England vs Sri Lanka, 4th ODI - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Alastair Cook won the toss and had no hesitation in asking Sri Lanka to bat first. England named an unchanged eleven while Kushal Perera and Ajantha Mendis replace Dinesh Chandimal and Rangana Herath for the visitors.

Teams:

England (Playing XI): Alastair Cook, Ian Bell, Gary Ballance, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Jos Buttler, Chris Jordan, James Tredwell, James Anderson, Harry GurneySri Lanka (Playing XI): Kushal Janith Perera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Mathews, Ashan Priyanjan, Nuwan Kulasekara, Sachithra Senanayake, Lasith Malinga, Ajantha Mendis

Kusal Perera, who was sent to open the innings along with Tillakaratne Dilshan, got Sri Lanka off to a positive start. The left-hander, who started off in style with back-to-back boundaries off James Anderson in the opening over, also rotated the strike well to keep the scorecard ticking. The first maximum of the innings came in the 4th over when Perera nonchalantly dismissed Harry Gurney over deep mid-wicket - much like how Sanath Jayasuriya used to do in his prime. While the runs came at a steady rate, the running between the wickets was not all that good as there were quite a few yes-and-no's. Luckily for the openers, there was no damage done as Sri Lanka moved to 26/0 after 5 overs.

Perera's promising stay came to an end when he fell to Gurney in the 6th over. The left-hander tried to pull a delivery that was short and wide outside-off, but he ended up getting a bottom edge. The ball travelled to the left of Chris Jordan, who took a good low catch at first slip. The bowler finished the over with a wicket maiden.

Dilshan extended his good form as he dealt in regular boundaries to help Sri Lanka forward. While Gurney kept things tight at his end with a second consecutive maiden, Anderson was in for some treatment from the right-hander. Dilshan pulled one to the square leg boundary in the 7th over before playing back-to-back 'Dil-scoops' off Anderson's next, which yielded two more fours. Meanwhile, Kumar Sangakkara was finding it hard to get a move on and remained on nought for 12 deliveries before getting off the mark with a single off Joe Root in the 11th over. A single for Dilshan in the same over helped Sri Lanka to the 50-run mark.

Sangakkara tried many times to up the ante but he could not find the boundaries. The left-hander finally managed one, off his 27th delivery, when he pulled a Jordan delivery very fine in the 16th over. He took a single off the next ball in the same over to bring up the fifty-run stand as Sri Lanka moved to 77/1 after 16.

Dilshan and Sangakkara were laying a good platform for Sri Lanka to get to a commanding total. Sangakkara, who grew in confidence as he spent some time in the middle, improved his strike-rate when he scored three boundaries on the trot in the 18th over, which was bowled by Root before scoring a four off Tredwell in the 20th over. The left-hander hit his sixth boundary off Ravi Bopara in the 20th over to help Sri Lanka past the 100-run mark.

There was nothing in the pitch for the England bowlers as Sangakkara and Dilshan accumulated the runs with ease. Even the medium-pace of Bopara could not keep the Lankan pair quiet as they managed a four each in the 22nd over - which yielded 11 runs - to take their partnership closer to the 100-mark. A single for Sangakkara off Jordan in the 24th over helped the wicket-keeper batsman bring up his 86th ODI fifty. Dilshan too took a single in the same over to register his 36th half-century in the 50 over version and also brought up the century stand for the 2nd wicket. Sri Lanka were 131/1 after 24 overs.

This was Sangakkara's 104th fifty + score, which helped him to the third spot of most fifty + scores in ODIs, below Tendulkar (145) and Ricky Ponting (112). This century partnership between Sangakkara and Dilshan was their 14th in the 50-over version, equalling the most century stands by a Lankan pair - Sanga-Mahela(14), Atapattu-Jayasuriya(14). Tendulkar-Ganguly (26), Gilchrist-Hayden(16) and Greenidge-Haynes(15) occupy the top-three spots for most century stands by a pair in ODIs.

While trying to stop a ball off his own bowling in the 35th over, Root dived on Dilshan's legs. The batsman, who tripped and hurt his ankle, needed some assistance from the physio. Meanwhile, Sangakkara continued confidently as he entered the 90s in the same over with a four off the part-timer.

Dilshan, who appeared to be struggling with his ankle, decided to go for boundaries. He managed one off Anderson in the 36th over, heaving it wide off mid-on. However, trying to play the dil-scoop in the same over resulted in his downfall as he missed the ball completely and was bowled. The opener made his way back on 71 off 109, bringing the partnership worth 172 runs to an end.

A single for Mahela Jayawardene off Jordan in the 37th over helped Sri Lanka bring up the 200. Sangakkara took a couple off Jordan's first delivery in the 39th over to register his 19th hundred in ODIs. This was his second hundred against England in the 50-over format and his first at Lord's in any format. England, meanwhile, did a tidy job in the batting powerplay and also managed to send back Mahela. The right-hander tried to hit Gurney over mid-off in the 40th over but could not time it properly and hit it straight to Anderson to depart on 7. Only 24 runs came for Sri Lanka in the batting PP as they moved to 217/3 after 40 overs.

A master-class from Sangakkara came to an end when he was smartly stumped by Jos Buttler off Tredwell for 112. Spotting that the batsmen was looking to give the charge at him, Tredwell fired one full and well outside the line of off-stump. Sangakkara's epic knock included 14 fours and came from just 107 balls. This was also his first ton in any form of the game at Lord's. Sri Lanka were 240/4 after 44 overs.

Lahiru Thirimanne, who came down the order in this game, scored some useful boundaries to help Sri Lanka forward. He was given good support by Angelo Mathews as they helped Sri Lanka past the 250-mark in the 46th over. They added 28 runs before the partnership came to an end when the left-hander fell to Anderson on 16. The batsman mistimed a pull and Gary Ballance took a diving catch at short fine-leg, just inches off the ground. The fielder was unsure if he had taken the catch and the decision was referred upstairs. The third umpire felt that Ballance had taken it cleanly and sent the batsman back. This was the 8th time that Anderson dismissed Thirimanne across all three formats. Sri Lanka moved to 267/5 after 47 overs.

Mathews took over after Thirimanne's dismissal, scoring back-to-back fours off Gurney in the 48th over. However, the Lankan captain had to depart on 30 in the next over - he tried to go for a big one over mid-wicket off Jordan but mistimed it completely and Anderson took a good catch at mid-on. The bowler picked up his second wicket by castling Nuwan Kulasekara on nought in the same over. Sachitra Senanayake managed to clear a Jordan delivery over the straight boundary and hit Gurney for a boundary in the final over. However, a couple of wickets also went down in that over - first Ashan Priyanjan (9) and then Senanayake (12). Ajantha Mendis managed to squeeze the final delivery to the third man fence to help Sri Lanka to 300/9. Gurney finished with figures of 4/55.