Joe Root made a measured 75 as England pulled off a comfortable run chase to beat Sri Lanka by five wickets in the second one-day international to square the three-match series.
Sri Lanka posted a relatively modest 219 after England’s spinners had turned the screw on a surface which offered appreciable turn.
Charith Asalanka top-scored for Sri Lanka, striking just one boundary in his 64-ball 45, while Dhananjaya de Silva chipped in with 40 on a day where strike-rates were largely an afterthought.
Veteran leg-spinner Adil Rashid bowled the most impressively for England as he finished with economical figures of 2-34 from his 10 overs while Root’s two overs at the end yielded 2-13.
Root’s patience at the crease, deft footwork and reading of spin made him the linchpin of England’s chase and once he settled in, Sri Lanka found it difficult to know where to bowl to him.
England’s all-time leading Test run-scorer shared stands of 68 with Ben Duckett, who made 39, and 81 with fellow Yorkshireman Harry Brook which broke the back of the reply.
Root’s innings had been chanceless until a yorker from Asitha Fernando hit him on the pad as he attempted to flick the ball off his toes.
He reviewed the decision to give him out lbw, but the ball-tracking technology came down in Sri Lanka’s favour and he was out on umpire’s call.
That left Brook and Jos Buttler to get the 42 runs required and nerves probably jangled when the England skipper misjudged a sweep on 42 and was lbw to Jeffrey Vandersay.
But Buttler (33* off 21 balls) put his foot on the accelerator to get England over the line with 22 balls to spare to wrap up their first win in 12 ODIs away from home.
