Buttler pulled up with England on 254 for 4, and Sri Lanka won at Headingley by 16 runs
Kusal Mendis made 121 and Dunith Wellalage took three wickets as Sri Lanka levelled the ODI series 1-1, with a decider at The Oval on Sunday.
Sep 25, 2026
England were 254 for 4 in the 38th over at Headingley, chasing 322 with Jos Buttler past fifty and going well. Then Buttler pulled up running between the wickets, clutching his left hamstring, and had to go off. England never got the chase back. Sri Lanka won the second ODI by 16 runs on Thursday, levelled the series at 1-1 and sent it to a decider at The Oval on Sunday.
It was a turnaround from Durham. Two days earlier at Chester-le-Street, England bowled Sri Lanka out for 176 and won by 89 runs. This time Sri Lanka batted first, made 321 and defended it.
Kusal Mendis sets it up
Kusal Mendis won the toss, chose to bat and then made 121, his seventh ODI hundred. He added more than 100 with Kamindu Mendis, who made 54 before Harry Brook caught him in the 30th over. Pavan Rathnayake’s 48 and a late 32 from Janith Liyanage pushed Sri Lanka past 320.
“Nothing special, basic cricket and I was very happy with 320,” Mendis said afterwards.
England’s fast start, then Wellalage
England’s openers made the target look small. Ben Duckett and Tom Banton had 82 on the board without loss after 10 overs and put on 143 for the first wicket. Duckett went for 67 and Banton for 73, and both fell to Dunith Wellalage, the left-arm spinner.
Wellalage then had Brook for 1, and England were 157 for 3. Joe Root made 15, but Buttler got going, and at 254 for 4 England were favourites again.
How the chase fell apart
Buttler’s injury changed the last 12 overs. Sri Lanka squeezed the runs, and England went ten overs with barely a boundary. Will Jacks got to 52 before he went, Rehan Ahmed made a duck, and Gus Atkinson and Jamie Overton could not add much. Buttler limped back out near the end but was out for 69. England finished on 305 for 9.
Wellalage ended with 3 for 49 from his 10 overs and Dilshan Madushanka took 2 for 54. For England, Rehan was the best of the bowlers with 2 for 48.
The Oval decider
England swept the T20I series 3-0 earlier this month, so this was the first time on the tour Sri Lanka have beaten them. The third ODI starts at 10.30am local time (3pm IST) on Sunday, 27 September, and England will probably be without Buttler. Brook said his side would go back to the drawing board before The Oval.
Sri Lanka’s plan is simpler: bat first if Mendis calls right, and hand Wellalage the middle overs again.