Sri Lanka levelled their three-match ODI series against England at 1-1 with a 16-run win at Headingley in Leeds on September 24, built around a captain's innings from Kusal Mendis and a bowling unit that held its nerve through a chaotic England chase.
Batting first, Sri Lanka posted 321 for 6, with Mendis reaching his century off 82 balls and finishing on 121 from 100 deliveries — his seventh ODI hundred, built on a string of boundaries and three sixes. Kamindu Mendis added a supporting 54 as Sri Lanka pushed well past 300, giving their bowling attack a total with real cushion.
Ben Duckett and Tom Banton put on 143 for the first wicket inside the opening 20 overs — 82 of it in the powerplay alone — dragging England within sight of an improbable chase. Duckett (67) and Banton (73) both fell in quick succession, but Jos Buttler (69) and Will Jacks (52) kept England in touch deep into the innings before Dunith Wellalage's 3 for 49 helped close the door. England finished on 305 for 9, 16 runs short. Buttler reportedly picked up a hamstring injury partway through his innings but batted on to the end, an issue that may be assessed before the decider.
England had won the series opener by 89 runs behind a Will Jacks five-wicket haul, so this result restores parity heading into the finale. The third and deciding ODI moves to The Oval in London on September 27, with both sides now needing to solve a venue that has produced two very different, high-scoring contests so far in this series.
Beyond the series scoreline, this was a proper arm-wrestle between two batting-heavy line-ups: Sri Lanka's top order piling on runs against an England attack missing the control to defend even 300-plus totals consistently, and England's middle order showing they can chase almost anything before falling agonisingly short. Whichever side sorts out its bowling execution at the death is likely to settle the series at The Oval.
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Scores and figures are verified against same-day match reports from Headingley, Leeds, current as of September 25, 2026.
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