Spinners lead Sri Lanka to victory over England in ODI series opener

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka spinners thrived in favorable conditions at home to beat England by 19 runs Thursday in the opening game of three-match ODI series.

With star spinner Wanindu Hasaranga rested, legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay (2-39) and leftarm spinner Dunith Wellalage (2-41) picked up key wickets on a conducive slow pitch to bowl out England for 252.

Earlier, No. 3 batter Kusal Mendis anchored Sri Lanka to 271-6 with an unbeaten 93 off 117 balls that included 11 boundaries.

England overcame the early loss of Zak Crawley, who made a disappointing return to 50-over format after more than two years when he nicked Asitha Fernando behind wickets after scoring just 6 runs in his comeback game.

Ben Duckett (62) and Joe Root (61) managed a 117-run stand, but Sri Lanka didn't allow the pair to score freely with spinners finding plenty of grip on a slow wicket.

Vandersay broke the century stand when Duckett got tangled while going for a reverse sweep and was adjudged leg before wicket. With the wicket assisting slow bowlers, Sri Lanka deployed spinners from both ends.

The two back-up spinners Dhananjaya de Silva and captain Charith Asalanka shared 15 overs between them and both got the crucial wickets. Root was trapped lbw by de Silva and captain Harry Brook (6) was stumped down the legside by Asalanka through some sharp glove work of Mendis.

Jos Buttler (19) struggled to get momentum before he was undone by fast bowler Pramod Madushan's (3-39) slower ball. Rehan Ahmed (27) and Jamie Overton (34 off 17 balls) showed lot of aggression against pace that gave England a glimmer of hope before Vandersay got Ahmed caught at long off and Overton was dismissed in the final over when England required 20 to win.

Earlier, Kamil Mishara (27) and Pathum Nissanka (21) provided a decent start of 50 runs before both Sri Lankan openers perished in quick succession after Asalanka won the toss and elected to bat.

Mendis scored his first run off the 13th ball he faced but gained confidence against spinners when he struck successive boundaries against Ahmed. De Silva, playing his first ODI since November 2023, struggled against spin before he was lbw by Adil Rashid for 10 and Asalanka top edged Ahmed after scoring 17.

Mendis and Janith Liyanage (46) then revived the innings with an 88-run stand. Liyanage smashed two sixes and five fours before offering a tame return catch to Rashid, who finished with 3-44.

Wellalage provided a late flurry with an unbeaten 25 off 12 balls and mostly farmed the strike in the final two overs as he smashed Overton for three fours and a six in the final over which eventually went for 23.