 "England vs Sri Lanka, World Cup 2023: Angelo Mathews' fine spell, Nissanka-Samarawickrama stand and other top moments")
It was another matchday and another defeat for England as they suffered a humiliating eight-wicket loss to Sri Lanka at the 2023 World Cup in Bengaluru on Thursday. World Cup 2023: News | Schedule | Results | Points table England, the defending champions, needed to win against Sri Lanka by whatsoever margin to keep their semi-final hopes alive. But, it was not meant to be for Jos Buttler and Co, as they were dismissed for just 156 in 33.2 overs after opting to bat first.
For Sri Lanka, meanwhile, this win will act as a morale booster ahead of the games to come. They might be fighting teams like Pakistan and Afghanistan at the moment in the points table, but would be satisfied with how things turned out on Thursday. Let’s take a look at the top five moments from the match: The missed (dismissal) opportunity There was a slight bit of confusion among the Sri Lankan camp very early on in the contest. Dilshan Madushanka had been asked to open the bowling attack. He started off with an inswinging yorker to Jonny Bairstow, but Bairstow played it late as the ball seemingly hit the middle of his bat before racing away down the ground. Bairstow and Malan went for three runs on this occasion, and around this time, the Lankans were having a mini-conference of sorts whether to review for an LBW.
The DRS timer soon rat out, and the Lankans decided not to. However, to their dismay, the ball-tracking later showed that had they reviewed, Bairstow would have been out with the ball hitting his pad first, before crashing on to the leg stump. Bairstow was eventually dismissed for 30 runs by Kasun Rajitha in the 14th over. Adil Rashid’s run-out England had problems aplenty in their batting against Sri Lanka. However, the way Adil Rashid got run-out caught the eyes of many.
Maheesh Theekshana was bowling the 32nd over. He delivered one wide down the leg side to David Willey in the final ball of the over, and Kusal Mendis collected the ball. However, Mendis soon noticed Adil Rashid stepping out of the crease at the non-strikers’ end, and quickly aimed a successful direct hit, even before Theekshana could alert Mendis. Rashid was eventually dismissed for just two runs, in one of the most bizarre dismissals you would ever see. Angelo Mathews returns with impressive figures Angelo Mathews was only in the Sri Lankan team due to an injury to Matheesha Pathirana. Mathews last played an ODI against Afghanistan in June, and had been wicketless in the limited opportunities he got this year. However, on Thursday, Mathews returned with impressive figures of 2/14 in five overs. He did not even go for a single boundary and was responsible for dismissals at either ends of the innings. Mathews first dismissed Dawid Malan in the seventh over with a cross seam delivery at a length, with Malan looking to steer it but ended up getting an edge off the bat towards Kusal Mendis. Mathews then struck in the 25th over, getting rid of Moeen Ali with a soft dismissal. It was a short ball from Mathews, and Moeen slammed looked to go over backward point, only for Kusal Perera to complete the catch. Ben Stokes’ slow-paced knock Ben Stokes came into bat at number four just when England needed, but he ran out of batting partners who could support him. Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone all got dismissed in quick time once Stokes walked into the middle.
But one decent stand involving Stokes was a 37-run partnership with Moeen Ali for the sixth wicket. Stokes would collect regular boundaries at this point, but they would soon dry up following Ali’s dismissal in the 25th over, and Stokes lost the momentum. Stokes was eventually dismissed by Lahiru Kumara for a 73-ball 43 in the 31st over, after holing out to substitute fielder Dushan Hemantha in the deep. Nissanka-Samararwickrama stand One of the biggest positives for Sri Lanka in this World Cup has been how good Pathum Nissanka and Sadeera Samarawickrama have been.
The two have seven fifties between them, and once again, against England, they took the most of the opportunity. Samarawickrama came into bat at number four following the dismissal of Kusal Mendis in the sixth over, and went onto forge a 137-run stand with opener Nissanka for the third wicket. Both were equally aggressive, and took on the spinners with a courageous display. While Nissanka got to his fifty in 54 balls, Samarwickrama, who would hit Moeen Ali for consecutive fours on one occasion, took only 44 balls to reach his half-century. In the end, it was a demolishing act from the duo against England.
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