Jos Buttler has revealed that he relished the pressure of playing a match-winning innings against Sri Lanka in the third one-day international at Hambantota.
After being set 236 to win in 35 overs, England found themselves in trouble at 152 for five before a partnership of 84 between Buttler and Joe Root saw them home by five wickets under Duckworth/Lewis to bring the series back to 2-1.
Buttler, who was named man of the match for a devastating knock of 55 not out, told ecb.co.uk: “I felt under a little bit of pressure and just knew we had to get a partnership going.
“Cooky (Alastair Cook) and Mo (Moeen Ali) got us off to a great start and we were going really well but we had a little bit of a blip in the middle.
“It’s really good to get a win and that’s a big moment for us.”
The England wicketkeeper also reserved special praise for his partner Root, who steadied the ship after they lost three quick wickets, and remained unbeaten on 48 at the end.
Buttler said: “It was great to be there at the end with Rooty and put on a partnership; its one of the most satisfying things to see a game through.
“I felt I really needed that time in the middle so I'll take a lot of confidence to Colombo.
“He’s (Root) got a wise head on young shoulders so it’s really good to bat with him. He’s very calm and a lot of credit to him for standing firm throughout that little blip and be there at the end.
“It’s great to bat with him and I think we worked as a good partnership today.”
He added: “It was a great day for us, we really needed that win.
“It’s a huge confidence boost for everyone in the camp, it’s great to get over the line and the series is very much alive and we’ll all get a huge lift from today.”
England captain Cook, who was also in good form with the bat, praised the composure of his two young batsmen for seeing the game through.
He said: “They both looked really calm, particularly after that no-ball which really swung the momentum nicely in our favour – full credit to those two for soaking up a lot of pressure.”
However Cook did admit there was plenty of room for improvement ahead of Sunday’s game at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Cook, who will sit out Sunday's match after receiving a suspension for a slow over-rate, said: “It would be wrong to say we’re playing at anywhere near our best.
“We bowled pretty well – an improvement from the last two games, but I don’t think we fielded that well so there’s huge room for improvement and the lads are working hard.”
Great to get a win and be there at the end with joeroot30 http://t.co/PlR1DZj58o
— Jos Buttler (@josbuttler) December 4, 2014