Kumar Sangakkara guides Sri Lanka to six-wicket win over England and to a 3-1 series lead

• Kumar Sangakkara scores 86 as Sri Lanka win fourth ODI in Colombo 
• England won the toss and scored 265 after electing to bat first
• James Taylor top scored with 90 as captain Eoin Morgan added 62 
• Sangakkara anchored Sri Lanka's response as they won by six wickets
• Sri Lanka take 3-1 series lead with three matches to play 
• Morgan rues England's lack of spinning options in defeat 

By Lawrence Booth for MailOnline

Published: 07:43 EST, 7 December 2014 | Updated: 09:58 EST, 7 December 2014

England’s hopes of a revival following Wednesday’s win in Hambantota lasted as long as it took Kumar Sangakkara to reassert his class in Colombo.

For Sri Lanka, Sangakkara’s effortless 86 meant a nigh-on uncatchable 3-1 series lead. For stand-in captain Eoin Morgan, who had watched his side blow a promising position with the bat, it was a reminder of just how thankless leadership can be.

Morgan did at least return to form himself, crashing 62 off 47 balls while others flailed around him. And there was a promising 90 off 109 from James Taylor, batting at No 3 as the order was rejigged in the absence of the suspended Alastair Cook.

But England must now win the last three games here to avoid another one-day series defeat. Even the few optimists to be found outside their dressing-room might struggle with that one.

The truth was that, from 170 for three in the 35th over, England ought to have batted themselves into a position of dominance.

Taylor, though, had just received treatment for cramp – a reflection both of Colombo’s cloying heat and the energy-sapping infectiousness of his batting.

Now he could only sky Ajantha Mendis into the covers. In the next over Ravi Bopara – having pleaded for a chance in the middle order – was tamely bowled by Tillakaratne Dilshan.

That sparked some dim batting from the rest, and it was left to Morgan, with 18 off the last over, to ensure the respectability of 265. But his late flurry – which lifts his record as captain to 427 runs at an average of 71 – briefly camouflaged another problem.

On a Premadasa pitch taking turn, Sri Lanka’s four spinners had picked up nine wickets between them. England, on the other hand, had again omitted off-spinner James Tredwell, preferring to take another look at the out-of-sorts Ben Stokes instead.

Chris Woakes removed Dilshan early, but the folly of England’s selection was underlined by a sharp-turning off-break from Moeen Ali which Kusal Perera edged to slip. 

Kumar Sangakkara's innings of 85 guided Sri Lanka to victory over England in the fourth ODI in Colombo

James Taylor anchored England's innings as he scored 90 from 109 deliveries

Alex Hales was sent back to the pavilion with a golden duck to his name by Dhammika Prasad

Moeen Ali hit three boundaries before being stumped by Sangakkara for 19

Mahela Jayawardene, back in the side after missing the third game to celebrate his daughter’s birthday, helped his old mate Sangakkara put on 96 – and captain Angelo Mathews finished the job with two balls to spare in front of a near full house.

It didn’t help that Stokes sent down only two overs, taking his series figures to 8-0-85-0. Earlier, he had made only six with the bat before top-edging a sweep. If a cricketer can unpick himself for a World Cup, Stokes is doing precisely that.

Taylor may just have gone in the opposite direction in the space of a single innings. In only his third one-day international – and his first against a team other than Ireland – he was nervous initially, but settled down with a mow for six over mid-wicket off Thisara Perera. 

Joe Root was bowled by Rangana Herath for 36 to leave England on 122 for three in the 26th over

Taylor celebrates his 50, but he had to depart for 90 after being catch by Kusal Perera

Ravi Bopara departed soon after Taylor as he was bowled by Tillakaratne Dilshan

Dilshan celebrates the wicket of Bopara to leave England at 173 for five in the 36th over

Stand-in captain Eoin Morgan made a valuable contribution of 62 down the order

Morgan and Jos Buttler got into a tangle when they collided in the middle of the wicket while running

Ajantha Mendis also disappeared over the ropes, and Taylor began to resemble the buccaneer who slashed three hundreds for Nottinghamshire in last summer’s Royal London One-Day Cup.

Not for the first time, the management will face a dilemma when they pick their team for Wednesday’s fifth game in Pallekele, when Cook – confirmed as captain for the World Cup – returns at the top of the order. 

That leaves Alex Hales vulnerable, only two matches after his much-trumpeted return. His golden duck here, edging a drive to slip, felt horribly anticlimactic, and he later dropped Mathews at third man as Sri Lanka’s chase neared its conclusion.

The other option would be to rest Joe Root, whose last two innings have brought him 48 not out and 36. 

Captain Morgan hit two sixes and a four in the last over to nudge England up to a total of 265

Chris Woakes picked up England's first wicket as he dismissed opener Dlishan for 16

Kusal Perera was the second wicket to fall for Sri Lanka as he was dismissed by Ali for 31

Mahela Jayawardene (left) and Sangakkara put on a 96-run partnership as Sri Lanka took command

Chris Jordan bowled Jayawardene for 44 to end his long partnership with Sangakkara

Sangakkara looked to be in complete control before picking out Woakes on the boundary for 86

Jordan's double scalp of Jayawardene and Sangakkara proved to be too little, too late for England

Either way, Cook remains the cog around which others must fit. Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Sportsweek programme, England’s former batting coach Graham Gooch summed up the situation.

‘The best thing is to somehow get Cook back in form to make him worthwhile of his place in the team,’ he said. ‘He can only open, and if he scores runs then all this talk will go away. I can't see him not playing and still being in the squad.’

For the time being, though, England will be nursing their disappointment that another one-day series is on the verge of passing them by.

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