Jos Buttler limped through the final overs at Headingley with a torn-up hamstring and a hopeless equation, and when he finally holed out for 69 attempting a six, England’s chase died with him. Sri Lanka won the second one-day international by 16 runs on Thursday, defending 321-6 as the hosts closed on 305-9, and the three-match Metro Bank series is level at 1-1 heading to a decider at The Oval on Sunday.
Kusal Mendis made 121 from the top of Sri Lanka’s innings and Dunith Wellalage took 3-49 to rip the heart out of an England reply that had begun at 143 without loss. Between them they turned a tour that had been a procession — England won all three T20 internationals and the first ODI by 89 runs at Chester-le-Street — into a genuine contest.
Buttler’s bravery, and the moment the chase turned
England were 254-4 in the 38th over, needing 68 from 75 balls with six wickets in hand, when Buttler set off for a second run and pulled up sharply, dropping to the turf clutching his left leg. A team spokesman later described it as a “left hamstring twinge”. He was 64 not out at the time and retired hurt, walking off with assistance.
The innings stalled immediately. England went more than 10 overs without a boundary as Sri Lanka’s seamers hit their lengths and squeezed the field, and by the time Buttler reappeared — unable to put weight through his front leg, barely able to hobble between the wickets — the requirement had ballooned to 27 from 14. He scraped three painful singles before swinging at Dilshan Madushanka in the final over and finding the rope.
Will Jacks, the hero of the opener with a maiden five-wicket haul, made 52 and swung to the end, but Sri Lanka’s death bowling was exceptional: boundary options shut down, yorkers landing, Madushanka finishing with 2-54. England’s collapse of three wickets for 14 runs in the middle overs, triggered by Wellalage, had already cost them the cushion a 143-run opening stand should have guaranteed.
Ben Duckett made 67 and Tom Banton 73 in that stand, and both fell to the same bowler. Wellalage bowled Duckett, stumped Banton, then trapped captain Harry Brook lbw to leave England 157-3 — three wickets in a spell that reframed the entire match.
Kusal Mendis sets the platform
Sri Lanka’s captain had been in and out of this tour through injury, having been replaced for the T20 leg, and he answered with the innings of the series. His 121 came from a base of control rather than violence — 14 fours and three sixes, the hundred arriving off 82 balls with a cover drive off Craig Overton — and it was his seventh in ODI cricket.
He added 137 for the second wicket with Kamindu Mendis, who made 54, after Pathum Nissanka fell for 25. Pavan Rathnayake’s 48 and Janith Liyanage’s 32 kept the acceleration going late, and 321-6 on a good Headingley surface under lights proved exactly par-plus.
England’s bowling was serviceable rather than sharp. Gus Atkinson and Rehan Ahmed took two each, and Jofra Archer — tireless across his spell, beating the bat repeatedly — was rewarded with only one. For the first time on this tour, England’s attack could not dictate terms.
What it means at The Oval
Sri Lanka have not won a bilateral ODI series in England since 2014, when they took a five-match series 3-2. Everything about this tour until Thursday suggested that record was safe: they had been beaten in every white-ball fixture, and the gap between the sides in home conditions looked structural rather than circumstantial. One innings from their captain and one spell from a 23-year-old left-arm spinner has put that streak within reach.
For England, the immediate concern is availability. Buttler, 36 and now playing purely as a batter under Brook’s captaincy, is highly unlikely to be fit for Sunday, and hamstring injuries of the kind that force a retirement mid-innings rarely clear inside three days. England’s middle order without him is thinner and younger than the one that started this series.
The wider context is the 2027 World Cup, and these are the fixtures where England are supposed to be establishing who bats where and who bowls at the death. On both counts Headingley gave uncomfortable answers:
- No boundary for more than 10 overs once the senior batter left the field
- 63 required from the last 10 with wickets in hand, and only 47 scored
- A 321 total conceded on a surface offering seam movement early
The Oval, traditionally England’s most reliable white-ball venue, now stages a series decider nobody expected.
Sources: [France 24 (AFP)](https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20260924-wellalage-and-mendis-star-as-sri-lanka-level-england-odi-series), [Arab News (AP)](https://www.arabnews.com/cricket/sri-lanka-beat-england-by-16-runs-after-121-by-captain-mendis-to-take-odi-series-to-a-decider-3003013), [The Gazette (PA)](https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/sport/national/26580477.jos-buttler-injury-scuppers-england-hopes-lose-second-odi-sri-lanka/), [ESPNcricinfo match centre](https://www.cricinfo.com/series/sri-lanka-in-england-2026-1496567/england-vs-sri-lanka-2nd-odi-1496589/live-cricket-score), [Wikipedia — Sri Lankan cricket team in England in 2026](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lankan_cricket_team_in_England_in_2026)
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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