Sri Lanka win toss, elect to field against England in ODI Tri-Series

Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field against England in the ODI Tri-Series on October 29, 2026, with umpires already on the field as play was about to begin; Tom Banton and Ben Duckett were named to open for England and Asitha Fernando took the new ball for Sri Lanka.

Waqar Younis, pitchside, said the pitches in Lahore had been more fruitful for bowlers than those in Rawalpindi and that this surface had less grass and was nicely rolled; he added there would be something for the pacers early on but not much, and that the spinners would come into the game more. The umpires were out in the middle and Sri Lanka's players were seen huddled near the boundary ropes before taking the field.

Sri Lanka named an unchanged playing XI: Kamindu Mendis, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis (C/WK), Pavan Rathnayake, Sahan Arachchige, Janith Liyanage, Dasun Shanaka, Dunith Wellalage, Eshan Malinga, Asitha Fernando and Dilshan Madushanka.

England's playing XI was Tom Banton, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook (C), Jordan Cox (WK), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker (In for Jamie Overton) and Henry Crocombe.

Early match build-up included a delivery from Asitha Fernando to Tom Banton that was edged but fell just short, with commentary noting "Edged, but just short!" and reports that Asitha had the new ball in hand and was ready to bustle in.

Kusal Mendis explained the decision to field was influenced by the expected dew later in the evening and pointed to Sri Lanka's strong bowling performances in first innings so far in the series; he said Sri Lanka wanted to treat the contest like their previous matches, with the idea to win the game and carry momentum into the final, and confirmed they were going with the same XI.

Harry Brook acknowledged the series had not gone the way England wanted but said they needed to adapt to the conditions, that there were still positives and lessons to take, that winning games is always the goal, and that he hoped the learnings from this series would serve England well in the long run, particularly a year from now.