Malinga leads the fightback as Sri Lanka stun England
Just three days after Kevin Pietersen tweeted “If Roy misses out, Bairstow will get you! If they both miss out, Root will get you. If they all miss out then Buttler will get you. Just give England the cup already”, chinks were seen in England’s almost impregnable armour. An uncharacteristic batting collapse, courtesy some excellent bowling by Sri Lanka, resulted in England falling short by 21 runs.
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Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat on a good Headingly wicket. The ball was coming on well to the bat but Chris Woakes and Jofra Archer wreaked havoc. They found some swing and got early breakthroughs. Avishka Fernando and Kusal Mendis steadied the ship. Avishka looked in good touch, his drives and pulls were packed with power and timing. However, he fell one run short of a fifty, guiding an upper cut straight to Adil Rashid. The experienced Angelo Mathews stayed till the end but lacked support as Archer, Wood and Rashid cleaned the tail up.
Set a paltry 233 to win, the famed English batting line-up was jolted early as Lasith Malinga trapped Jonny Bairstow LBW for a golden duck. The wily Malinga found James Vince’s edge and Kusal Mendis made no mistake at first slip. Joe Root and Eoin Morgan built a steady partnership but there was an air of uncertainty around the Headingly Oval. Isuru Udana hung on to a stunning catch off his own bowling to dismiss skipper Morgan. Malinga came back into the attack in a tactical masterstroke and got the big wickets of Root and Jos Buttler in consecutive overs. Part timer Dhananjaya De Silva made the most of England being under immense pressure. He bowled slow and flighted to Moeen Ali and challenged him to clear a packed leg-side field. Moeen could only find deep midwicket as England looked in all sorts of trouble. Sri Lanka started believing as Woakes edged one to the keeper. Ben Stokes started attacking but it was too late. At the other end, Adil Rashid and Mark Wood edged to the keeper and Jofra Archer fell carelessly, finding long on and handing Sri Lanka a memorable win.
Analysis:-
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Malinga’s second spell decided the course of the game. With Joe Root and Jos Buttler back in the hut, the English lower order, which has had very little time in the middle felt the pressure mounting. Isuru Udana’s slower balls proved to be highly effective on the slowest wicket so far of this World Cup. He choked the runs at the death, making the batsmen look target the other bowlers. Using Dhananjaya De Silva to bait the lower order swung the tide firmly in Sri Lanka’s favour.
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Other teams will note this performance and will look to exploit England’s weaknesses. Sri Lanka finally found the right balance and will look to stitch together a run of wins.
Originally published at Sporcial.
