Harry Brook expressed his delight as England finally ended their long wait for an away one-day international victory, with Joe Root's masterful batting and a dominant spin attack proving decisive against Sri Lanka in Colombo.
England Level Series with Commanding Performance
The tourists secured a five-wicket win in the second ODI, successfully chasing down Sri Lanka's total of 220 to level the three-match series at 1-1. This victory marked England's first ODI triumph on foreign soil since Brendon McCullum assumed the dual role of Test and white-ball coach in January 2025, snapping an 11-match losing streak across all formats.
Root's Immaculate Innings Steers England Home
Joe Root's composed 75 runs anchored England's chase, with the former captain registering back-to-back half-centuries on this tour. Harry Brook, who contributed a valuable 42 runs and shared an 81-run partnership with Root, was effusive in his praise for his Yorkshire teammate's performance.
"His footwork and his ability of picking lengths is immaculate," Brook said of Root. "He's always looking for certain areas to score, boundary options and then his ability to get off strike as well is awesome so it's very good to watch from the other end and you can learn a hell of a lot from him."
Spin Attack Turns the Tables on Sri Lanka
England employed six different spinners who collectively bowled 41 overs, taking seven wickets for 130 runs. This strategic move effectively countered Sri Lanka's traditional strength on a turning Colombo wicket, restricting the hosts to a manageable target.
Brook specifically highlighted Adil Rashid's contribution, with the leg-spinner returning figures of two for 34. "Adil has been an awesome bowler for so many years now," Brook noted. "The challenge is to try and keep the stumps in play as much as possible on these surfaces and all of the spinners did that really well in this game."
Challenging Conditions Draw Criticism
Both Brook and Root were critical of the playing surface at the R. Premadasa Stadium, describing it as unsuitable for ODI cricket. England had suffered a 19-run defeat in Thursday's series opener on the same ground, undone by Sri Lanka's spinners on a similarly difficult wicket.
"It obviously wasn't a great wicket, it wasn't a very exciting game," Brook admitted. "You just couldn't really time the ball. It was just a matter of trying to get off strike and just take it as deep as possible."
Root echoed these sentiments in his post-match comments to TNT Sports, stating the pitch was "not a great wicket for ODI cricket."
Experimental Lineup Change Fails to Deliver
England were forced into one change due to Zak Crawley's knee injury, but surprised many by promoting 21-year-old spinning all-rounder Rehan Ahmed from number eight to opener for his first international appearance at the top of the order.
The gamble didn't pay dividends, with Ahmed bowled for 13 runs. Brook explained the thinking behind the move: "We wanted him to try and get us off to a flyer in the power play. Obviously, it didn't work tonight but he still got us off to a decent start."
Series Decider Looms in Colombo
The teams will now prepare for Tuesday's series decider at the same venue, with both sides having demonstrated their ability to exploit spinning conditions. England will be hoping to build on this momentum to secure their first ODI series victory in Sri Lanka since 2018, while the hosts will be determined to reclaim their advantage on home soil.
Brook expressed satisfaction with his team's response after the first match defeat: "Spin was probably the hardest bowling to face and the lads did an amazing job, all six spinners or however many spinners I bowled. It's nice to see that they kept us in the game for a long time and the Sri Lankans didn't really get away from us at any point."
