Bengaluru: Defending champions England continued their horrible World Cup as they produced a cagey batting effort to get bowled out for a modest 156 against a confident Sri Lanka in their World Cup match here on Thursday.
Having accumulated just two points from four games, England were expected to show some urgency but the defending champions struggled massively on a pitch that offered spongy bounce after batting by choice. But more than the surface or the enterprising Sri Lankan bowlers, the English batsmen battled inner demons, save Ben Stokes who made a gritty 43 off 73 balls.
Sri Lanka bowlers showed an exceptional display as they bundled out England for 156 runs. The Sri Lankan pacer shared 7 wickets out of eight wickets they took while two wickets came from the run-outs. Lahiru Kumara was the most successful bowler with three wickets while Kasun Rajitha and Angela Mathews. who replaced Matheesha Pathirana in the squad took two wickets and was part of Joe Root's runout.
The chase was a walk in the park for the Sri Lankan side as Pathum Nissanka and Sadeera Samawickrama smashed fifties and the team hunted down the target in 26 overs.
- 7.10 pm
Two boundaries from Samarawickrama against Moeen Ali and Sri Lanka are racing towards the target at a rapid pace. - 7.00 pm
Nissanka and Samarawickrama are taking the side to an easy win over England as both the batters have scored half-centuries. - 6.39 pm
England need to re-think every decision they have taken so far. Not even Ben Stokes could get them out of the deep whole they were in today. - 6.18 pm
Sri Lanka is on their way to a famous victory as England struggles to find wickets at the moment. Jos Buttler with some serious thinking to do if Sri Lanka finishes off this one with ease. - 6.10 pm
Sri Lanka is on the counterattack as Pathum Nissanka gets a couple of boundaries. Will Jos Buttler bring in Mark Wood early in this contest now? - 5.55 pm
Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis 11 (12) caught by Jos Buttler bowled by David Willey. England not giving up easily as they keep the fight on. Pressure on Sri Lanka now. - 5.42 pm
England skipper Jos Buttler and his team are keen on finding another wicket early in this game after Joe Root dropped Mendis on the very first ball he played. - 5.35 pm
Sri Lankan opener Kusal Perera was caught by Ben Stokes and bowled by David Willey as England got the start they were looking for in this must-win encounter. Sri Lanka is in trouble now. - 5.26 pm
Sri Lanka started a chase of 157 runs as openers Kusal Perera and Pathum Nissanka walked into the middle. Right-arm pacer Chris Woakes will open the attack for England as they look for a few early wickets. - 4.52 pm
Sri Lanka have wrapped up England for just 156 in just 33.2 overs. That's horrible cricket on display from the Englishmen. Just not in a great mental space. Sri Lanka got the ten wickets and now the next job is to get these 157 runs and collect the points. While England has to bowl really well to manage to win from here. - 4.35 pm
Stokes has moved to 43 off 72. It is quite simple now, if England are to get to a decent score, Stokes has to score a century. - 4.15 pm
Umpire Ahsan Raza takes his time to give Woakes out after Samarawickrama takes a low catch. The visuals were blurry from the front angle. But from another angle, Raza felt satisfied that the fingers were beneath the ball. Waokes walked back on a duck. - 4.05 pm
Big trouble for England as they lose the sixth wicket. Moeen Ali walks back after scoring just 15 off same number of balls. Mathews with the wicket as Perera took a safe catch. Woakes joins Stokes in the middle. - 4.00 pm
Big trouble for England as they lose the sixth wicket. Moeen Ali walks back after scoring just 15 off same number of balls. Mathews with the wicket as Perera took a safe catch. Woakes joins Stokes in the middle. - 3.55 pm
Stokes looks set. He has luck riding on his side too. He is 32 off 54 balls as I write this. And is looking to take on the attack now after settling in. He is a big wicket now for England. - 3.47 pm
Sri Lanka are on top of this contest at the moment. Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali are feeling the pressure in the middle. Lahiru Kumara attacking the stumps for Sri Lanka at the moment. - 3.30 pm
Ben Stokes has to carry England to a commendable total now as his side is now five down after Liam Livingstone's wicket. Sri Lanka is on a roll in this contest. - 3.18 pm
Sri Lanka is off to a fine start in this game now. Jos Buttler also walks back to the pavilion soon after the dismissal of Bairstow. He scored 8 off 6 with a four. - 3.08 pm
Bairstow gone! England lost their third wicket after Bairstow gave an easy catch to Dhananjaya De Silva standing at mid-on. He made 30 off 31 balls with three fours. - 2.56 pm
A small comeback from the Sri Lankan side. In the last six overs, they have conceded only 22 runs and picked 2 big wickets of Dawid Malan and Joe Root. Notably, Malan and Root are the only batters to score a century for England in this World Cup so far. - 2.48 pm
England loses their second wicket as Joe Root walks back to the pavilion. Mathews and Mendis combine again to dismiss an England batter, this time a brilliance in fielding. Despite a dive, Joe Root got run out on three of 10 balls. - 2.43 pm
Sri Lanka has started to put England under pressure after the first wicket. England have scored only 14 off the last 18 balls where they scored 44 off the first six overs. - 2.34 pm
Angelo Mathews marks his impact in his very first over. Mathews sent back Dawid Malan who was looking dangerous till the time he was on the crease. Malan made 28 off 25 deliveries with six boundaries. Joe Root comes to bat at number three. - 2.30 pm
Sri Lankan captain Kusal Mendis introduced a spinner in the sixth over only. Maheesh Theekshana on to the attack now. Just five runs came from his first over. - 2.24 pm
Malan looks in no mood to stop the charge against the opponents. The opener continued his fierce batting to score three boundaries against Madushanka. (39/0 Over 5) - 2.20 pm
Malan decides to break the swing barrier and goes after Sri Lankan pacer, Rajitha. The left hander clinched 11 runs with the help of two boundaries. (27/0 Over 4) - 2.15 pm
A beautiful parade of pace bowling by both the Sri Lankan pacers to start things of for the Asian team in today's match. (12/0 Over 3) - 2.10 pm
Rajitha would have gained some confidence after bowling his first over even after Bairstow managed to pull out a boundary in the over which saw five dot deliveries. (7/0 Over 2) - 2.05 pm
Madushanka opens the attack against England with ball swinging both ways, putting some tough questions in front of the English opener, Dawid Malan. (3/0 Over 1)
Playing XI:
England: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler(w/c), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis(w/c), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Angelo Mathews, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara, Dilshan Madushanka
