England vs Sri Lanka, ICC World T20: Past encounters

Friday was an eventful day at the ICC World T20, as it saw Pakistan crash out and West Indies make it to the business end of the tournament. While we have got two semi-finalists in New Zealand and West Indies, the race for the other two spots is wide open. The virtual quarter-final between India and Australia will determine the third semi-finalist, but three teams — South Africa, Sri Lanka and England — are still in the fray for the last available spot. The latter two of these three teams will meet on Saturday and aim to take one more step towards the final-four by winning it. On this occasion, let’s take a trip down the memory lane and revisit the past England-Sri Lanka encounters. ICC T20 World Cup: Most thrilling matches from first 5 editions; Part 1 of 2

1.   ICC World T20 2010, Semi-final at the Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet: The two teams did not meet in the previous two editions in 2007 and 2009. Their first World T20 date was fixed in the 2010 edition and at what time! It was the semi-final of the third edition of the extravaganza. Winning the toss, Sri Lanka opted to bat first but some disciplined bowling effort by England reduced them to 6 for 128 from the stipulated overs. Sri Lanka’s famed top-order failed and only Angelo Mathews, who scored 45-ball 58, could stand up to the English attack and lend some respectability to his team’s total.

But the total was never going to be enough to challenge the eventual title winners England, who under Paul Collingwood were playing exceptional brand of attacking cricket at that moment. Their side, loaded with T20 specialists, chased the total down with ease as their top three batsmen fired in the all-important game. While openers Craig Kieswetter and Michael Lumb played blazing cameos enroute their opening stand of 68, the masterful Kevin Pietersen finished the game in 16 overs with unbeaten 26-ball 42. England went on to beat Australia in the final and earned their first World title.

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Brief scores: England 3 for 132 in 16 overs [Kevin Pietersen not out 42(26), Criag Kieswetter 39(29), Michael Lumb 33(26); Thisara Perera 2-19, Lasith Malinga 1-33] bt Sri Lanka 6 for 128 in 20 overs [Angelo Mathews 58(45); Stuart Broad 2-21, Graeme Swann 1-20] by 7 wickets.

2.  ICC World T20 2012, Super 8 match at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele: A couple of years later, the venue changed and so did the fortunes of Sri Lanka, who were the hosts of World T20 2012. Both the teams met during the Super 8 stage and this time around, England won the toss and put Sri Lanka into bat. Determined not to repeat the mistakes of 2010, Sri Lanka batted well to post 169 runs on the board. Opening the innings, Mahela Jayawardene top-scored with 42. Mathews once again played an important role with his 28 runs in the middle-order, but it was Perera’s late-order thrust that took the team to a beyond-par score.

Chasing 170, England were rattled by the ‘Slinga-Malinga’, as the slinger took a fifer and broke England’s spine. England kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were never really into the game. Though Samit Patel scored 48-ball 67 and Graeme Swann scored 20-ball 34, the effort proved too little and too late, as England finished 19 runs away from the finishing line. Malinga’s fifer earned him the Man-of-the-Match award and Sri Lanka went on to play the final, where they were beaten by an all-round West Indies side.

Brief scores: Sri Lanka 6 for 169 in 20 overs [Mahela Jayawardene 42(38), Angelo Mathews 28(19), Thisara Perera not out 26(16); Stuart Broad 3-32, Graeme Swann 2-26] bt England 9 for 150 in 20 overs [Samit Patel 67(48), Graeme Swann 34(20); Lasith Malinga 5-31, Akila Dananjaya 2-26] by 19 runs.

3.  ICC World T20 2010, Super 10 match at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong: When the two teams met for the third and the final time so far at the World T20s, they produced a cracker of a game. The England-Sri Lanka world T20 2014 match was easily the match of the tournament. It was once again being played in Asia, with Bangladesh being the host this time around. England won the toss once again and invited Sri Lanka to bat first. Riding on the half-centuries by Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sri Lanka posted a massive 189 on the board, making most of the conducive conditions on offer for batting. The duo shared a 145-run stand for the second wicket, thus laying the foundation for a big score.

In reply, England had a horrible start, as they lost two wickets in the first over with no run on board. From here, it was completely Alex Hales and Eoin Morgan show as the duo added 152 runs for the third wicket and kept the chase on track. Even as Morgan fell on individual score of 57, Hales kept going and brought his maiden T20I ton. He remained unbeaten on 116 off just 64 balls and completed a remarkable chase. Sri Lanka, undeterred by the loss, went on to beat favourites India in the final to win their maiden World T20 title finally in the third attempt.

Brief scores: England 4 for 190 in 19.2 overs [Alex Hales not out 116(64), Eoin Morgan 57(38); Nuwan Kulasekara 4-32] bt Sri Lanka 4 for 189 in 20 overs [Mahela Jayawardene 89(51), Tillakaratne Dilshan 55(47); Chris Jordan 2-28, Jade Dernbach 2-42] by 6 wickets.

England vs Sri Lanka, T20Is, Stat Nugget:

Most Runs

Alex Hales (Eng): 119 runs (2 matches)

Mahela Jayawardene (SL): 141 runs (3 matches)

Highest Scores

116* by Alex Hales (Eng) at Chittagong, 2014

89 by Mahela Jayawardene (SL) at Chittagong, 2014

Most wickets

Stuart Broad (Eng): 5 wickets (3 matches)

Lasith Malinga (SL): 6 wickets (3 matches)

Nuwan Kulasekara (SL): 5 wickets (3 matches)

Best bowling

Stuart Broad (Eng) 3-32 at Pallekele, 2012

Lasith Malinga (SL) 5-31 at Pallekele, 2012