On Thursday, the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, India, bore witness to England’s Cricket World Cup dreams teetering on the brink of collapse. The defending champions suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka, losing by eight wickets.
Pathum Nissanka, who has been in stellar form throughout the tournament, delivered an unbeaten 77, marking his fourth consecutive fifty. Sadeera Samarawickrama, not to be overshadowed, contributed a solid 65, building on his previous performances of 108 against Pakistan and 91 against the Netherlands.
Their combined efforts helped Sri Lanka comfortably chase down the modest target of 157, finishing at 160-2 with a whopping 146 balls to spare.
England’s performance, on the other hand, was far from satisfactory. The team could only muster a below-average total of 156 before being all out in 33.2 overs. Ben Stokes stood as the lone warrior in the face of Sri Lanka’s bowling attack, scoring 43 off a dry pitch. However, his efforts weren’t enough to save the day as he was caught in the deep by Dushan Hemantha off Lahiru Kumara’s bowling in the 31st over.
A stroke of luck seemed to be in England’s favour initially when Jonny Bairstow, after surviving a leg-before-wicket opportunity that Sri Lanka failed to review, returned to the crease. However, his promising start was short-lived, and he lost his wicket to Kasun Rajitha.
Sri Lanka’s veteran player, Angelo Mathews, was instrumental in restricting England’s scoring. He dismissed opener Dawid Malan and aided in running out Joe Root, leaving the defending champions in a precarious position at 85-5. Mathews, who was playing in his fourth World Cup as an injury replacement for Matheesha Pathirana, also took out Moeen Ali, while Chris Woakes was caught by Samarawickrama off Rajitha’s delivery.
With three losses in four matches, both Sri Lanka and England had a similar tournament record entering the contest. However, by successfully ripping through England’s tail-enders, Sri Lanka managed to record the lowest all-out total in Bengaluru, setting the stage for a commanding victory.
The victory tweet from Sri Lanka Cricket encapsulated the mood of the nation: “A comprehensive win for Sri Lanka as we beat defending champions England by 8 wickets! #LankanLions on the march! #SLvENG #CWC23.”
