The third and the final day of the Sri Lanka vs England Indoor Cricket series concluded on Sunday at the Austasia Indoor Cricket Stadium at Thalawathagoda. The home team dominated the tour and today was no different as Sri Lanka thrashed England in the final game whitewashing the series 6-nil.
Read – Englishmen thoroughly outplayed by Sri Lankan Indoor Cricket team
Sri Lanka vs England (5th test)
The England Indoor cricket team lost their 5th consecutive match to Sri Lanka by 7 runs this morning. The visitors who were yet to make an impact on this series, won the toss and elected to bowl first. The Lankan openers Kolitha Hapuarachchi and Kamal Kuruppu got off to a good start making 22 for the opening partnership which was followed by some useful contributions from their middle and lower order batsmen.
They put on a healthy total of 79 runs on the board at the end of 16 overs. Tharindu Mendis top scored for the home side with 19 runs ably assisted by Malshan Rodrigo who scored 18. Anish Patel was the main contributor with the ball as he picked 2 for 0 as the other bowlers supported with a wicket each.
England failed to put up a solid opening, losing their first wicket for just one run. But Sam Stuckes who impressed with the bat in the previous outing, contributed yet again. His 34-run partnership with Blake Van Der Linde for the 2nd wicket was the only useful contribution for the Englishmen. Their latter order batsmen failed to capitalize on this as they managed just 72 runs in their full quota. Sam top scored with 22 runs. In the bowling front, the off-spinner Gihan Gunatilake picked up 3 wickets for -5 runs. However Stuckes won the man of the match award for his batting.
Match Replay – Sri Lanka vs England – Indoor Cricket Series 2018 – 5th Test
Sri Lanka – 79 runs – T.Mendis 19, M.Rodrigo 18, A.Patel 2 for 0, Mubeen Rashid 1 for 7.
England – 72 runs – Sam 22, M.Rashid 19, G.Gunathilake 3 for -5, T.Mendis 2 for 7.
Sri Lanka vs England (6th test)
The final match of the tour saw Sri Lanka beating England convincingly by 28 runs this evening. England choose to bat first as their opening pair made 18 runs. Then Stuckes and Blake who were the best pair for the visitors in the ongoing series put on 35 runs.
But like the 5th test, the lower order batsmen couldn’t carry the momentum set by their top order batsmen as they finally reached 72 runs in their 16 overs. Stuckes once again top scored for England with 18 runs where his partner Blake scored 17. Kolitha Hapuarachchi was the pick of the bowlers for the home side as he picked up 3 wickets for 4 runs.
Sri Lankan came out to bat to chase a modest total, but England gave them a hard time. Running between the wickets made a huge impact on the Sri Lankan score as they gifted 3 run outs in the space of 4 overs scoring just 11 runs in that time. But their latter order batsmen found some consistency as they scored 28, 26, and 35 to over-haul the England score in just 16 overs.
Chrishantha Peiris top scored with 18 runs while Salman Faris and Tharindu Mendis scored 17 runs each to anchor the chase. Blake and Anish Patel picked up 2 wickets each for the English. Kolitha received the man of the match award for his excellent bowling.
Match Replay – Sri Lanka vs England – Indoor Cricket Series 2018 – 6th Test
ENG- 72 runs – Stuckles 18 , Blake 17, Kolitha 3 for -4
SL- 100 runs – C.Peiris 18 , S.Faris 17 , T.Mendis 17 , A.Patel 2 for 3 , Blake 2 for 7
Other matches:
Sri Lanka Development vs England Lions (4th match)
ENG LIONS – 67 – Raja Shahzeb 23, Gav Huskinson 13, Fouzan Hamza 2 for -1, Shakila Perera 2 for 3.
SLPB – 55 – Sheehan Wijetunga 19, Charuka Raveen 11, Qasim Tanvir 4 for -10, Ben Lapworth 3 for -4.
Sri Lanka Development vs England lions (5th match)
ENG LIONS – 38 – Will Robottom 13, Ranushka Perera 3 for -6, Thiwanka 3 for -6
SLPB – 92 – Sheehan Wijetunga 26, Ravindu Siriwardana 18, James Hunt 2 for -1
Srilanka Masters vs England Masters (4th match)
SL MASTERS – 103 – Malik Ahamadeen 28 , Riyad 22 , Naeem Iqbal 4 for -9 , Steve Bulger 2 for 7
ENG MASTERS – 42 – Steve Bulger 23, Sachithra Siribaddana 5 for -13 , Thiran Thenabadu 3 for -1
Series Awards:
- Man of the Series – Sam Stuckes (Eng) 101 runs and took 6 wickets.
- Best Batsman – Sam Stuckes (Eng) 101 runs
- Best Bowler- Kolitha Hapuarachchi (SL) 11 wickets.
