Sam Curran said he felt “pure elation” after a first five-wicket haul for England set up a series-clinching win over Sri Lanka at his Oval ...
Sam Curran said he felt “pure elation” after a first five-wicket haul for England set up a series-clinching win over Sri Lanka at his Oval home ground on Thursday.
The Surrey left-arm paceman took 5/48 after sparking a top-order collapse before England made easy work of chasing down a target of 242 to take the second One-Day International by eight wickets.
Victory put the 50-over world champions 2-0 up in a three-match campaign.
Curran’s return was not only the 23-year-old’s first five-wicket return in international cricket but also his first in 164 professional white-ball matches.
A crowd of some 14,000 cheered on the local hero as the Oval welcomed back both England – and England spectators – for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic.
‘Extra buzz’
“It was really special, such a good moment that I can’t really describe it,” player-of-the-match Curran told reporters.
“It’s pure elation and enjoyment. I had a few family and friends here so I’m just happy with how it went.
“We’ve played a lot of cricket in front of empty stadiums for obvious reasons, so to be back in front of a home crowd at the Oval gave it that extra buzz. It’s one of my favourite grounds in the world and I showed that today.”
Curran dismissed three members of Sri...
