In a series which has swung one way and then the other, it will all come down to the fifth and final ODI at Edgbaston on Tuesday, with England, heralding a new era with Peter Moores, desperate to end up on the winning side against Sri Lanka.
Where to Watch Live:
The final ODI is scheduled for a 2 pm BST (6.30 pm IST, 9 am ET) start with live coverage on Star Sports 2 and Star Sports HD2 in India. The decider can also be watched via live streaming online in India HERE. Catch the action live on TV on Sky Sports 2 in the UK, while viewers can also live stream the action HERE. Viewers in the US can watch the game on ESPN 3 while the action can also be live streamed HERE. Watch the match in Sri Lanka on CSN with the live streaming option HERE, while South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa viewers can view the match on SuperSport and live online HERE.
England came desperately close to sealing the series in the 4th one-day international against Sri Lanka at Lord's on Saturday, with Jos Buttler hitting England's fastest ODI century in just 61 balls.
Buttler's 74-ball 121 raised hopes of England coming out of nowhere and chasing down a target of 301, but the home side fell short by seven runs thanks to some brilliant death bowling from Lasith Malinga.
"It's a hell of an innings," England skipper Alastair Cook said after the narrow defeat. "He doesn't deserve to be on the losing side, playing like that. It's one of the best innings I've seen. I don't know where he gets his power from, it is an incredible talent to have. Having him coming in, you're never out of the game."
England will hope Buttler will not be left to do too much yet again, with coach Moores wanting his top order to fire in the decider. "Our batting has yet to fully fire at the top of the order, but we have at the back half," said Moores, under pressure to turn England's fortunes around as soon as possible. "We just have to put all that together tomorrow [Tuesday].
"We are desperate to get a series win. Would it be great? Of course it would be great. We would love it. When you go into any contest, you have always got to accept if they play well then you have got to take it on the chin. [But] we're pretty confident that if we play well we have got a good chance of a win."
Sri Lanka have also blown hot and cold in this series, with their last two matches perfect examples when they tumbled to a score of 67 in the third one-dayer, before posting 300 in the next. A little more consistency in all departments of the game will be needed as they look to seal another ODI series win in England.
Team news: England: Cook and Moores are unlikely to make any changes to the lineup, after falling marginally short of taking the series one match early.
Sri Lanka: All eyes will be on Sachitra Senanayake, who has been reported by the umpires and match referee for a suspect action after the 4th ODI in Lord's. Senanayake is available to play in the 5th ODI, but it will be interesting to see just how the off-spinner, Sri Lanka's most effective bowler of the series, handles the increased scrutiny.
Kusal Perera is likely to keep his place at the top of the order, with Lahiru Thirimanne, who struggled opening the innings in the first three matches, staying in the lower middle order.
Expected lineups: England: Alastair Cook (capt), Ian Bell, Garry Ballance, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Jos Buttler, Chris Jordan, James Tredwell, James Anderson, Harry Gurney.
Sri Lanka: Kusal Perera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews (capt), Lahiru Thirimanne, Nuwan Kulasekara, Sachitra Senanayake, Ajantha Mendis, Lasith Malinga.
