Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya almost stole the show but it was England's knight in coloured clothing who prevailed in the one-day match between the nations at Adelaide Oval on Friday.

Chasing England's formidable 7-279 from 50 overs, a total built largely on the prolific feats of opener Nick Knight, Jayasuriya blasted 99 from just 83 deliveries before a mid-pitch tangle with his partner Kumar Sangakkara arguably cost the Lankans the match.

Sri Lanka finished 19 runs shy of victory, bowled out for 260 from 49.2 overs.

The Lankans now trail England on the competition table by five points with both nations having one minor round match remaining to decide Australia's opponent in the best of three finals.

Sri Lanka must earn a bonus point while defeating the host nation at the MCG on Tuesday to have a chance of contesting the finals.

Jayasuriya was at his swashbuckling best and had struck nine fours and two sixes before prodding a delivery to mid-off and attempting to steal a single which would have registered his third century of this series.

The Lankan skipper would have made it, but collided with Sangakkara mid-pitch - leaving Jayasuriya stranded as his English counterpart Nasser Hussain threw down the stumps.

Jayasuriya waved animatedly at Sangakkara after his dismissal, realising his nation's chances of progressing into the finals diminished greatly because of his run out.

Earlier, Knight continued his run spree with a polished 88 which confirmed his status as the tri series' leading runscorer.

Knight, who displayed deft placement and controlled aggression today, has now made 440 runs at the imposing average of 73.33 this series.

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