Dilshan set to sign off England series in style for Sri Lanka
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The Sri Lankan series has been lost, but England still need to take their final match on the subcontinent seriously, with World Cup spots up for grabs for those who impress.
Heading back to the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, where the first two matches of the series were held, England are on a two-game losing streak at the ground and, as our three best bets for the encounter indicate below, are in for another bumpy ride.
Angelo Mathews’ side have only lost once in their last seven ODIs at Colombo, with those victories coming against South Africa and Alastair Cook’s tourists.
In total, the Sri Lankans have won 60 of the 97 games played at the ground while England have triumphed in just four of their last 14 ODIs played anywhere and just two of the 12 they’ve appeared in at the Premadasa.
Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara may have taken the headlines in Sri Lanka’s series win so far, but 38-year-old Dilshan has been just as vital, if not more, to his side’s triumph.
Leading the side with nine wickets in the six matches so far and contributing two 50s in his total of 256 runs in the series, the second-most for the hosts, make him a leading candidate to sign off with the man-of-the-match award.
Although they won’t be returning with the silverware, it’s not been all doom and gloom for England on this tour.
Perhaps the most surprising element of their play has been the sudden discovery of their six-hitting ability, with Moeen Ali transforming the side into a rope-clearing force.
The visitors have easily accumulated more maximums than their hosts, with Ali contributing 12 of the side’s 29 and Sri Lanka managing just 13 so far.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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