Jason Roy's 162 completes series victory for England

England 309-4 (Roy 162) beat
Sri Lanka 305-5 (Mendis 77) by six wickets (DLS Method)
Fourth One-Day International, The Oval
Scorecard

A career-best 162 from Jason Roy helped England chase down 308 runs in 40.1 overs in a rain-affected fixture against Sri Lanka and secured an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series with a six-wicket win in the fourth One-Day International at The Oval.

Earlier in the day fifties from Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews helped Sri Lanka score 305 for five in 42 overs.

England won the toss and opted to bowl first. The match got underway under overcast conditions and in the second over of the match Kusal Perera (1) was run out trying to sneak a quick single.

Mendis (77) started off positively with regular boundaries as Sri Lanka reached 64 for one after 10 overs. He brought up his fifty in 44 balls.

Gunathilaka (62) and Mendis continued to flourish and their partnership quickly crossed the 100-run mark. With the score at 127 for one in the 19th over, the rain came down stopping the game for more than two hours.

At the resumption, the game was reduced to 42 overs per side. Gunathilaka completed his fifty soon after.

However, England struck with the wicket of Mendis, breaking the 128-run stand for the second wicket.
After being dropped in the 21st over, Gunathilaka was caught in the covers off Adil Rashid (2-57), two overs later. At the halfway mark, Sri Lanka reached 166 for three.

Once again, the experienced duo of Mathews (67 not out) and Chandimal (63) got together to keep the scoreboard ticking with their 87-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Chandimal raced away to a 42-ball fifty but was castled by David Willey (2-58) in the 37th over.

After the fall of Seekkuge Prasanna (9), Mathews completed his fifty and partnered with Dasun Shanaka (19 not out) to take Sri Lanka to 305 for five in 42 overs.

England’s target was revised to 308 runs as per the DLS calculations.

Alex Hales, who injured himself prior to the rain break in the first innings, did not come to bat. Moeen Ali (2), who was sent in to open alongside Roy (162), lasted all but seven balls and fell in the fourth over.

Roy survived an lbw review in the fifth over and along with Joe Root (65), he took England to 61 for one in 10 overs.

Both Roy and Root played their shots without hesitation and put on a massive 149-run stand for the second wicket while scoring at over eight runs an over.

Roy completed his fifty in the 11th over and kept the boundaries flowing. Meanwhile Root was not far behind as he reached his fifty in just 41 balls. England were placed at 167 for two after Root fell in the 22nd over.

Roy brought up his second century of the series in the 24th over. Just as he looked to settle down, Eoin Morgan (22) was caught spectacularly at backward point by Gunathilaka (1-30).

Roy was dropped in the 32nd over but his defences were breached in the 38th over by Nuwan Pradeep (2-78). At the fall of Roy’s wicket, England needed 27 runs from 25 balls.

It took Jos Buttler (17 not out) and Jonny Bairstow (29 not out) just 15 more balls to complete England’s second highest chase in ODI cricket.

With this six-wicket win, England took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. Roy took home the man of the match award for his ton, which was the highest individual ODI score at The Oval.

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