SL vs ENG, 4th ODI : England register historic series win against Sri Lanka
Oct 11, 2007
Alastair Cook hit a masterly 80 as England thrashed Sri Lanka by five wickets in the fourth one-day international here Wednesday to clinch their first series win in the subcontinent for 20 years.
The 22-year-old left-hander shared a 110-run stand for the third wicket with Kevin Pietersen (63 not out) to give England a memorable win in the day-night game.
England last won a one-day series in the subcontinent in 1986-87 when they beat Pakistan 3-0.
After restricting Sri Lanka to a modest 211-9, England reached the target with 19 balls to spare for an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.
Earlier, the 29-year-old Sangakkara and Silva batted sensibly to put the innings back on the rails after the early setbacks.
The wicketkeeper-batsman reached his 41st fifty in one day internationals with a single off Bopara while Silva followed suit before falling to Broad for a 101-ball 67, including five fours.
Silva tried to play an uppercut to a wide bouncer, only for Bopara to take a fine running catch near the third man boundary.
Sangakkara fell to the same combination, with Bopara this time taking the catch near the square-leg fence. His 102-ball innings included four fours.
The last match of the series will be played at the same venue on Saturday.
4th ODI Colombo: England 212-5 beat Sri Lanka 211-9 by five wickets
Umpires: R E Koertzen, T H Wijewardene Sri Lanka: Tharanga, Jayasuriya, Sangakkara, M Jayawardene, Silva, Dilshan, Mubarak, Vaas, Malinga, D Fernando, Lokuarachchi England: Cook, Mustard, Bell, Pietersen, Collingwood, Shah, Bopara, Swann, Broad, Sidebottom, Anderson
