Sri Lanka's spirited show
England vs Sri Lanka 25th Match in Bengaluru
October 26, 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup
England may have won the toss and elected to field first but Sri Lanka came out all guns blazing and ended up notching up a healthy 236 runs on the board. They lost wickets regularly but kept finding partnerships to never let England get ahead in the game.
Openers Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis gave the team a solid start, putting on 46 runs for the first wicket in just 8.3 overs, but both fell in quick succession to leave Sri Lanka at 63/2. Dhananjaya de Silva and Charith Asalanka then steadied the innings with a 55-run stand, but once again, England struck back with two quick wickets, leaving Sri Lanka at 118/4.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Dasun Shanaka then put on a crucial 74-run stand for the fifth wicket, taking Sri Lanka past the 200-run mark and giving them a fighting total to defend. Rajapaksa top-scored for Sri Lanka with 79 runs off 71 balls, while Shanaka made 34 off 46 balls.
For England, Chris Woakes was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3/42 in his 10 overs. Sam Curran and David Willey also chipped in with two wickets each.
Despite the loss, Sri Lanka can take heart from their performance, having shown great resilience and fight against a strong England side. They now face a must-win match against Australia in their next encounter.
**Fall of wickets**
- 1-46: Pathum Nissanka (c) Jos Buttler (b) Chris Woakes
- 2-63: Kusal Mendis (b) David Willey
- 3-118: Dhananjaya de Silva (c) Jos Buttler (b) Sam Curran
- 4-118: Charith Asalanka (b) Sam Curran
- 5-192: Bhanuka Rajapaksa (lbw) Moeen Ali
- 6-217: Dasun Shanaka (c) Ben Stokes (b) Chris Woakes
- 7-228: Chamika Karunaratne (c) Jos Buttler (b) Adil Rashid
- 8-236: Kasun Rajitha (run out) Chris Woakes
- 9-236: Jeffrey Vandersay (not out)
- 10-236: Maheesh Theekshana (not out)
**Stats**
- Sri Lanka scored 236 runs in 49 overs, with a strike rate of 109.79.
- Pathum Nissanka scored 25 runs off 43 balls.
- Kusal Mendis scored 28 runs off 52 balls.
- Dhananjaya de Silva scored 34 runs off 49 balls.
- Charith Asalanka scored 28 runs off 37 balls.
- Bhanuka Rajapaksa scored 79 runs off 71 balls.
- Dasun Shanaka scored 34 runs off 46 balls.
- Chris Woakes took 3/42 in 10 overs.
- Sam Curran took 2/35 in 10 overs.
- David Willey took 2/44 in 10 overs.
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