Jason Roy admitted his match-winning century was an unforgettable moment after smashing England\'s second-highest ODI score to clinch victory over Sri Lanka.
Roy, who notched his second hundred of the series, was understandably delighted after the innnigs, which propelled England to an unassailable 2-0 lead in the Royal London One-Day Series.
After his heroics in front of a home crowd at The Oval, Roy reflected on a memmorable night.
“What a day! It was an incredible win for the boys and I’m stoked,” Roy said after the game to Sky Sports.
“I’ve put in a lot of hard work and it’s nice to see it pay off and contribute in a winning way like that. It’s special, and something I’m never going to forget. It’s just a shame I wasn’t there at the end. I’ll take second and a series win – that’s pretty cool to me.
“I might not be out of breath but my legs are definitely feeling it. I’m just really happy. Huge respect to the boys up there, and the crowd."
Roy brought up a hundred off just 74 balls and was finally bowled for 162 from 118 balls, an innings that lit up a gloomy, rain-affected night in South London.
His partnership with Joe Root for the second wicket was worth 149, to guide England into a winning position and Roy admitted it was a difficult task after losing regular opener Alex Hales to injury and replacement opener Moeen Ali for two, as England hunted down 308 inside 42 overs for the series win.
Roy added: “Both [my hundreds in this series] were extremely special. Quite different though. Obviously up there [in Edgbaston] we had it under control, but this one we were always under the pump to score at the required rate.”
England captain Eoin Morgan was full of praise for Roy’s batting exploits and the team’s continued improvements.
“Somebody whispered as Roy was getting close to Smith’s record, and it's quite nice to be second in the list. I’m sure he’ll forever want to push it and it’ll be interesting if he wants to bat for as long as that when we bat first. But certainly he’s played a match-winning innings."
Speaking of England’s second-highest successful ODI chase, Morgan added: “Yeah, it’s quite impressive and we’re growing with every game we play. Hopefully the bad weather stays away and we get to play all the rest of the games this summer and gain as much experience as we can."
Morgan takes his troops to Cardiff for the series finale on Saturday, where England will be keen to go 3-0 up in the series. With a limited number of tickets still available, secure your seats by clicking here.