2. Jason Roy and Alex Hales’ opening onslaught against Sri Lanka at Birmingham:
Sri Lanka, on an ordinary day at Birmingham, won the toss and decided to bat first. England bowled well as a unit to restrict them to a modest total of 254 runs. Upul Tharanga’s late order exploits with the bat helped the visitors gain important runs in the fag-end of the innings.
The second innings saw an awe-inspiring performance by the England opening duo of Jason Roy and Alex Hales, who plundered runs at such an ease to remain unbeaten till the end and win the game for their side by ten wickets.
The pair struck centuries and broke records of all sorts for highest partnership for first wicket for England. Sri Lankan bowlers had no answer to the onslaught produced by English batsmen as renaissance for the home side was once reasserted that they have come to terms with modern day game.
Once labeled as being laggard in ODIs, the chase characterized the paradigm shift in England management approach to put one-day cricket at par with Test Cricket.