NEW DELHI: Sri Lanka managed to restrict England to a meager total of 156 runs, all out in just 33.2 overs in their ICC ODI World Cup match at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
The defending champions' batting display was disappointing, with only Ben Stokes putting up any notable resistance.
Stokes, with a score of 43, aggressively took on the Sri Lankan bowlers on a challenging wicket at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. This came after England's middle order crumbled in the face of sharp and incisive bowling. Unfortunately, he eventually holed out to Dushan Hemantha in the deep off Lahiru Kumara, who took 3 wickets for 35 runs, in the 31st over.
England received an early stroke of luck when Jos Buttler won the toss and chose to bat first. Jonny Bairstow, scoring 30, survived an lbw appeal, but he couldn't capitalize on his promising start and gifted his wicket to Kasun Rajitha, who took 2 wickets for 36 runs.
Sri Lanka effectively slowed down England's scoring, thanks to the veteran Angelo Mathews, who picked up 2 wickets for 14 runs, dismissing opener Dawid Malan for 28 and contributing to Joe Root's run-out. Lahiru Kumara struck twice more to leave England in a precarious position at 85-5.
Mathews, brought in as an injury replacement for Matheesha Pathirana, continued to make an impact, taking Moeen Ali's wicket in his second spell. Chris Woakes fell to Rajitha after a remarkable low diving catch by Sadeera Samarawickrama.
Sri Lanka, entering the match with a similar record to England, having suffered three defeats in four matches, proceeded to dismantle England's lower-order batsmen, setting the stage for a potential major upset.
