Sri Lanka secured an emphatic eight-wicket victory over England to leave the defending champions’ hopes hanging by a thread. While Sri Lanka’s dominance in this contest over the past four editions didn’t make the outcome entirely unexpected, England’s fourth loss in the tournament has put their title defence in jeopardy.

The match’s fate was sealed at the halfway point when England, choosing to bat, collapsed to a meagre total of 156. From there on, it was a test of Sri Lanka’s nerves, and they proved equal to the task.

David Willey did offer a glimmer of hope for England in the early stages, claiming the key wickets of Kusal Perera and Kusal Mendis during the first Powerplay. However, Pathum Nissanka and Sadeera Samarawickrama formed an unbroken partnership of 137 runs, guiding Sri Lanka to a comfortable win with nearly half of their allotted overs remaining.

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Earlier, England’s doom was written when they struggled to adapt to the conditions of the Chinnaswamy pitch, which behaved a bit differently from their expectations. Usually one with lots of runs on offer, this pitch offered a slower pace, with occasional uneven bounce.

The first five overs of England’s innings were the only phase where they exhibited some confidence. Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow managed to find the boundaries, but once Angelo Mathews and Maheesh Theekshana entered the scene, the momentum shifted.

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Mathews secured a pivotal breakthrough by dismissing Malan and played a role in Joe Root’s run-out, causing England’s batting to falter. Theekshana continued to apply pressure, while the pace duo of Lahiru Kumara and Kasun Rajitha dismantled the remainder of the English lineup. Ben Stokes put up some resistance, but he, too, couldn’t maintain his usual tempo.

In the end, the runs were never going to be enough.

Watch the highlights of ENG vs SL here:

 

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