Sri Lanka’s seven-wicket win over England means all four teams in Group A are still in with a chance of making the semifinals
A magnificent unbeaten 135-ball 134 from Kumar
Sangakkara and three stroke-filled contributions, including an audacious
30-ball half-century from Nuwan Kulasekara, led Sri Lanka to an
emphatic seven-wicket win against England at The Oval on Thursday (June
13). Needing 294, Sri Lanka won with 17 balls to spare, a result that
ensured that semifinal places from the group would only be decided after
the final round of matches on June 16 and 17.
For half the innings, England bowled relatively tightly and fielded
brilliantly. Then, as Sri Lanka’s two most experienced batsmen piled on
the pressure, they fell apart. Kulasekara merely delivered the knockout
punch.
Sri Lanka had lost Kusal Perera early, lofting James Anderson to mid-on,
but Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sangakkara kept England’s potent pace
attack at bay while adding 48 in the Power Play overs. Deliveries that
strayed on to the pads were punished, and Sangakkara crunched a couple
of lovely strokes through point and cover as the score started to mount.
The introduction of Joe Root’s part-time spin accelerated the rate, with
Dilshan smacking a straight six, and there were a few furrowed brows in
the crowd as the hundred came up at five an over. But the introduction
of Graeme Swann started to choke the runs, and Dilshan finally succumbed
to frustration as he miscued one to long-on. The partnership was worth
92 from 111 balls.
Mahela Jayawardena’s poor run of form away from home has been the
subject of much debate in Sri Lankan cricket circles, but there was
nothing diffident about the manner in which he approached this innings.
Bad balls on leg stump were pulled or flicked with typical elegance, and
there was one magnificent straight six off Stuart Broad as he and
Sangakkara started to cruise at a run-a-ball.
Sangakkara left the eye-catching strokes to his dear friend, but was
busy and efficient as he played the anchor role to perfection.
Jayawardena’s exit, after a classy 42 in 43 balls, didn’t stem the tide
either. Sri Lanka promoted Kulasekara to No. 5 and though he didn’t belt
the cover off the ball, his presence seemed to unnerve England enough
for ill discipline to creep in in the shape of wides and sloppy
fielding.
Sangakkara took 111 balls to reach his century, and when the final ten
overs began, Sri Lanka needed just 76. That was Kulasekara’s cue, as he
drove and clobbered Tim Bresnan for two fours, before swiping two huge
sixes off Swann’s final over. When Broad was pulled for six, driven
straight and through cover for fours off consecutive deliveries, the
game was as good as over. With both men pinging the ball where they
pleased, the hundred partnership took just 68 balls.
England’s 293 had been built on steady half-centuries from Alastair Cook
and Jonathan Trott. Joe Root then chipped in with an inventive 68 as
England threatened to power its way to a mammoth total. But England lost
four wickets for five runs in a dramatic late collapse, and it was left
to Ravi Bopara, who smashed 28 from Shaminda Eranga’s final over, to
provide the finishing touch.
Sri Lanka, who had decided to bowl under overcast skies, was let down by
some wayward bowling and four dropped catches, three of them by
Dilshan. Rangana Herath, who trapped both Cook and Trott leg before, was
the pick of the bowlers with 2 for 46, but there was little penetration
elsewhere, especially once England saw off Lasith Malinga’s opening
spell.
Ian Bell drove and pulled Malinga for fours early on, but the theme of
the first Power Play was circumspection, with 38 runs scored. Bell fell
soon after, chipping a poor ball from Eranga to midwicket, but that only
exposed Sri Lanka’s bowlers to Cook and Trott, who set about grinding
them down. Dilshan dropped Cook at backward point when he had made just
23, despite getting both hands to the ball, and he put down a chance off
his own bowling when Cook had progressed to 56.
Cook and Trott put away the bad balls while adding 83 from 102 balls.
The second Dilshan drop didn’t turn out to be expensive though as Herath
sneaked one through Cook’s defence. After consulting Trott, Cook went
for the review, only to find that the ball was hitting halfway up middle
stump.
Trott’s half-century took just 62 balls and he was noticeably more
fluent after that, especially when tucking the ball off his pads. Root,
with his brisk running, sweet drives and ramp shots, both orthodox and
reverse, rattled Sri Lanka even further as the innings gathered real
momentum.
Dilshan was again the culprit, running back from point, when Root, then
on 35, miscued a drive off Malinga. Trott fell to a full delivery from
Herath, but there was still time for Sangakkara, running across to
square leg, to put down another chance off Malinga. Root was on 56 at
the time, and would add 12 more before Jayawardena held on at deep
midwicket to give Malinga his first wicket of the innings.
The next ball, Malinga had another, as Billy Bowden gave Eoin Morgan leg
before to a full ball that looked like it might miss the stumps. With
the score still stuck on 249, Jos Buttler edged Eranga behind, and when
Tim Bresnan was bowled swinging across one, the innings was in disarray.
Bopara thumped three sixes and two fours in an astonishing final over,
but the middle-order slump would come back to haunt England.
