Nissanka’s six down the ground propelled Sri Lanka closer towards their target. England now require an explosive partnership between Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow.
Angelo Mathews strikes another blow against England by dismissing Dawid Malan. In this article, we will discuss about England Cricket Team vs Sri Lanka National Cricket Team match Scorecard.
England 156 (Moeen Ali 58, Chris Woakes 59) vs. Sri Lanka 164 (Pathum Nissanka 77 not out, Sadeera Samarawickrama 65 not out)
England have suffered their third loss at the World Cup 2023 and appear all but eliminated from contention of making the semi-finals. Their loss against Sri Lanka marked their lowest score ever at this stage of the competition and their second straight batting collapse; an alarming development for Jos Buttler and his teammates who had been expected to lead them.
After winning the toss and electing to field first in this critical matchup, England elected to field first in this crucial encounter. Kusal Perera and Pathum Nissanka began well for Sri Lanka with an opening wicket partnership of five runs before rain put an abrupt halt to proceedings.
As play resumed, England’s batting struggle continued as Buttler once more fell for cheaply attempting to pull Lahiru Kumara’s full delivery and getting an edge which Kusal Mendis promptly picked off.
Jos Buttler then attempted a drive off Kumara but missed it, and was caught at point for 13. England appeared doomed but somehow rallied to reach 156 for 7. Liam Livingstone soon played the wrong shot against Kumara and lost his leg stump – signalling another collapse for England at this stage of their innings.
Chris Woakes came on for the second over, luring Mendis into playing at those drivable balls with short and wide deliveries that were pushed towards extra covers for four runs before punching over cover for two more. Finally, Woakes broke free with an even fuller delivery that Mendis hit over long-on for six runs to close out his innings.
England batsmen tried their best, but ultimately were powerless to put up much resistance against Samarawickrama’s bowlers. Moeen Ali hit two huge sixes off Adil Rashid before Jonny Bairstow pushed a ball towards midwicket for three runs before being run out by Samarawickrama.
After rain forced both teams back indoors during their respective breaks, both games were reduced to 35 overs apiece after each team took to the pitch in an attempt to avoid weather delays – only for a few drops to fall soon afterwards and cause players to retreat back into their dugouts. As soon as it was decided that the match would be reduced to 35 overs apiece in order to finish on time, players regrouped on the outfield, with umpires conducting final checks of the ground before setting an approximate start time of 3:00 pm local time for play to commence. National anthems from both countries were played before players made their entrance onto the ground. England captain Joe Root led his teammates out first – Jonny Bairstow and Dawid Malan joined by England ODI skipper Dinesh Chandimal and batting coach Ruchira Jayawardena also entered.
Final Score
England have suffered an embarrassing defeat against Sri Lanka that could see them exit early from the World Cup. After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Jos Buttler’s side found it hard to gain any momentum on their batting front as wickets continued to fall regularly; apart from Ben Stokes (43) and Jonny Bairstow (30), none of England’s batsmen looked in any kind of form with the bat.
England were reduced to just 156 by Lahiru Kumara and Kasun Rajitha’s three wickets each while Angelo Mathews and Maheesh Theekshana both took two each. England batsmen looked disoriented at the crease, looking more interested in playing their own way than adhering to a plan on an uneven two-paced pitch that was slightly off its trajectory in bounce and pace.
Dawid Malan became England’s third wicket to fall after mistiming a pull off Kasun Rajitha which Dhananjaya de Silva took at mid-on. Moeen Ali then attempted a reverse sweep off a length delivery but got an edge which Kusal Mendis dived right to take.
Chris Woakes attempted a big shot off the same bowler but was given out leg before wicket as he pushed at it outside off stump. While an appeal against it was turned down by umpire, Woakes pursued review which revealed an edge in Woakes’ attack.
Adil Rashid then ensured his involvement, taking a wicket with his fourth over after bowling a good length delivery that Angelo Mathews pulled straight to point.
Sadeera Samarawickrama and Pathum Nissanka then combined on an unbroken third wicket partnership of 137 runs to help Sri Lanka secure victory – becoming the first team ever to win five matches of this tournament.
England have now lost four of their five matches and sit second-last in the table, only ahead of the Netherlands. Australia, Pakistan and India remain tough opponents and it would be surprising if England made it past this stage. Meanwhile Sri Lanka are currently fifth and two points shy of making the semifinals; their goal will be to continue their strong start to 2023 campaign.
Final Result
England are on the brink of World Cup elimination following an embarrassing batting collapse against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru. Their hosts were bowled out for just 156, with only Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes showing any resistance in what was an embarrassing display at M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Sri Lanka began slowly with just two wickets falling in its opening two overs; however, soon afterwards Pathum Nissanka and Sadeera Samarawickrama both passed fifty to lead them to an eight-wicket win.
Nissanka and Samarawickrama created an exceptional 137-run partnership in Sri Lanka’s win against Bangladesh, now having four victories to their name in this tournament and within reach of reaching top four.
England were left reeling after losing both opening batsmen, as their attempt at recovery was marred by several batting collapses that saw them reduced to 154-5 with only Buttler and Stokes showing any resistance during an embarrassing display from the reigning champions.
After an initial lull, Sri Lanka quickly made their move, as Lahiru Kumara struck twice in three balls to send back both Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow – although Bairstow managed to avoid being dismissed when an umpire reviewed an earlier LBW decision against him and overturned it successfully.
Root was making steady progress with his innings as he managed to collect singles off Kumara in the opening over, yet still fell short of reaching fifty when caught by Kusal Mendis off a delivery that pitched wide outside leg.
Mendis then dispatched both batsmen in one over, trapping Stokes lbw with a low delivery. Liam Livingstone fell next, caught off Lahiru Kumara by Dushan Hemantha for only one run off Lahiru Kumara’s bowling.
With just one over remaining, England need to score 39 in it if they want any chance of rescuing the game. Unfortunately, Moeen Ali was bowled by Rajitha immediately following. A fuller delivery is then targeted at Buttler who attempts to drive but gets an edge which Mendis dives right for to take his wicket and deal another major blow to England who now have only their last pair left batting together.
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