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England vs Sri Lanka 2016, 5th ODI at Cardiff, Predictions and Preview: Who will have the last laugh?

England have already won the ODI series by 2-0 and will be looking to extend their lead further

England will aim for clean sweep while Sri Lanka will want to end the series on positive note © Getty Images
England will aim for clean sweep while Sri Lanka will want to end the series on positive note © Getty Images

England will be looking to wrap up the ODI series with another win. They have already won an unassailable 2-0 lead and will be determined to make it 3-0. England have dominated Sri Lanka with an exception of first ODI where they were taken aback by the hosts. The game resulted in a tie, thanks to Liam Plunkett’s last ball heroics. Sri Lanka have been far from impressive in the tournament so far. They lost the grip over the 1st ODI after sending six batsmen back to the pavilion under 100 runs while chasing 286. They let Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes pick up ones and twos and lay the foundation for a big partnership, which eventually resulted in a tie. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: England vs Sri Lanka, 5th ODI at Cardiff

In the second ODI, England outclassed Sri Lanka in every department of the game. They decimated Sri Lankan bowling attack and won the game by 10 wickets with the help of Jason Roy and Alex Hales. Both the openers scored unbeaten centuries, paving way an easy win with 95 balls to spare. The target was not small though, England were given a target of 255 at Trent Bridge. ALSO READ: England finally find competitive opening pair in ODIs; worries remain in Tests

Third ODI might have been different with Sri Lanka putting pressure on England right from the beginning but rain played spoilsport at Bristol. The game was called off in the second innings. Sri Lanka managed to score 248 in the first innings with the help of half centuries from Dinesh Chandimal, skipper Angelo Mathews and Seekuge Prasanna. They were also able to take Hales’ wicket early on but rain disrupted play and spoiled Sri Lanka’s chances of winning their first match of the tour.

Sri Lanka have improved significantly after Test series but still have failed to make an impact in the ODI series. Mathews has been in good form throughout the series having scored 240 runs at an average of 80 in four matches with the help of three half centuries. Chandimal has also played well with 214 runs in four matches at an average of 53.50. They have not been able to impress with the ball except first ODI.

England on the other hand, had a slight hiccup in the first ODI. They were back to winning ways in the second ODI. Jason Roy has been in exceptional form this tournament with two centuries to his name already. He has amassed 282 runs in four games at an average of 141. He was the sole reason England were able to seal the series in the previous game, laying the foundation for the chase and scoring 162 at a rapid pace. He has been playing fearlessly, trying to attack the ball from early stages of the game.

This ODI series has featured the return of two veterans- Farveez Maharoof and Liam Plunkett. The better of the two is clearly Plunkett being the highest wicket-taker of the tournament with seven wickets to his name unlike Maharoof who has a single wicket. Plunkett also impressed everyone with his hard hitting skills in the first ODI by scoring 22 from 11 balls, including six of the last ball to tie the game. Whereas Maharoof has managed to score only 41 in three innings.

It is quite likely that England will win the last match seeing the kind of form they are in. However, Sri Lanka will be looking to earn respect by winning the last ODI as the tour is drawing towards its end. After the ODI series there will be a single T20I played between the two sides.

Squads:

England: Eoin Morgan (c), Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Joe Root, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett, Steven Finn, Jonny Bairstow, Chris Woakes, James Vince.

Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (c), Kusal Perera, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Dasun Shanaka, Seekkuge Prasanna, Upul Tharanga, Dhananjaya de Silva, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Thirimanne, Farveez Maharoof, Suraj Randiv.

Time: 15.00 IST | 12.30 local | 09.30 GMT

(Arun Rawal, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a daydreamer, movie buff, and cricket fanatic. He could not play cricket, so did the next best thing, writing for it. He loves to play the flick shot over square leg, and believes Sachin Tendulkar is God. His twitter handle is @ArunRawal93

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