Sri Lanka beat England in first ODI

The guests won by a narrow margin of 20 runs at the Lord's stadium on Saturday to mark a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

Sri Lanka beat England by 20 runs in the first one-day international at Lord's on Saturday to go 1-0 up in the five-match series.

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England, set 258 to win, finished on 237 for nine with Liam Plunkett 14 not out and Stephen Harmison five not out.

Sri Lanka elected to bat after losing the toss. The left-handed opener and man-of-the-match Upul Tharanga scored a one-day international career best of 120 in an innings where no other batsman made more than 24.

But Sri Lanka's total was boosted by an extras contribution of 42, including 23 wides.

It was the maximum number of extras England had conceded in a one-day international, surpassing the 41 they had conceded against Sri Lanka at Delhi in 1989/90.

In reply, opener Marcus Trescothick and James Dalrymple both made 67, the latter's score his best in one-day internationals, but it was not enough to save England from defeat.

The series continues at The Oval on Tuesday.