{"id":2219,"date":"2026-09-25T08:38:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T08:38:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/2026\/09\/25\/sri-lanka-level-odi-series-england-leeds\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T08:38:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T08:38:17","slug":"sri-lanka-level-odi-series-england-leeds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/2026\/09\/25\/sri-lanka-level-odi-series-england-leeds\/","title":{"rendered":"Sri Lanka level series with 16\u2011run ODI win over England in Leeds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<!-- Quick Adsense WordPress Plugin: http:\/\/quickadsense.com\/ -->\n<div class=\"9fece8afa224fd09e54b043d0febfb58\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:10px 0 10px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- NR ATF -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8898941184964366\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"4839033563\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p>Sri Lanka secured a 16\u2011run victory over England at Headingley, Leeds, to level the three\u2011match One\u2011Day International series 1\u20111. The visitors posted a total of 321 for 6 in their allotted 50 overs, while England were all out for 305 for 9 in response.<\/p>\n<h2>Sri Lanka\u2019s Batting Surge<\/h2>\n<p>Winning the toss, Sri Lanka elected to bat first. The opening partnership of Pathum Nissanka and Kamindu Mendis added 45 runs before Nissanka was dismissed lbw by England pacer Gus Atkinson for 25 in the ninth over. Nissanka\u2019s knock included three fours and a six. After the early wicket, the innings gained momentum as Kamindu Mendis and Kusal Mendis built a massive second\u2011wicket stand of 137 runs. Both batsmen reached half\u2011centuries, and it marked the first occasion on the tour that Sri Lanka recorded two individual scores above 50 in a single innings.<\/p>\n<p>Kamal Mendis was eventually caught at mid\u2011on off Atkinson when attempting a lofted drive, ending his contribution at 54. Kusal Mendis, meanwhile, pressed on toward his own milestone. After a caught\u2011behind decision was overturned when he was on 99, he completed his century with a boundary off Jamie Overton in the 31st over, becoming the first Sri Lankan to score an ODI hundred in England since Angelo Mathews in the 2019 World Cup. He finished on 121, the highest individual score of the match.<\/p>\n<p>Following Kusal\u2019s century, Pavan Rathnayake added a valuable 48 runs, partnering with the centurion for a 40\u2011run stand before Kusal was dismissed while attempting a slog\u2011sweep off Rehan Ahmed. Charith Asalanka fell a few overs later, giving England their second wicket of the innings. Rathnayake continued to accelerate in the death overs, hitting regular boundaries and a six off Atkinson. He combined with Janith Liyanage for a 40\u2011run partnership before being run out while attempting a second run on a misfield by England captain Joe Root. Liyanage contributed two fours off Overton as Sri Lanka crossed the 300\u2011run threshold in the 48th over. The team added 84 runs in the final ten overs, finishing on 321 for 6.<\/p>\n<h2>England\u2019s Chase and Collapse<\/h2>\n<p>England\u2019s reply began explosively. Openers Ben Duckett and Tom Banton combined for 14 fours in the first ten overs, taking the score to 82 for no loss. Duckett reached his half\u2011century in 44 balls, while Banton made 73, including a four and a six off Eshan Malinga, and hit his own fifty off 39 balls. The pair amassed 143 runs inside 20 overs, putting England in a commanding position.<\/p>\n<p>The momentum shifted when Sri Lankan pacer Dunith Wellalage broke through. He bowled Duckett for 67, then stumped Banton for 73 in the next over, and subsequently trapped captain Jos\u202fButtler lbw, reducing England from 143 for 0 to 157 for 3. The middle order, led by Buttler and Joe Root, attempted a recovery. Buttler struck a flurry of fours and sixes, reaching a 36\u2011ball fifty and becoming the first England player to surpass 10,000 runs in men\u2019s white\u2011ball internationals. However, Root was dismissed for 15 by bowler Sachindu Colombage.<\/p>\n<p>Buttler continued his assault, hitting two sixes in a single over from Colombage. Mid\u2011innings, he suffered a hamstring issue that required physiotherapy, and he retired hurt midway through the 38th over. Will Jacks contributed with boundaries, a six off Wellalage, and a leg\u2011before\u2011wicket decision that was overturned early in his innings. Rehan Ahmed\u2019s brief cameo ended with a five\u2011ball duck, caught down the leg side off Madushanka.<\/p>\n<p>With 63 runs required from the final ten overs, Jacks and Gus Atkinson steadied the chase, though Sri Lankan bowlers kept a tight line, denying boundaries for several overs and employing reverse swing and cutters. The required run rate climbed to 42 from the last five overs, then eased to 33 from the final 18 balls as England struggled to find the rope. Atkinson fell to Malinga, and Jacks managed a four off Fernando before Jamie Overton removed him. Jacks then hit a six in the same over to reach a 59\u2011ball fifty.<\/p>\n<p>Buttler returned to the crease despite limited mobility, but his attempts were thwarted. Malinga delivered a decisive over, conceding only a single run and taking the wicket of Jacks, who was caught deep while trying to clear the fence. England required 19 runs from the final over. Buttler attempted a leg\u2011side six off Madushanka but was caught deep, sealing England\u2019s defeat and confirming a series\u2011tying win for Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n<h2>Key Performances and Records<\/h2>\n<p>The match featured several notable individual achievements. Kusal Mendis\u2019 121 was the first ODI century by a Sri Lankan in England since Angelo Mathews in the 2019 World Cup. His partnership with Kamindu Mendis marked the first instance on the tour of two Sri Lankan batsmen reaching fifty in the same innings. For England, Jos\u202fButtler\u2019s fifty made him the first English player to accumulate more than 10,000 runs in men&#8217;s white\u2011ball internationals.<\/p>\n<p>Bowling figures also highlighted the contest. Sri Lanka\u2019s Dunith Wellalage claimed three wickets for 49 runs, while Eshan Malinga took two for 50. England\u2019s Rehan Ahmed recorded two wickets for 48 runs. The final scoreline read Sri Lanka 321\/6 (Kusal Mendis 121, Kamindu Mendis 54, Pavan Rathnayake 48) defeating England 305\/9 (Tom Banton 73, Jos\u202fButtler 69, Ben Duckett 69). The 16\u2011run margin set up a decisive third ODI at The Oval.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sri Lanka chased down 322 to beat England by 16 runs in Leeds, leveling the three\u2011match ODI series and sparking a decider at The Oval.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[299],"tags":[2388,1706,2386,2387,1400,1612],"class_list":["post-2219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-2026-series","tag-england","tag-kusal-mendis","tag-leeds","tag-odi","tag-sri-lanka","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2219"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2219\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}