SAJEEWA JAYAKODY
In a crucial ICC World Cup match played at M Chinnasamy Stadium on Thursday, Sri Lanka’s seasoned campaigner Angelo Mathews made a remarkable comeback, and his performance heavily influenced Sri Lanka’s bowling effort. They managed to dismiss the formidable England team for just 156 runs, with paceman Lahiru Kumara delivering an outstanding performance.
After Sri Lanka decided not to review a possible LBW decision against Jonny Bairstow off Dilshan Madushanka, England got off to a strong start in the initial five overs.
However, the tide turned in Sri Lanka’s favor when England’s openers had reached 45 runs without losing a wicket.
The turning point came when Angelo Mathews entered the attack and bowled a cross-seam delivery that found the edge of Dawid Malan’s bat, resulting in a straightforward catch for wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis.
Following this, Sri Lanka kept the pressure on the English batters. Angelo Mathews, who was positioned at gully, made a crucial throw to Kusal Mendis to dismiss Joe Root, reducing England to 57-2 within the Power Play.
The mounting pressure on the England batters led to Jonny Bairstow being caught by Dhananjaya de Silva at mid-on, courtesy of Rajitha’s bowling.
From that point on, the Sri Lankan bowlers left no room for the formidable English batters to recover. Lahiru Kumara, with his sheer pace, claimed three crucial wickets, including the dismissal of English captain Jos Buttler (caught behind for 8), Liam Livingston (LBW for 1), and the dangerous Ben Stokes, who struggled to make 43 off 73 deliveries.
Sri Lanka’s fielding also saw significant improvements, with veteran Angelo Mathews and Sadeera Samarawickrama making notable contributions. Samarawickrama took a brilliant catch at point to remove Chris Woakes for a duck off Kasun Rajitha, who finished with figures of 2-36 after a solid second spell.
Angelo Mathews’ return and the collective effort of the Sri Lankan bowlers and fielders played a crucial role in restricting England to a modest total of 156 runs in this crucial ICC World Cup encounter.
Chief scores:
England: 156 all out in 33.2 overs (Ben Stokes 43, Jonney Bairstow 30, Dawid Malan 28, Moeen Ali 15, David Willey 14, Lahiru Kumara 3/35, Angelo Mathews 2/14, Kasun Rajitha 2/36, Maheesh Theekshana 1/21.
