BENGALURU – Disciplined Sri Lanka trounced former champion England by eight wickets in an important match of the World Cup 2023 at Bengaluru Stadium on Thursday.
The Lankans suffered early blows were Kusal Mendis and Kusal Perera were dismissed. At this time, Pathum Nissanka (77) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (65) held the nerves and played heroic knocks to bag victory for their side.
The strong partnership guided Sri Lanka to achieve the modest target of 157 runs in 26 overs
Earlier, Sri Lankan players showed magic with the ball as the bowled England out for mere 156 in a must-win match.
The England openers – Jonny Bairstow and Dawid Malan – took off in their characteristic aggressive fashion. However, a double strike from Sri Lanka stifled their scoring rate. Dawid Malan nicked one behind the wicket to Angelo Mathews, who picked a wicket in his very first over.
Joe Root removed for cheap scores and Bairstow couldn’t make the most of his early luck as he was sent to pavilion for 30.
Captain Jos Buttler fell for 43 when he had a go at a wide delivery from Lahiru Kumara and was snapped brilliantly by his opposite number, Mendis, behind the wicket.
After his dismissal, England lost remaining wickets in quick sessions.
Earlier, England won the toss and opted to bat first.
Buttler-led squad managed to bag only one match out of four, lingering deep in the bottom half of the table, and victory against Lankan Lions could give them a slight boost in leading cricket event.
Win in today’s fixture is critical for England, and Sri Lanka’s survival in this tournament as both sides suffered from major blows.
England, the defending world champions, were at number 8 in the points table as they managed to win the game against Bangladesh. In previous matches against South Africa, New Zealand, and Afghanistan, they were bundled out.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, bagged a single win out of 4 matches so far. First, they lost to Proteas, then Pakistan, and later to Australia.
Chinnaswamy Stadium venue is said to be ideal for batters so fans can expect high-scoring thriller between the two sides.
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England vs Sri Lanka squads in World Cup
England: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler(w/c), David Willey, Adil Rashid, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Mark Wood, Brydon Carse, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran.
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis(w/c), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dushan Hemantha, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Dilshan Madushanka, Angelo Mathews, Dimuth Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara, Dunith Wellalage
