Dominant Sri Lanka crush England to go 2-0 up

Visitors inspired by Mahela Jayawardene's unbeaten 77 runs


Afp November 29, 2014

COLOMBO: Hosts Sri Lanka outplayed woeful England by eight wickets in the second ODI in Colombo on Saturday to take a 2-0 lead in the seven-match series.

Unorthodox spinner Ajantha Mendis grabbed 3-33 as England were skittled for 185 in 43 overs after electing to bat in a match reduced to 45-overs-a-side because of bad weather.

The veteran duo of Kumar Sangakkara (67 not out) and Mahela Jayawardene (77 not out) then put on 149 for the unbroken third wicket as Sri Lanka romped home with 10.4 overs to spare at the Premadasa stadium.

Both teams wore black armbands and observed a minute's silence before the start to mourn Australia batsman Phil Hughes.

Ravi Bopara top-scored with 51 and Joe Root made 42, but just eight boundaries were hit in the entire England innings as none of the other batsmen settled in.

Mendis led the way as the slow bowlers shared six wickets and the seamers chipped in with four wickets.

England lost half their side by the 28th over with just 117 runs on the board.

Opener Moeen Ali, who hit a century in the previous match, made only two when he attempted a wild heave off Tillakaratne Dilshan and was bowled in the second over.

Ian Bell, playing his 150th ODI, was dismissed by left-arm spinner Rangana Herath for 11 and Dilshan also removed skipper Alastair Cook for 22.

Mathews was delighted with the emphatic win.

"It feels great," he said. "The bowlers did the job and then Jayawardene and Sangakkara showed how to bat on this wicket."

Meanwhile, a disappointed Cook admitted his side were outplayed in the match, but vowed to bounce back in the series.

"We thought it was a good toss to win but I'm not sure it [decision to bat] was the right choice," he said. "Sri Lanka totally outplayed us in all departments today.”

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