Sri Lanka skipper Kusal Mendis was delighted after a convincing win of eight wickets against defending champions England at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on Thursday. The Islanders’ bowlers were right on the money and skittled out England at a mere total of 156 runs on the board after Jos Buttler won the toss and decided to bat first.
England was given a decent start by their openers as Jonny Bairstow and Dawid Malan added 45 runs in quick time. However, England veered off the track as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals and found themselves in tatters.
Lahiru Kumara, who is well known for his brisk pace, rattled the opposition’s middle-order as he got big wickets of Jos Buttler, Liam Livingstone and a well-settled Ben Stokes with a short-pitched delivery, returning with impressive figures of 3-35. Angelo Mathews, replacing Matheesha Pathirana, bagged two wickets on his return.
There were some soft dismissals too but Sri Lanka grabbed their chances with both hands as they were up to the mark in the field.
On the other hand, the Lankans lost two early wickets as David Willey bowled an impressive opening spell. However, Pathum Nissanka and Sadeera Samarawickrama were able to steady the ship with their impressive half-centuries. Both the right-handers timed the ball to perfection and didn’t bog down despite their team losing two quick wickets.
Sri Lanka was able to chase down the score in 25.4 as they came up with a dominating performance. Thus, the Kusal Mendis-led team outplayed England in all three departments of the game. This is Sri Lanka’s fifth successive win against England in the World Cup since 2007.
Kusal Mendis said in the post-match presentation, “NRR going up is good for the team. We bowled very well today. Everyone did really well today. Another 4 games left. If we win 3 games back to back, we’ll be in the semis. Players did well the last match also. Hope we can do well next couple of matches. Kumara did well today. He’s the main fast bowler in Sri Lanka. Bowled 140-145 speeds. Very happy that he came back strong today.”
He added, “Mathews bowled really well. He offers so many things. Can bat also. Can play the pressure situation also. I’m very lucky to be playing with him. The fielding was excellent today. Want to keep doing the same in the next 4 matches.”
Sri Lanka will next take on Afghanistan at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune on Monday.
