At the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday, England’s problems worsened as they lost to Sri Lanka for the sixth time in a row in the World Cup. In Bengaluru, England chose to bat first, and after just 25 overs, their top six collapsed. After winning the toss, Jos Buttler declared that England would bat first. Despite their strong start, Sri Lanka rallied, led by veteran Angelo Mathews’ wicket in the seventh over—his first in more than three years of One-Day International cricket. Before the 16th over, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, and Jos Buttler had returned to the hut.
Then, Ben Stokes appeared to be forming a strong combination with Moeen Ali, but on a run-a-ball 15, the latter was dismissed by Mathews. Soon after, Chris Woakes was caught brilliantly by Sadeera Samarawickrama, and England were almost entirely dependent on Stokes to lead them to a respectable score. In the 31st over, though, the England Test skipper was dismissed for 43 off 73. In the end, England was destroyed for 156 runs in 33.2 overs.
Sri Lanka crossed the finish line convincingly
In the first six overs, Sri Lanka lost their first two wickets, but Sadeera Samarawickrama and Pathum Nissanka have since looked solid. After hitting half-centuries, the two almost ended England’s hopes of winning. With an incredible 146 balls remaining, Sri Lanka prevailed by eight wickets thanks to a six from Nissanka to cap it off. With 77 off 83 and Samarawickrama with 65 off 54, he was undefeated.