London: A new-look England unexpectedly gave Sri Lanka its first defeat in a one-day international this year, an impressive 81-run thrashing in a rain-interrupted match at The Oval on Thursday.
Chris Jordan, in his ninth ODI, starred for England, first with 38 runs off 13 balls to put pressure on Sri Lanka's chase, which he undermined with three wickets for 38 runs.
Thanks to Jordan and Jos Buttler plundering 54 off the last four overs, England posted a challenging 247-6 off 39 overs. Set 259 to win on the Duckworth/Lewis method, Sri Lanka started badly and slowly, and another rain delay put the winning target well out of reach. The visitors were all out in 28 overs for 144.
The second match of five is on Sunday.
