All-round Dilshan Drives Sri Lanka to Series Win

Colombo: Tilakratne Dilshan score 101 and picked 3-37 as Sri Lanka defeated England by 87 runs in final ODI at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on Tuesday, clinch series by 5-2.

Kumar Sangakkara, playing his final one-day international on home soil, set a record for the most runs in a calendar year.

Sri Lanka continued to dominate the touring side, taking the series 5-2 in a warm-up for next year's World Cup.

The Sri Lankans posted an imposing total of 302 for six from their 50 overs and bowled out the English for 215 in the 46th over.

Sangakkara, who will retire from ODIs after next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, made 33 off 51 balls.

When he got to six, the 37-year-old broke Ricky Ponting's record for the most international runs, in all formats, for a calendar year. The former Australia captain scored 2,833 in 2005.

His dismissal had little impact on Sri Lanka's innings as Tillakaratne Dilshan scored a century in his 300th ODI.

Dilshan made 101 off 124 deliveries, featuring nine fours and one six, to register his 18th ODI hundred and pass 9,000 career runs.

Dinesh Chandimal (55 not out) and Thisara Perera (54) both knocked up half-centuries to take the total past 300, a target that proved too much for the struggling English side.

Beleaguered England captain Alastair Cook made a scratchy 32 and only Joe Root played a significant innings with 80, his second half century of a series in which he also made a hundred.

Root struck five fours in his 99-ball knock before falling lbw to Seekkuge Prasanna.

Dilshan, starring with both bat and ball, captured three wickets with his offbreaks.

Earlier, Sri Lanka have won the toss and have opted to bat.

England made two changes -- Alex Hales and Harry Gurney back in, for Ravi Bopara and Steven Finn. One change for host -- Dilruwan Perera for injured Senanayake.

Teams:

Sri Lanka: Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Angelo Mathews (Capt.), Dinesh Chandimal, Lahiru Thirimanne, Thisara Perera, Seekkuge Prasanna, Jeevan Mendis, Dilruwan Perera, Suranga Lakmal

England: Alastair Cook (Capt.), Moeen Ali, Alex Hales, Joe Root, James Taylor, Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler (wk), Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan, James Tredwell, Harry Gurney

Brief scores
Sri Lanka - 302/6 (Dilshan 101, Chandimal 55*, Thisara 54)
England - 215 (Root 80, Prasanna 3-35, Dilshan 3-37)
Result - Sri Lanka won by 87 runs