London: Sri Lanka registered an emphatic win against England as they successfully chased down the target of 294 runs in just 47.1 overs with seven wickets remaining in the ICC Champions Trophy match here on Thursday.
Kumar Sangakkara played a sensational knock of 134 runs and stayed till the end. He was well supported by Tilakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene and Nuwan Kulasekara who scored briskly to give Lankans a certain edge in this must win game. Perera played a blitzkrieg knock of 58 runs off just 38 balls which made the world of difference in the outcome of this match.
Earlier, it was some sensible batting from Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trot that gave them a very solid start which was clubbed with the innovative and clean hitting from the duo of Ravi Bopara and Joe Root that allowed them to post a huge total of 293 runs on the board.
Sri Lanka had an awful start as they lost the wicket of Kushal Perera early but Dilshan and Sangakkara started rebuilding the innings quite nicely. Both the batsmen didn’t play loose shots during their stay at the crease which allowed them to post a total of 99 runs in 20 overs. But Dilshan went for a big shot which was mistimed and he paid the price by losing his wicket to Graeme Swann.
Sangakkara kept his nerves and with Jayawardene added 85 runs which gave them a chance of winning this match. Jayawardene kept playing his unique shots by batting from outside the off-stump which helped him score few boundaries. But it also led to his fall when he was looking quite elegant at 42.
But Kulasekara came on to the crease and started hitting the boundaries at regular intervals. The turning point of this match was the 43rd and 44th over in which Lankans scored 32 runs and put the curtains on England. Lankans won the match in 47.1 overs. Sangakkara remained unbeaten on 134 whereas Kulasekara scored a brilliant half-century and stayed not out on 58.
Earlier in the match, it was some classy batting from the Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trot which steadied their innings and allowed them to score at the rate of more than five. They kept dealing in ones and twos rather than going for the big shots. Cook departed after scoring 59 runs which brought Root on to the crease. Root and Trot added 87 runs which got them over 200-run mark. Trot contributed 76 runs off 87 balls that he played and Root scored 68 runs off 74 balls.
Bopara smacked 28 runs in the final over of the England’s innings. He smacked three sixes and two fours in his short stay of 13 balls and helped English team reach to a comfortable total of 293 runs in their 50 overs.