Sri Lanka, England close Rawalpindi leg in search of first points

Big picture: Familiar opponents clash

It is barely a month since these teams duked it out to bring down the curtain on the English season. On Thursday, Sri Lanka and England reunite in Rawalpindi in this novel tri-series.

After starting their respective schedules with defeats to Pakistan - who effectively now have one foot in next Saturday's final - they have the honour of closing out the Rawalpindi leg of this exhibition. With plenty of manouvering of positions to be done, jeopardy is minimal. The beauty of the tri-series is you don't need to be the best team to make the final, just least bad. Thursday is a chance for one of these sides to take that first positive step.

Both fell short of 300-ish targets, though Sri Lanka's 37-run defeat was the smaller margin. They tripped up from 210 for 4 in pursuit of 306; England at 120 for 1, with 183 required and a handy 190 balls left to clear them, fell short by 87.

It was as the northern hemisphere summer turned cold that these two met, Harry Brook's charges emerging with as comfortable a 2-1 series win as there could be. Victories by 89 and 223 runs sandwiched a Sri Lankan equaliser in the second ODI at Headingley inspired by a captain's 121 from Kusal Mendis.

Speaking after Tuesday's match, Brook was full of praise for Arafat Minhas' match-turning 6 for 40 in the chase, though admitted he felt England's batters played the left-arm spinner a little too carefully. It is not the first time a member of this England group - player or staff - has wondered out loud if the root cause for a defeat was a lack of aggression. But he does have a point.

You could also argue that Brook's on-field captaincy let Pakistan's lower middler order get away from England and breach 300. Only Will Jacks and Jamie Overton bowled their allotted 10 overs, and the decision to bowl Joe Root for the 46th over - which went for 12 - was a needless risk to take.

Sri Lanka's spinners, particularly left-arm orthodox Dunith Wellalage, who took 3 for 49 in that Leeds win, and leg spinner Sachindu Colombage, will be primed for a more confrontational England. And indeed their own batters might be wondering if their chase slipped for similarly conservative reasons.

Form guide

Sri Lanka: LLWLW (Last five completed matches, most recent first)
England: LWLWW

In the spotlight: Adil Rashid and Avishka Fernando

It was a less than glorious return for Adil Rashid on Tuesday. A hand injury kept him out of the Sri Lanka series that closed the English summer but the leg spinner was back in the ranks and… struggling to make an impact. Rashid laboured through eight overs for 55, 24 of those from the blade of Hasan Nawaz, with the 24-year-old hitting three of his four sixes in his 79 off Rashid. For the fourth time in as many ODIs - three against India this summer - Rashid was not asked to bowl his full allocation. At 38, it is not unreasonable to wonder if his powers are waning, and how much lower they may dip by next winter's ODI World Cup. A more accomplished showing should allay those fears for a bit.

Avishka Fernando's first ODI appearance since February 2025 did not last long, bounced out after nine balls by Naseem Shah. Had Pathum Nissanka been fit, it is unlikely he'd have played against Pakistan for his 52nd cap, but the 28-year-old has another chance to restate his case after earning a recall on domestic form. A clean boundary striker, Sunday's sighter - however brief - needs to be channeled on what is expected to start out as another true batting surface.

Team news

Predicting Sri Lanka XIs is a lottery, but they will no doubt seek to replicate Minhas' joy but reinstalling Wellalage. Sahan Arachchige may be the likeliest to sub out.

Sri Lanka (probable XI): 1 Avishka Fernando, 2 Kamindu Mendis 3 Kusal Mendis (capt, wk), 4 Pavan Rathnayake, 5 Sahan Arachchige/Dunith Wellalage, 6 Janith Liyanage, 7 Dasun Shanaka, 8 Sachindu Colombage, 9 Eshan Malinga, 10 Asitha Fernando, 11 Dilshan Madushanka

Consistent selection, particularly with the impetus on role definition, means that England are likely to go again with the same XI that fell short on Tuesday. That being said, there will be a strong temptation to pull the chord on Josh Tongue for Sonny Baker.

England (probable XI): 1 Tom Banton, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Joe Root, 4 Harry Brook (capt), 5 Jordan Cox (wk), 6 Sam Curran, 7 Will Jacks, 8 Jamie Overton, 9 Gus Atkinson, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Josh Tongue

Pitch and conditions: Score 300, ignore the dew?

Both teams opted to bowl first because of the dew anticipated with these 1pm starts. And while it did arrive, it did not have the desired effect on Pakistan's bowlers. One imagines neither will veer from chasing should they win the toss, but some variable bounce at the back end of both matches suggests these Rawalpindi surfaces do act up under lights. The last few days have been something of a throwback - stretch over 300 and you're favorites.

Quotes

"It feels like that's probably the most convincing loss we've had since last year some time… that's a good sign in one way."
Harry Brook on England bouncing back from their opening defeat to Pakistan