Calcutta: Eoin Morgan hailed Alex Hales and Jason Roy’s unbroken 256-run stand that earned England an emphatic 10-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second ODI at Edgbaston on Friday.
Both openers registered unbeaten centuries as it turned out to be the highest total overhauled by a 10-wicket margin by any side in the history of ODI cricket.
“That chase was absolutely remarkable. I’ve never experienced anything like it.
“We were so in control without being reckless. Hales and Jason were outstanding. They were very imposing and they played brilliant, entertaining cricket,” captain Morgan was quoted as saying by a cricket-specific website.
England’s bowlers came in for praise as well for a much-improved performance that kept Sri Lanka to a total that was very much under par on an excellent batting surface.
“I said after Trent Bridge that we were way off with the ball,” Morgan said. “Here, I don’t think we did anything exceptional, but we did the basics well.
“It didn’t swing or nip off the seam and there are always huge challenges in one-day cricket when that doesn’t happen. But we starved them of runs. We banged out a length and we used our bouncers well. We built pressure that way which resulted in us taking wickets. It was brilliant.
“It was a lesson for us last year when we played against Australia. They are a really good side at doing that and we picked up what we needed to be better at.”
Roy, who got his second ODI hundred, also credited the bowlers for making the chase easier for batsmen.
“The bowlers kept Sri Lanka to a total where we didn’t feel under a huge amount of pressure going out there,” he said.
“So, a huge amount of credit must go to them.”
The victory left Morgan reflecting on England’s fortune in escaping with a tie from the first ODI in which they played “poorly” according to the skipper.
“I emphasised after that game that it was our get-out-of-jail card. We played very poorly as a team, but a few individuals performed exceptionally well and did enough so that we went unscathed.
“A six off the last ball doesn’t happen very often,” Morgan said.
Sri Lanka
K. Perera run out 37
D. G’thilaka c Buttler b Plunkett 22
B. Mendis lbw Plunkett 0
D. Chandimal run out 52
A. Mathews c Plunkett b Rashid 44
S. Prasanna c Willey b Rashid 2
U. Tharanga not out 53
F. Maharoof b Willey 2
S. Randiv not out 26
Extras (b-1, lb-13, w-2) 16
Total (for 7 wickets in 50 overs) 254
Fall of wickets: 1/39, 2/47, 3/77, 4/159, 5/163, 6/188, 7/191
Bowling: Willey 10-0-65-1, Woakes 8-0-36-0, Plunkett 10-0-49-2, Ali 9-0-41-0, Rashid 10-0-34-2, Root 3-0-15-0
England
J. Roy not out 112
A. Hales not out 133
Extras (lb- 3, w- 8) 11
Total (no loss; 34.1 overs) 256
Bowling: Maharoof 7-1-47-0, Lakmal 5-0-21-0, Randiv 8-0-62-0, Pradeep 4-0-31-0, Prasanna 8.1-0-78-0, Gunathilaka 2-0-14-0
MoM: J. Roy
