England seal Sri Lanka tie in last-ball thriller

Tailender Liam Plunkett hit a six off the last ball of the match as England achieved a remarkable tie in the first one-day international against Sri Lanka in Nottingham on Tuesday.

England, set 287 to win, collapsed to 30 for four and 82 for six.

But a stand of 138 between man-of-the-match Chris Woakes, who made an ODI-best 95 not out, and Jos Buttler (93) revived their chances.

After England had seen their hopes of victory disappear in a final over where they needed 14 to win, Plunkett drove the last ball from Nuwan Pradeep for a six over long-off to the delight of a capacity crowd at Trent Bridge.

England finished on 286 for eight in just their eighth tie at this level, with Sri Lanka having thrashed them by nine wickets in their previous ODI encounter in Wellington at the 2015 World Cup.

Woakes and Plunkett put on an unbroken 50 in 28 balls.

"It was nice to get that one out," Plunkett told Sky Sports.

"Woakesy put us in a great position and we bat all the way down.

"It's good for the team... if you have a wobble up top you can carry on."

England captain Eoin Morgan added: "Jos Buttler, Chris Woakes and Liam Plunkett have got us out of a hole at the end.

"Jos Buttler called on his experience to guide the innings through and Chris Woakes played out of his skin."

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews top-scored for his side with 73 and Seekkuge Prasanna blasted a quickfire 59 after England captain Eoin Morgan won the toss.

Warwickshire all-rounder Woakes took two for 56.

Mathews then took two early wickets as England collapsed before they bounced back under the floodlights.

"I thought we had the game in the bag for most of the overs," said Mathews.

"Unfortunately the yorker fell just off line and went for a six.

"For Pradeep, it happens. Unfortunately for bowlers, it happens."

England would have been happy with a target of 287 on a ground where last year they made 350 for six against New Zealand - their highest winning score batting second in an ODI.

But it looked an imposing total as they lost four wickets inside nine overs.

Jason Roy (three) was plumb lbw to Mathews.

Fellow opener Alex Hales (four) fell on his Nottinghamshire home ground when he chipped Suranga Lakmal to mid-wicket.

Joe Root (two) then played on to medium-pacer Mathews.

Root's Yorkshire colleague Jonny Bairstow, recalled to one-day duty after a superb return of 387 runs, including two hundreds, during England's preceding 2-0 Test series win over Sri Lanka, holed out for three after being dropped on nought.

Shanaka catch

Morgan made a brisk 43 before he was caught behind off Pradeep, who then removed Moeen Ali to leave England in dire straits at 82 for six.

But Buttler went to a run-a-ball fifty with a straight six off Prasanna.

Buttler eventually fell when a leaping Dasun Shanaka at long-on pulled down what looked like a six off leg-spinner Prasanna.

Woakes and Plunkett got England's target down to 30 off the last two overs.

And that became 14 off the last six balls.

Woakes took two off the first ball before digging out a yorker for a single that left Plunkett on strike.

Plunkett's one got Woakes facing again but he couldn't manage a run and England needed 10 off the last two balls.

England's ninth-wicket duo scrambled a three to leave them wanting six off the last ball for a tie with Plunkett facing.

But the fast bowler connected sweetly to finish on 22 not out.

Woakes, who might not have played had injured fellow all-rounder Ben Stokes been fit, faced 92 balls.

Earlier, Mathews and Prasanna took Sri Lanka to a competitive total with a fifth-wicket stand of 68.

Prasanna cemented his big-hitting reputation with four sixes in five balls before he was caught and bowled by Woakes.

The five-match series continues with another day/night clash at Edgbaston on Friday.

PREVIEW

England's one-day captain Eoin Morgan said he hopes the Test series win against Sri Lanka will provide the foundations for victory in the shorter format of the game, starting with the first ODI at Trent Bridge on Tuesday.

England have recalled Jonny Bairstow into the ODI side following his superb form, which saw him named man of the series  in the 2-0 Test series victory against the Sri Lanka.

"It's an unbelievable start. Cookie (Test captain Alastair Cook) hands the baton over to me and hopefully I don't let him down," Morgan told reporters on Monday.

"Confidence is a big thing, and it's crucial to build on that confidence we've had going forward."

Morgan added that the absence of hard-hitting all-rounder Ben Stokes through injury would be a big blow for the side.

"It does affect us because Ben bats at five, doing both roles very well," he added.

"We don't have an answer to back up at the moment, but it does create an opportunity for someone else."

Sri Lanka will have to cope without paceman Shaminda Eranga, who was banned for an illegal action by the International Cricket Council on Sunday just hours after he had been taken to hospital to undergo tests on his heart.

Morgan said that though conditions have posed a challenge to Sri Lanka, he expects a tough fight in the shorter format of the game.

"They (Sri Lanka) have found it tough work since they came here, but ODI cricket comes more naturally to them," he said.

"They are ranked above us, so we won't take them for granted and we are looking to ourselves to build and put performances in."

England play Sri Lanka in five ODI's and a one-off Twenty20 game in Southampton on July 5.

Squads

England: Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Chris Jordan, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, James Vince, David Willey, Chris Woakes

Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (capt), Lahiru Thirimanne, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Perera, Danushka Gunathilaka, Upul Tharanga, Dhananjaya de Silva, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal, Kusal Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Farveez Maharoof, Suraj Randiv, Seekkuge Prasanna

Fixtures

1st ODI: June 21 in Nottingham

2nd ODI: June 24 in Birmingham

3rd ODI: June 26 in Bristol

4th ODI: June 29 at The Oval

5th ODI: July 2 in Cardiff

T20: July 5 in Southampton

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