ODI World Cup 2023: Sri Lanka bowl out England for 156 runs

Wickets from Matthews, Kumara and Rajitha helped Sri Lanka to bowl out England for 156 runs. Here is a recap of the first innings.

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In the 25th match of the current ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, England and Sri Lanka squared up against one another following three losses in their four games. The defending champions had dropped their last two games, while Sri Lanka had won their previous meeting. At the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Jos Buttler chose to bat first after winning the toss. England scored 156 runs. Here is the recap of the first innings.

The reigning champions made three changes to their starting lineup, starting Chris Woakes, Moeen Ali, and Liam Livingstone in place of Harry Brook, Gus Atkinson, and Reece Topley. However, Sri Lanka substituted veteran players Angelo Matthews and Lahiru Kumara for Chamika Karunaratne and Dushan Hemantha. 

England lucky to just lose two wickets in powerplay

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Unfortunately for him, Dilshan Madhushanka did not pursue a review after he opened the bowling for Sri Lanka and removed Jonny Bairstow with the opening ball of the game. Whether the ball struck the pad or the bat first was unclear. When the replays were in, they revealed that the ball struck the pads first and that the LBW had three reds. Within the first six overs, Bairstow and Dawid Malan both struck some boundaries and took back control. Malan struck six fours in the first five overs, averaging over six runs a nearly. 

In the eighth over, Angelo Matthews entered the assault. With his third ball of the game, Matthews took Malan’s wicket, changing the game right away. Joe Root took the pitch, but his brief stay—just ten balls—came to an end when a miscommunication led to a run-out. Before he ran himself out, Bairstow was about to walk back to the dugout after Root nearly got him again. Luckily for the English opener, a direct hit went wide and he was saved once more. By the end of the powerplay, Sri Lanka had claimed two wickets and England had amassed 59 runs.

Sri Lanka continues to take regular wickets

Sri Lanka wasted a review while challenging an LBW call against Ben Stokes immediately following the powerplay in the eleventh over. Bairstow’s luck held as the opening batsman for England once again avoided a scare in the twelfth over after inside-edging a ball to his foot. The 14th over saw Kasun Rajitha finally get his man, dismissing Bairstow with a brilliant catch from Dhananjaya de Silva. Bairstow smashed three fours and scored 30 runs off of 31 balls. Returning to the team, Lahiru Kumara claimed his maiden wicket in his second over, dismissing English captain Jos Buttler in the fifteenth over. In the next over, Kumara picked up his second wicket, falling next to Liam Livingstone. 

Despite his best efforts, Sadeera Samarawickrama, fielding at backward point, was unable to hold on for the catch, stopping Kumara from nearly taking his third wicket and dismissing Stokes. After Stokes was declared leg before wicket by the on-field umpire, Maheesh Theekshana also had a chance to take the sixth wicket. As soon as Stokes reviewed the call, replays showed the ball had taken an under-edge.

Stokes and Ali regain brief control

After taking five wickets in five overs, Stokes and Moeen Ali hit some boundaries and increased the scoring tempo. In the 21st over, Madhushanka entered the fray; Stokes hit him for a four to make nine runs off of the over. When Dhanjaya de Silva (DDS) entered the attack in the 22nd over, Stokes and Ali each blasted two fours to greet him. In the subsequent over, Stokes persisted in their assault, hitting Madhushanka for two fours. After just one over, Rajitha came in to replace DDS and bowled a tight over. In four overs, England scored thirty runs (21–24). 

After Madhushanka was taken off the attack, Matthews returned to the attack and once more secured the crucial wicket of Ali. Ali hit just one four while scoring 15 runs off of 15 balls. In the subsequent over, Rajitha removed Woakes for a four-ball duck. The third umpire, Ahsan Raza, made a risky call on a clean catch, ruling that the fielder Samarawickrama had the fingers beneath the ball.

In the 29th over, following the drinks break, Kumara returned for a second spell. In just his second over of the innings, the right-arm bowler removed Stokes from the game. With six fours, Stokes scored 43 runs in 73 balls.