Opener Pathum Nissanka’s impressive half-century of 77 runs, coupled with a terrific 65-run contribution from Sadeera Samarawickrama, led Sri Lanka to a comfortable 8-wicket victory over England in an ICC contest held in Bengaluru, India. The match took place on Wednesday. Sri Lanka had already asserted their dominance in the game during the first session, dismissing England for a mere 156 runs in 33.2 overs.
In pursuit of the modest target of 156, Sri Lanka’s openers made a steady start. However, England’s bowlers managed to claim the first wicket in the 2nd over when Kusal Perera was dismissed for just 4 runs. In the 6th over, David Willey struck again, removing skipper Kusal Mendis for 11.
At this stage, Sri Lanka was at 22 for 2 in 5.2 overs. However, when the number four batsman, Sadeera Samarawickrama, joined Nissanka, they made the chase look effortless and steadily advanced towards the target. Nissanka completed his half-century and further bolstered his innings with 1 six and 7 boundaries. Later, Sadeera Samarawickrama also achieved his half-century in just 46 balls. England’s bowlers found it challenging to pick up more wickets on a flat pitch, and Sri Lanka easily won the match by 8 wickets in 25.4 overs, securing their second victory in the tournament.
This loss marked England’s fourth defeat out of five contests, placing them at the bottom of the points table just above the Netherlands. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s win propelled them to the 5th position on the points table, pushing Pakistan down to the 6th spot.
In England’s batting, only David Willey managed to take 2 wickets, with the rest of the bowlers, including the pace bowler Mark Wood, remaining wicketless.
In the opening innings, England won the toss and chose to bat first. Their openers, Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow, got off to a rapid start, taking the score past 40 within the first 6 overs. However, in the 7th over, Sri Lankan bowler Methews dismissed Malan for 30. After Malan’s dismissal, England’s middle and lower order collapsed rapidly.
Joe Root was dismissed for just 3 runs in the 10th over. In the 14th over, Rajitha removed Bairstow for 28, leaving England at just 68 runs. The skipper, Joss Butler, was out for 8, followed by Livingston, who contributed just 1 run to the score. In the 25th over, with the score at 122, Methews dismissed Moeen Ali for 15.
In the middle and lower order, no batsman was able to stay at the crease for long, except for Ben Stokes, who put up some resistance. After Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes was dismissed for no runs. In the 31st over, Kumara managed to get the set batsman Ben Stokes out for 43. The remaining two batsmen, Adil Rashid and Mark Wood, were quickly dismissed, scoring just 2 and 5 runs, respectively. England was eventually bowled out for 156 runs in 33.2 overs, marking the lowest total of the match at Bengaluru.
This match was crucial for both Sri Lanka and England, as both teams had only registered one win in their four matches each. Lahiru Kumara was the most successful bowler for Sri Lanka, taking 3 wickets in his 7 overs. Rajitha and Mathews secured 2 wickets each, while Theekshana claimed 1 wicket.