Sri Lanka's top order batsmen trumped England for the second straight game on Sunday en route to successfully chasing a target of 247 and moving into a 2-1 series lead. Mahela Jayawardene led from the front with 79 while youngster Dinesh Chandimal completed the job with an unbeaten 105.
After choosing to bat first, England relied heavily on captain Alastair Cook, who made a gritty, patient 119 from 143 balls with 13 fours to anchor the hosts' innings and bring a defendable total within reach. Kevin Pietersen made a breezy 41 but England's hopes of posting 275+ were rattled by the early dismissals of Craig Kieswetter (3) and Jonathan Trott (2). A total of 246-7 left the door open for the Sri Lankans.
Tim Bresnan pegged back Tillakaratne Dilshan's off stump early in Sri Lanka's reply but Jayawardene and Chandimal played with real confidence, taking on the short ball and exploiting the powerplay. Stuart Broad again and Jade Dernbach made few inroads as the tourists sauntered past the 100-mark in the 17th over. Well ahead of the rate and with nine wickets in hand, it was theirs to lose.
Even the lose of Jayawardene could not derail the Sri Lankans. Sangakkara steadied the ship alongside Chandimal and England never looked like a sparking the kind of collapse that was required for a comeback. The Sri Lankans created a little late drama as Angelo Mathews went into ultra-defensive mode to allow Chandimal to complete his ton but the tourists wrapped up the win with ten balls to spare.
The series now shifts to Trent Bridge on July 6 - and the England camp have some tough decisions to make over the coming days. The bowling attack has floundered since the first ODI and fresh legs and minds might be the only way to wrestle control back from the Sri Lankan batsmen.
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