Tom Curran's 4/35 puts England in the driver's seat in the 3rd ODI against Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan batsmen's struggles against a potent English attack continued in Sunday's final ODI. After Eoin Morgan won the toss and was elected to field first, Sri Lankan openers scored 19 runs in the first two overs and gave hope of resurgence to their fans.

But Chris Woakes bowled opposition skipper Kusal Perera in the 3rd over and it opened the floodgates. Wickets kept tumbling from that moment on as not a single batsman was able to settle down at the crease.

Chris Woakes(2/28) and David Willey(2/36) reduced Sri Lanka to 42/4 in their opening spell. Even Dhananjaya de Silva, who played a magnificent knock of 91 in the second ODI, failed this time as he got out by trying to pull a short ball off Woakes in the 9th over.

Oh @jbairstow21! 😱Scorecard/clips: https://t.co/litP0weU1U🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 #ENGvSL 🇱🇰 pic.twitter.com/AS1y93rmpM

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 4, 2021

Oshada Fernando(18) and Wanindu Hasaranga(20) stitched a mini partnership of 24 runs and stopped the flow of wickets for around six overs. Tom Curran(4/35) got involved in the action in the 15th over and dismissed Oshada Fernando to break the partnership. Tom Curran continued to strike with the ball and dismissed the next three batsmen to suck out the momentum and derail the Sri Lankan innings completely.

This is the first time Tom Curran's taken 3+ wickets in an ODI since May 2019, when he took four against Pakistan in the pre World Cup series. #ENGvSL

— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) July 4, 2021

Sri Lanka could only muster 166 before getting all-out in the 42nd over. Dasun Shanaka waged a lone battle at one end to give some respectability to the visitors' innings. He tried to farm the strike and managed to score some crucial runs in the company of tailenders.

Pace bowler Dushmantha Chameera(16 in 29 balls) lent a helping hand to Shanaka in the end. He stayed at the crease for a while and scored a few runs to reduce pressure on the all-rounder. Shanaka was left stranded on 48* when he ran out of partners.

Tom Curran comes back to form by picking up four wickets after indifferent form over the past 2 years

Tom Curran's Average Bowling Impact in ODIs is -5.2, the worst of any England bowler this century to play as often as he has. #ENGvSL

— Ben Jones (@benjonescricket) July 1, 2021

After enduring hard times over the past few years, Tom Curran got back amongst the wickets by bowling a beautiful spell today. He took crucial wickets by dismissing the opposition's middle-order batsmen to broke the backbone of their innings. The elder Curran brother missed out on a well-deserved five-wicket haul after the Sri Lankan tailenders showed some grit.

The England team are now the firm favorites to chase down this total and white-wash the Sri Lankan team for the first time in ODI cricket.

We need 167 to win 🏏Scorecard/clips: https://t.co/litP0vXjam🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 #ENGvSL 🇱🇰 pic.twitter.com/QGFTHIJHTa

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 4, 2021