England's Lauren Filer, Charlie Dean and Alice Davidson-Richards led a sustained attack on Sri Lanka's batters at Northampton before the match was abandoned due to heavy rain.
Their performance signalled a changing of the guard for England's fast bowlers following the retirement of veterans Katherine Sciver-Brunt and Anya Shrubsole, leaving Kate Cross as the only senior seamer.
Filer finished on figures of 2-25 with an economy rate of 3.12, with her back-of-a-length deliveries hitting the splice and the occasional delivery straying away and posing a problem for the Sri Lanka batters.
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The 22-year-old is able to get bounce and move the ball both ways, restricting the batters, and has developed into one of the quickest bowlers in the country, despite only turning fully professional in October 2022.
Filer made an impressive start to her ODI career after taking three wickets in the series opener at Durham on Saturday and after ripping through Sri Lanka's batting order once again at Northampton, she cemented her status, proving the future is in safe hands, but she still hopes to quicken her pace.
"I know I can definitely bowl quicker. I think there's a few things to work on in the winter that will probably help me
do that," Filer said.
"I jump quite high, so I probably need to go more forward in my bound so all the momentum is going forward. Hopefully everything is going a bit quicker so everything comes out a little bit quicker.
"But being quicker is not the main aim, it's something that's there and if it happens, it happens, and if it doesn't, it doesn't. I'm not too worried about that. I just want to bowl the best for the team.
"I feel like the role that I have I really enjoy doing. Taking wickets is something I'm trying to do every ball. It's nice to be able to contribute.
"My natural length is always going to be a bit back of a length, so the fuller ball is probably the surprise ball, rather than the other way around.
"I get bounce with my height but if the pitch helps me as well, it gives that extra threat. People are probably just a little more wary of the bounce that I can get.
"It's something I want to try to use as much as possible because I know there's probably not a lot of it about in the women's game. It's a tool in my tool box."
England captain Heather Knight made the decision to rest Mahika Gaur despite her also taking three wickets on her debut which left Sky Sports Cricket commentator Charles Dagnall puzzled.
"Rested, really? England want to try a variety of things - that I get," he said.
"They don't play enough cricket, necessarily, to be rested. I know she's 17 years old and you want to look after her, but if she's fit then she should play."
Gaur made the important breakthrough of dismissing Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu for 34 at Chester-le-Street on debut with a delivery that swung back into her off-stump.
It was fitting too that the teenager was presented her cap by Sciver-Brunt, who took 335 international wickets for England.
Gaur towers over the rest of her team-mates, standing at 6ft 2in, and tall left-arm seamers are rare in the women's game. Her height allows her to get an unpredictable, awkward bounce, making it difficult for her opponents to predict their shots.
She's able to swing the ball back in from her height but because she is young, she has not got much variations yet and relies on her swing and pace.
Lauren Bell continues to recover from illness while spinner Sophie Ecclestone remains ruled out after her shoulder injury and Issy Wong continues to have run-up and rhythm issues.
However, when these bowlers do recover it will provide England with the prospect of a right-arm, left-arm partnership with Gaur, creating a varied bowling attack.
It was right-arm seamer Kate Cross, 31, who took the opening wicket as she tempted Vishmi Gunaratne into edging to wicketkeeper Amy Jones but was initially hit for six fours off Athapaththu.
Cross has not been at her best recently and has struggled to make an impact with the ball, finishing on 1-35 with an economy rate of seven runs per over, the highest of the bowling attack.
Off-spinner Dean only needed four balls to make an impact at Wantage Road on Tuesday as she trapped the dangerous Athapaththu lbw, leaving Sri Lanka struggling for a partnership.
Dean mixed up her flight and speed aiming at the stumps and her consistent line and length was rewarded as she finished with figures of 2-12 from seven overs.
All-rounder Davidson-Richards was recalled into the squad for the final two ODIs after opener Emma Lamb suffered a back spasm and she seized her opportunity as she took 2-16, dismissing Hansima Karunaratne (8) and Anushka Sanjeewani (0).
In comparison, it was another troubling day for Sri Lanka as they struggled after Athapaththu's early dismissal, with Kavisha Dilhari, Sanjeewani, Udeshika Prabodhani and Achini Kulasuriya were all removed without troubling the scorers.
However, while England's varied, youthful and positive bowling attack gave a glimpse into their future, their loss in the T20 series exposed their weaknesses of playing against spin after suffering a first-ever series loss.
England and Sri Lanka will now head to Leicester for the third and final ODI on Thursday, September 14 starting at 12.30pm, with live coverage on Sky Sports Cricket from 12pm. Also stream on NOW.