Published: Mar 11, 2015, 04:32 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 11, 2015, 06:01 PM (IST)
Sri Lanka have beaten Scotland by a massive margin of 148 runs but not before the middle-order Scottish batsmen put in a spirited fight to give them a bit of a scare. With that loss Scotland will find themselves firmly affixed to the bottom of the Pool A points table while Sri Lanka will climb over Bangladesh to the third spot behind only New Zealand and Australia. Catch Live Updates of Sri Lanka vs Scotland ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 match here
The Sri Lankan bowlers, especially Lasith Malinga, started off quite well and reduced Scotland to 44/3 early on. But the Scots were not the ones to throw in their towel at that instant. The Scotland skipper — Preston Mommsen — scored fluently and batted responsibly and he was accompanied by Freddie Coleman at the other end, who batted just as well. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: POINTS TABLE
The two batsmen got to their individual half centuries and in the process stitched a hundred run partnership. Mommsen finally gave up the resistance when Thisara Perera got him out for 60. Coleman fell soon after for 70 to Nuwan Kulasekara. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: SCHEDULE & MATCH DETAILS
Richie Berrington came in and struck a few lusty blows to deepen Sri Lanka’s brief concerns but after wickets kept felling at the other end he finally got out for 29 off 22 balls. The tail was then cleaned up in no time. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Complete Coverage
Earlier Sri Lanka posted a mammoth total of 363 against Scotland. The top-scorer of the innings for Sri Lanka was Kumar Sangakkara yet again with a 124 off 95 balls. The Sri Lankan batsmen were very good but complacency crept in towards the back-end of the innings as wickets kept falling at regular intervals. Top 10 batsmen in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
The Asian side didn’t quite have the ideal start to their essay as Lahiru Thirimanne struggled and got out to Alasdair Evans for a 21-ball four. The Scottis bowlers were very tight upfront but failed to pick the wickets of Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan. The batsmen constructed their innings sensibly and batted in tandem. Top 10 bowlers in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
After reaching their individual fifties, they decided to step on the gas and went for big shots and runs came in heaps as the innings progressed. Dilshan soon got to his hundred and Sangakkara followed him soon after. Sangakkara who entered the match with three consecutive centuries took the tally to four to make himself the record of most consecutive hundreds. Top 10 fielders in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
He also holds the record for most centuries in a single edition of the World Cup, the previous best being three. Dilshan got out to Davey soon after getting his century while Sanga had a hit out before falling for 124. But after that wickets fell at regular intervals as batsmen went for big shots. Top 10 wicketkeepers in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
Davey picked the important wickets of Sangakkara as well as Mahela Jayawardene. Angelo Matthews enjoyed his time in the middle smashing 51 off 21 balls, including four consecutive sixes to Machan but got out the next ball. At that stage Sri Lanka were looking poised for 380+ total but wickets kept falling. Richie Berrington bowled very well, conceding just 30 runs in six overs picking two wickets. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Pool-wise Team Standings
Despite the wickets at the back end Sri Lanka have posted a huge total and it is unlikely that Scotland will be able to pose any challenge to Sri Lanka with the bat. Kyle Coetzer will have to bat very well to give them a chance. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Complete Coverage
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 338 for 9 in 50 overs (Tillakaratne Dilshan 104, Kumar Sangakkara 124; Josh Davey 3 for 63) beat Scotland 215 in 43.1 overs (Preston Mommsen 60, Freddie Coleman 70; Nuwan Kulasekara 3 for 20) by 148 runs.
Man of the Match: Kumar Sangakkara
(Rishad D’Souza, a reporter with CricketCountry, gave up hopes of playing Test cricket after a poor gully-cricket career. He now reports on the sport. You can follow @RishadDsouza on Twitter)
