Picture : ICC / X
A determined Sri Lanka added more misery on defending Champions England as they routed them by a superb all- round display by 8 wickets in a one-sided CWC23 encounter in Bengaluru.
This came after Jos Buttler had won the toss and opted to bat first . England were off to a flying start with Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow but soon collapsed in yet another poor batting display . Malan was out for 30, Bairstow for 28. Joe Root was run-out for 3 and out of form Skipper Jos Buller fell for 8 . Liam Livingstone 1 , Moeen Ali 15 . Only Ben Stokes who was not his fluent self struggled to score 43 . England were embarrassingly bowled out for mere 156 in 33.2 overs.
Sri Lanka bowlers were backed up by superb fielding and bowlers kept taking wickets to put brakes on England scoring . Dilshan Madushanka 0/ 37 (5 overs ) , Kasun Rajitha 2/ 36 ( 7 overs), Maheesh Theekshana 1/ 21 ( 8.2 overs), Seasoned former Skipper and all- rounder Angelo Mathews on a comeback was superb with 2/ 14 ( 5 overs), Lahiru Kumara 3/ 35 ( 7 overs), Dhananjaya de Silva 0/ 10 ( 1 over)
In reply. Sri Lanka were jolted early on losing two quick wickets . Kusal Perera ( 4). Skipper Kusal Mendis ( 11). David Willey bagged both wickets. But the modest England target meant Sri Lanka had ample time to chase down and they did so without any further hiccups. Pathum Nissanka 77 not out ( 83 balls 7 fours, 2 sixes) and Sadeera Samarawickrama not out 65 ( 54 balls , 7 fours 1 six) powered Sri Lanka home reaching 160 / 2 in 25. 4 overs. The duo featured in 137 run-stand which was match winning one .
England bowlers did not have the target to defend : Chris Woakes 0/ 30 ( 6 overs) , David Willey 2/ 30 ( 5 overs), Adil Rashid 0/ 39 ( 4.4 overs), Mark Wood 0/ 23 ( 4 overs), Liam Livingstone0/ 17 ( 3 overs), Mooen Ali 0/ 21 ( 3 overs)
Sri Lanka bagged vitals 2 points to keep semis hopes alive, While England loss means their semis hopes are well and truly dashed and exit looks on the cards
Match: World Cup 2023, 25th Match
Venue: Bengaluru | Date: October 26, 2023
