Root and Taylor ace 240 chase

Dec 10, 2014

England opted to field in Pallekele and made an early breakthrough as Steven Finn dismissed Kusal Perera in his first over•Getty Images

But had to depart for 35 after dragging on aiming an expansive drive•AFP

He added 85 for the fourth wicket in the company of Angelo Mathews•Getty Images

Thisara Perera slammed 27 off 17 to give Sri Lanka a lift, but a late burst from Woakes cleaned up the tail. Sachithra Senanayake had no answer to the seamer's pace and movement•Getty Images

When England eventually took to the field, they were rocked by two early blows. Moeen Ali misread Sachithra Senanayake's turn to be bowled for 4•Getty Images

Joe Root provided him ample support during a 104-run stand •Getty Images

Tillakaratne Dilshan struck several boundaries early on•Getty Images

Chris Woakes had Mahela Jayawardene edge to slips, as Sri Lanka fell to 59 for 3•Getty Images

Chris Jordan made the breakthrough, luring Mathews to a pull which was caught at long leg•Getty Images

And neither did Ajantha Mendis•Getty Images

Senanayake followed it up with the wicket of Alastair Cook, as England fell to 35 for 2•Getty Images

England lost three wickets towards the end, but Root stayed firm, stroking his way to a third ODI hundred to seal a five-wicket win for his team. Sri Lanka, though, still lead the seven match series 3-2•Getty Images

Kumar Sangakkara led a recovery, stroking 10 fours•Getty Images

Sangakkara carried on, but fell nine runs short of a ton as England's seamers kept pegging the hosts back•Getty Images

Woakes went on to collect 6 for 47, as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 239. Persistent rain, however, pushed the match to a reserve day•Getty Images

James Taylor counterattacked by notching his second consecutive fifty. His 68 included five fours and a six•Getty Images