Published: Mar 01, 2015, 11:09 AM (IST)
Edited: Mar 01, 2015, 01:25 PM (IST)
Sri Lanka have won the match by nine wickets and have more or less confirmed their place in the quarter final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. Chasing 310 for a win, Sri Lanka made it look very easy as Tillakaratne Dilshan (44), Lahiru Thirimanne (139*) and Kumar Sangakkara (117*)guided their team to a comfortable win. Cricket Blog: England vs Sri Lanka
England captain Eoin Morgan had earlier won the toss and decided to bat first. His openers Ian Bell and Moeen Ali got his team off to a brisk start. Moeen Ali was the first man to go for 15 with 62 runs on the board. Gary Ballance did not last long and Sri Lanka suddenly found themselves right back in the game. But Ian Bell was dismissed on 49 when England had just gone past the 100-run mark in the 21st over. Full Scorecard: England vs Sri Lanka
Morgan, who has been out of form for quite some time now would have sensed that this was his opportunity to get his team into a good position so that the batsmen to follow can make take advantage of. He put on 60 runs for the fourth wicket along with Joe Root and once got the feeling that he was slowly returning to form but he was dismissed for 27 after playing a lose shot. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Pool-wise Team Standings
After this it was the James Taylor and Root, who played aggressive cricket and put on 98 in 66 deliveries for the fifth wicket and got England in a position from where they can get a score close to 300. After Root was dismissed for 121, wicket keeper Jos Buttler’s unbeaten 19-ball 39 England managed to reach 309 for six in their 50 overs. England had the momentum going into the innings break but things changed completely in Sri Lanka’s favour when the match resumed. Top 10 batsmen in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
Thirimanne and Dilshan put on exactly 100 for the opening wicket. Thirimanne had a lucky escape when he was dropped at first slip by Root. Root was himself dropped early in his innings and he went on to make a century. Thirimanne, like Root cashed in on this and went on to make an unbeaten century. He along with Sangakkara guided their team to a comfortable win. Top 10 bowlers in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
Sangakkara has now remained unbeaten in two back-to-back matches and considering the fact that this could be his last World Cup, he will want to carry on his form right till the end. Top 10 fielders in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
Top 10 wicketkeepers in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
Brief scores:
England 309 for 6 in 50 overs (Ian Bell 49, Joe Root 121; Tillakaratne Dilshan 1 for 35) lost to Sri Lanka 312 for 1 in 47.2 overs (Lahiru Thirimanne 139*, Kumar Sangakkara 117*; Moeen Ali 1 for 50) by 9 wickets.
Man of the Match: Kumar Sangakkara
(Pramod Ananth is a reporter at CricketCountry. He has represented Karnataka table tennis under-15, and is a hardcore supporter of Liverpool FC. His Twitter handle is @pramz)
