Proving the uncertainties of cricket true, England defeated host Sri Lanka by 51 runs in a thrilling Super-8 match. This victory is no less than a miracle for England, because the team had scored only 146 runs while batting first. In reply, the Sri Lankan team, playing on its home ground, fell apart like a pack of cards and was all out for 95 runs.
The heroes of this victory were the England bowlers, especially Joffra Archer and Will Jacques, who broke the back of the Sri Lankan batting in the initial overs itself. In this match held at Pallekele Stadium, the bowlers had such dominance that a total of 19 wickets fell in both the innings.
The Sri Lankan team, which came out to chase the modest target of 147 runs, had a very bad start. England’s fast bowler Joffra Archer and spinner Will Jacques, with their sharp bowling, did not give the Sri Lankan batsmen a chance to stay on the crease. At one time Sri Lanka’s score was 5 wickets for just 34 runs, from which the team could not recover.
Will Jacques was the most successful bowler of England in this match, he took 3 important wickets. At the same time, Joffra Archer gave the initial shock by taking 2 wickets. Apart from them, Adil Rashid and Liam Dawson also bowled economically and took two wickets each, while Jamie Overton got one success.
While the fall of wickets continued at one end, Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka continued to struggle at the other end. He played a fighting inning of 30 runs in 24 balls, but he did not get support from any other batsman. As soon as he was out, Sri Lanka’s last hope of victory also ended and the entire team could not even play 20 overs.
Earlier, the England team, which came to bat first after losing the toss, also struggled against the Sri Lankan bowlers and could only score 146 runs. But England’s bowlers proved that even in low-scoring matches, victory can be achieved by applying pressure. This defeat is a big setback for Sri Lanka in the Super-8 campaign.
