Bengaluru, October 27: England produced a brilliant performance as they won by eight wickets in a match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. He achieved the feat with 24.2 overs remaining, significantly impacting England’s chances of returning to the World Cup. To stay in the race, Jos Buttler’s team will now have to play all their remaining matches, significantly improve their net run rate, and face the tough challenge of hoping for favorable conditions in the other games.
Mahesh Thikshana, Lahiru Kumara, and Angelo Mathews disrupted England’s batting line-up with impressive performances for the Independent team. They managed to restrict England to a modest score of 156, which was the lowest score ever in Bengaluru.
Kumara, Mathews, and Rajitha were the Sri Lankan top wicket-takers, while Theksana proved to be a force to be reckoned with, conceding just 21 runs in his 8.2 overs. The engine also contributed with an excellent fielding performance and two crucial run-outs.
Sri Lanka easily replied to the modest target of 157 runs by the brilliant stalwarts of Pathum Nissanka and Sadira Samarawickrama. England got some early hope when David Willey dismissed Kusal Perera and Kusal Mendis with two early wickets in the powerplay. However, Nissanka and Samarawickrama reunited and set up a match-winning partnership, significantly increasing Sri Lanka’s net run rate in the process.
The coin toss remained in England’s favor and Buttler decided to be the batsman for the first time, leading to three changes in the lineup. England’s top and middle orders collapsed as England’s pace bowling took advantage of the Olympics and Thieksna’s spin added pressure. Notably, Joe Root was run out, this being the fourth instance of a run out in partnership with Jonny Bairstow in international cricket, with Root being the player out on each occasion.
England struggled to find their rhythm following the return of their key basketball players. Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali formed a partnership for a while, but England’s final partnership was on hold. However, his dismissal resulted in 43 runs in England’s stormy conditions. Despite some late contributions, England were bundled out for just 156 runs in 33.2 overs, placing a heavy burden on their attack.
An excellent opening spell from David Willey gave a ray of hope for England and gave an early wicket to Sri Lanka in reply. However, Sri Lanka applied early pressure and steadily got closer to their target. England spinners Moeen and Livingstone struggled to put pressure on the scoreboard.
Sri Lanka’s Satira Samarawickrama and Pathum Nissanka led their team to victory with scores of 65 and 77 respectively. The win took Sri Lanka to four points in the tournament, keeping their trip alive. England, on the other hand, faces a radical path forward as they aim to race for the coveted World Cup title.