Openers Alex Hales and Jason Roy put on an unbeaten and record-breaking 256-run partnership to take England to a thumping 10-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second one-day international (ODI) on Friday.
Both made centuries, with Hales 133 not out and Roy 112 not out, as England stormed past Sri Lanka’s 254-7 in 34.1 overs at Edgbaston.
The convincing win took England into a 1-0 lead in the five-match series after the first game was tied.
Photo: AFP
Finishing on 256-0, Hales and Roy put together the highest partnership for England in ODIs and the fifth-highest opening stand by any team in a 50-over international.
They decimated Sri Lanka’s bowling attack, with Hales hitting 10 fours and six sixes, while Roy added seven fours and four sixes.
“Hales and I just wanted to get off to a good start and next minute you look, we were across the line,” Roy said.
England won with more than 15 overs to spare and the Sri Lanka bowling figures were forgettable.
Roy edged out Hales for the man-of-the-match award after also creating two run outs in the Sri Lanka innings.
England bowled well and were slick in the field to restrict Sri Lanka to a mediocre total on a good batting pitch.
Dinesh Chandimal made 52 and captain Angelo Mathews scored 44, while Upul Tharanga hit some late runs for his 53 not out.
England’s bowlers kept Sri Lanka in check throughout, though, on a wicket that was predicted to be good for batting and proved to be sublime with the Hales-Roy partnership.
Leg-spinner Adil Rashid and seamer Liam Plunkett took two wickets each for England, but the opening batsmen stole the show with their ruthless chase.
“I thought it was a brilliant partnership,” Sri Lanka captain Mathews said. “Hopefully we can forget about this game as soon as possible.”
Hales was first to 100, his third ODI century, and got there as he smashed 26 off five balls from leg-spinner Seekkuge Prasanna.
In those five balls, Hales hit two fours and then three consecutive sixes.
Roy had to rush near the end to make sure he made three figures with the free-hitting Hales threatening to end the game before his partner could bring up his ton.
Their partnership bettered England’s previous best in ODIs, a 250-run stand for the second wicket between Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott at the same ground against Bangladesh in 2010.
“Jason Roy and Alex Hales were absolutely exceptional,” England captain Eoin Morgan said. “They put on a clinic for everyone here watching.”
BOUNCE BACK: Curry scored 46 points in the Warriors’ victory over the Spurs, after ‘everybody stepped up’ following Tuesday’s blowout loss to Oklahoma City Nikola Jokic scoring 50 or more points had never been enough for the Denver Nuggets to win — until now. Jokic on Wednesday night tied the highest-scoring performance in the NBA this season with 55 points, as the Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Clippers 130-116 for their sixth straight victory. The Nuggets were 0-4 in his previous 50-point outbursts. “It’s a good feeling,” the three-time NBA Most Valuable Player said. He equaled Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 55 in a double-overtime game at the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 23. Jokic has been on a roll during Denver’s winning streak. He is the
TIGHT GAME: The Detroit Pistons, the NBA’s second-best team, barely outlasted the Washington Wizards, who fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss Cade Cunningham’s triple double, Daniss Jenkins’ three-pointer at the buzzer and Javonte Green’s overtime dunk lifted Detroit past Washington 137-135 on Monday, stretching the Pistons’ win streak to seven games. In an unexpected thriller, the NBA’s second-best team barely outlasted a Wizards club that fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss. “We knew how big this game was for us,” Jenkins said. “We wasn’t going to let nothing stop us from getting this W.” Cunningham made 14-of-45 shots and 16-of-18 free throws for a career-high 46 points, and added 12 rebounds, 11 assists, five steals and two
The tri-nation Twenty20 international series featuring hosts Pakistan, as well as Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, is to be played entirely in Rawalpindi from Tuesday next week, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said yesterday, after this week’s suicide bombing in the capital, Islamabad. The change came after at least eight Sri Lankan players asked to leave over security fears following Tuesday’s bombing that killed 12 people and wounded 27. Their country’s cricket board issued a stern directive to the team to stay put or face consequences. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said the decision to stay was taken after “close consultations” with hosts Pakistan who
Italian champions SSC Napoli on Sunday came unstuck at Bologna, losing 2-0 to cede the Italian Serie A summit to Inter, who downed SS Lazio by the same scoreline. AS Roma, who beat Udinese 2-0 earlier, briefly held the summit, only for Inter to dislodge them on goal difference. With the game just three minutes old, Lautaro Martinez put Inter in control with Ange-Yoan Bonny doubling the lead on the hour with a shot from close range. Goals in the capital either side of the break by Lorenzo Pellegrini and Zeki Celik sent Gian Piero Gasperini’s Roma temporarily to the
RSS