Three-time runners-up, England exit World Cup after Lanka cane them in Quarter-Final
Three-time runners-up, England exit World Cup after Lanka cane them in Quarter-Final
Unbeaten centuries from openers Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga powered Sri Lanka to an easy 10-wicket win against England here at Premadasa Stadium yesterday to seal their World Cup semi-final clash with New Zealand on Tuesday.
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Chasing 230, the odds were heavily stacked against the hosts on a track which, history suggests, is nightmarish to bat under lights.
It took Andrew Strauss' men all of 25 overs to realise that taking the pace off the ball was the mantra to succeed, but by then, it was too late.
Dilshan (108 not out) and Tharanga (102 not out) had already done the damage.
Both were ruthless on the excessive amount of short balls, and never allowed England's off-spinning duo of Graeme Swann and James Tredwell to hit the right length.
The seamers, Tim Bresnan and Chris Tremlett, tried everything ufffd surprise bouncers, slower balls, bowling with different angles to strategic field settings, but nothing proved good enough to dismantle the confident pair.
In short, it was an authoritative showing from the 2007 runners-up.
For about two quarters of their batting performance, England appeared like a team possessed to challenge the perception that they didn't stand a chance against the Lankans.
Both teams were desperate to dish out the initial blows, as a raving, characteristically colourful ambience, summoned their match-up.
Sri Lanka, playing with three spinners, tried to slow the pace of the game. It didn't stop England who came out hard with both Ian Bell and Andrew Strauss looking to attack.
That led to the latter's downfall who attempted a terrible pull shot off Dilshan and had his woodwork destroyed.
Jonathan Trott played the sheet anchor's role while Bell and Ravi Bopara tried to provide the aggressive foil at other end.
England's batsmen realised the slow surface would make life difficult as the game progressed, and constantly looked for boundaries.
Kumar Sangakkara was two steps ahead, with his predator-like field placements, choking the easy singles. His vibrant outfit saved at least 30 runs in the inner circle.
Eoin Morgan was the game changer, and made the eventual difference between a total of 180 and 229. The Irishman's knack of piercing gaps in the outfield without taking risks spoke volumes of his ability.
He was dropped thrice ufffd by Thilan Samaraweera at mid-wicket, Angelo Mathews at long off, and Rangana Hearth at covers. Luckily for Sri Lanka, his 50-run cameo ended in Lasith Malinga's final burst.
England made a tactical blunder, sending Luke Wright only in 49th over. Trott, with all due respect, consumed too many balls, and that meant England's batting powerplay fetched only 23 runs.
In hindsight, Sri Lanka would have chased even a total in excess of 300 on this night.
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