England, the reigning champions, lost to Sri Lanka by a humiliating eight wickets in the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023. The Jos Buttler-led team needed every point to stay in the competition, but nothing went their way at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium because it appeared too easy for the Lankan Lions.
England made a solid start when they batted first thanks to Jonny Bairstow and Dawid Malan, but they were finally bowled out for a just 156 runs as wickets continued to fall. Lahiru Kumara took three wickets, while the returning Angelo Matthews claimed two. They were able to dismiss England for such a low score because the team captained by Kusal Mendis performed excellent in the field as well.
When it came to the chase, Pathum Nissanka and Sadeera Samarawickrama formed an outstanding partnership to enable Sri Lanka win the match handily. Kusal Perera and Kusal Mendis lost their wickets very early. With the victory, Sri Lanka is still in the running for a semifinal berth, but England is all but eliminated from the ODI World Cup 2023 competition.
Sri Lankan bowling was flawless.
The bowlers from Sri Lanka were outstanding all along, hitting the correct length and line right from the start. In the end, it contributed to Sri Lanka’s strong start, which they used to win their fifth consecutive ODI World Cup match against England.
England approach
England has been playing aggressive cricket in all formats for a considerable amount of time. They have now suffered in ODI cricket, despite the fact that it benefited them in Test and T20 cricket. They lost wickets early on, but they didn’t alter their approach, so they continued to lose wickets frequently, which undoubtedly wasn’t helpful.
Sadeera Samarawickrama and Pathaum Nissanka engage in conversation.
Following two early wicket losses, Sri Lanka was under pressure, but problems were eased for the squad by a stand-winning partnership between Nissanka and Samarawickrama. A half-century each for both batters will instill great confidence in them moving forward.
Losing skipper Jos Buttler said:
It’s incredibly tough. As a captain you feel that a lot – disappointed with myself and the boys that we’ve not shown our best. We’re playing a long way short of our best. There’s a lot of really experienced cricketers in the room. You don’t become a bad team overnight. That’s the frustration. We’ve been so far short of our best, and there’s no particular reason. Can’t put my finger on it. Selection is something you want to be consistent with.
Selection hasn’t been our problem. We’ve been short of our standards. Lots of the dismissals – Root’s run out – you don’t see that kind of mistakes from us. Haven’t been building partnerships. Not doing the basic things well with both bat and ball. The biggest thing is personal pride. The standards we set for ourselves. Rest of the matches we want to get back to playing good cricket. Whatever will be will be.
Winning skipper Kusal Mendis said:
NRR going up is good for the team. We bowled very well today. Everyone did really well today. Another 4 games left. If we win 3 games back to back, we’ll be in the semis. Players did well last match also. Hope we can do well next couple of matches. Kumara did well today. He’s the main fast bowler in Sri Lanka. Bowled 140-145 speeds. Very happy that he came back strong today. Mathews bowled really well. He offers so many things. Can bat also. Can play the pressure situation also. I’m very lucky to be playing with him. Fielding was excellent today. Want to keep doing the same in the next 4 matches.
POTM Lahiru Kumara said:
Playing a team like England, I’m very happy to perform this way today. Didn’t make a lot of changes after the previous match, the Australia game was an off day for me. I’ve worked hard on my bowling. (On Mathews) Having him back is an inspiration, he gave me a lot of support and was talking to me throughout. (On his role in the team) The plan was to attack the middle overs with disciplined bowling, and we were rewarded with wickets.
India
