After sealing a convincing ODI series win against Sri Lanka, Eoin Morgan has admitted that it was nice to score some runs and added that the bowling unit had set the game up for them. He also insisted there would be changes for the 3rd ODI, keeping in mind the limited-overs series against Pakistan.
Sam Curran’s early jolt enabled England to get to the driver’s position in the second ODI at the Oval, with Sri Lanka reeling at 12/3. Even though Willey struck to make it 21/4, the partnership between Dhananjaya de Silva and Wanindu Hasaranga steered the visitors back in the game. Eventually, de Silva ended up scoring 91 as Sri Lanka got themselves a handy total of 241/9 after 50 overs.
While Sri Lanka only struck in the 13th over, with the Three Lions at 76, the quick twin blow gave the visitors the slimmest of opportunities against Eoin Morgan’s men. Having suffered a major dip in form, Morgan walked out at No.4, with a rare opportunity of handing his side a win with the bat. During the innings, the southpaw never missed an opportunity to score runs, with an unbeaten 75.
In the post-match presentation, Morgan admitted that it was nice to finally get some runs to his tally, after scores of 11, 1, 6 in his three outings against Sri Lanka in the home limited-overs series. Alongside that, the English skipper also lavishly praised the duo of Sam Curran and David Willey for setting the game up with their powerplay bowling.
“Nice to score some runs and make a contribution to a series win. Game was set up by the bowling unit, two left-armers swinging it early, and then the wicket became a bit flatter and slower and we had to sit in and build pressure to create chances,” Morgan admitted in the post-match, reported ESPNCricinfo.
While Morgan stated that ‘distractions’ as a skipper put him in a spot where he did not think too much about his batting, he admitted that he still isn’t striking the ball as sweetly as he should.
“Chasing down a target like that on a wicket like this should be reasonable. [Form?] It’s worked in my favour, distractions as a captain, to not think about your batting for some time. Still don’t think I’m striking it that well but nice to get some time in the middle,” he added.
With the final game of the series being a dead-rubber, Morgan insisted that there could be several changes in the English setup, with an eye on the Pakistan series. Throughout the series, the Three Lions have made interesting changes to their lineup, with Livingstone opening the batting in the second ODI.
“[Bristol] Think we’ll see more changes, only three days but also an eye on the Pakistan series, 50-over cricket is a chance to bring guys in. Always looking to grow and get better.”
The Player of the match, Sam Curran, who picked up his maiden fifer, stated that he hasn’t done anything differently, relying on the early swing to capture his wickets.
“Really special in front of fans as well. Awesome atmosphere. The ball swung quite consistently in the T20s too. I don’t know what changed, I haven’t done anything different (smiles). The more I play, the more I fail, I keep learning. The team bowled really well.”