Sri Lanka emerge winners in a nail biting encounter - The 1st ODI match of the 7 match series was played at R Premadasa Stadium. In this match the Sri Lankans were down trodden in confidence as they were coming fresh from losing 5 matches against Indians. The team needed a win to gain the confidence back. In the 1st match the England team won the toss and decided to field first.
Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kusal Perera gave the team a good start taking the team to a score of 120 runs in 22.2 overs. Perera after scoring 59 runs lost his wicket due to a run out. Later Mahela Jayawardene accompanied Dilshan and took the score to 204 runs in 37.1 overs. Dilshan after scoring 88 runs lost his wicket to Chris Woakes. The stage was set for the batsmen to take charge and the team did exactly what was required by them. They tail-enders batted well to take the team to a score of 317 runs in the end of 50 overs. Jayawardene scored 55 runs. James Tredwell was the best bowler on this day as he took 2 wickets giving away runs at 5.2 runs per over.
The England team wanted a good start in order to reach the score in a pitch which supported batting. Alastair Cook and Moeen Ali scored 51 runs for the team in 6 overs. Cook lost his wicket in the 1st ball of the 7th over. Ian Bell joined Ali in the pursuit of a victory but he too didn’t last long as he lost his wicket in the 16th over after scoring 35 runs. The Sri Lankans made their way back into the match taking few quick wickets but Ali and Ravi Bopara made sure that the cause was not lost and they together took the team close to the winning total. Ali scored 119 runs while Bopara scored 65 runs. The Sri Lankan bowlers held their nerves and were able to bowl England out at a score of 292 runs in 47.1 overs thus winning the 1st match by a small margin. Thisara Perera took 3 wickets for the team. Dilshan was named as the man of the match as Sri Lanka led the series 1-0.