have added another proper shocker to their otherwise-excellent post-World Cup record - resting a few players might have given Sri Lanka a sniff, but plummeting to a heaviest-ever defeat in ODIs was not part of the plan. Like a booming stock market, they never seem all that far from a crash...

8.55pm It's pouring out there in Colombo: heavy thunder, lightning, everything. Just one wicket away from win, Sri Lanka, and the weather wants to show its presence. Lots of feedback coming in about what the par score for England would be, how close they are. Just kidding but here you go: they should have been 351 right now and are 219 behind.

Right, that was not a joke actually. Nikila: "Please give us the DL score......"

26.1
W
Dananjaya to Plunkett, OUT

that's plumb, Plunkett is unable to pick the googly and here comes the rain too! Dananjaya bowled a short googly there and Plunkett stayed back in the crease to let the ball turn before he could cut it, but it turned in a fair bit and hit him right in front, on the right thigh. Plunkett reviews it, for some reason, and ball-tracking shows he has to go back. There was no way Plunkett would get the review going his way. But hello, it's raining heavily by the time the replays confirm that and Aleem Dar is running off the field with his finger raised

Liam Plunkett lbw b Dananjaya 5 (10b 0x4 0x6) SR: 50
end of over 261 run
ENG: 132/8CRR: 5.07 RRR: 9.79
Tom Curran1 (8b)
Liam Plunkett5 (9b)
Dushmantha Chameera 6-0-20-3
Akila Dananjaya 6-0-19-3
25.6
Chameera to Tom Curran, no run

full on the stumps, pushed down the ground and there's a direct hit at the non-striker's end, but Plunkett had his bat grounded

25.5
Chameera to Tom Curran, no run
25.4
Chameera to Tom Curran, no run

banged in short, Curran crouches underneath

25.3
Chameera to Tom Curran, no run

length ball, steered square into the off side

25.2
Chameera to Tom Curran, no run

this nips through as Curran hangs back and misses with a prod

25.1
1
Chameera to Plunkett, 1 run

shortish on the stumps and turned through the leg side

Dushmantha Chameera returns

And the groundstaff are now beginning to move... DLS par score is 328(!), so England still facing a record defeat

end of over 253 runs • 1 wicket
ENG: 131/8CRR: 5.24 RRR: 9.44
Liam Plunkett4 (8b)
Tom Curran1 (3b)
Akila Dananjaya 6-0-19-3
Dhananjaya de Silva 4-0-18-1

"I live in 4 Km away from the ground and it has start to rain," reports Ice93

24.6
1
Dananjaya to Plunkett, 1 run

floated up on the stumps and driven down the ground

24.5
1
Dananjaya to Tom Curran, 1 run

another leggie from Dhananjaya, tapped square off the back foot and they take the single

24.4
Dananjaya to Tom Curran, no run

tossed up wide of the stumps, lets this one go

24.3
Dananjaya to Tom Curran, no run

flighted, spinning in to hit the thigh pad as he goes back

Tom Curran is in next

24.2
W
Dananjaya to Rashid, OUT

bowled 'im! Rashid bamboozled, a legbreak goes straight through to hit the stumps! Not sure what Rashid was aiming for, played a half-hearted dab and then heard the death rattle

Adil Rashid b Dananjaya 4 (8b 0x4 0x6) SR: 50
24.1
1
Dananjaya to Plunkett, 1 run

tossed up, Plunkers clears the front leg and tonks one flat towards deep midwicket

end of over 242 runs
ENG: 128/7CRR: 5.33 RRR: 9.19
Liam Plunkett2 (6b)
Adil Rashid4 (7b)
Dhananjaya de Silva 4-0-18-1
Akila Dananjaya 5-0-16-2
23.6
1
Dhananjaya to Plunkett, 1 run

pushed through and Plunkett walks down, nudges a single square on the leg side

"If match gets abandoned due to rain and England lose due to DLS method - Is the margin of defeat the difference between original target or DLS target ( I would assume DLS)..." You assume correctly, GC. Might be the only thing that saves England from a record shellacking

23.5
Dhananjaya to Plunkett, no run

gets into line and pokes the ball towards extra cover

23.4
Dhananjaya to Plunkett, no run

flat on the stumps, turned to mdiwicket

23.3
1
Dhananjaya to Rashid, 1 run

gives it a bit more air, Rashid loosens the shoulders and heaves one up and over the covers

23.2
Dhananjaya to Rashid, no run

goes back and across and blocks

23.1
Dhananjaya to Rashid, no run

round the wicket to the right-hander, darted through and tapped away

end of over 234 runs • 1 wicket
ENG: 126/7CRR: 5.47 RRR: 8.92
Liam Plunkett1 (3b)
Adil Rashid3 (4b)
Akila Dananjaya 5-0-16-2
Dhananjaya de Silva 3-0-16-1

"England rushing before rain arrives at ground!!" Yes, they really do need to get bowled out quite quickly, Afsar, else we're going to be hanging around for ages

22.6
Dananjaya to Plunkett, no run

this skids through, a googly I think and Plunkett tried to play it off the back foot

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