England register 12th consecutive win over Sri Lanka, thump hosts in T20 World Cup Super 8 round

England have finally arrived at the T20 World Cup with a massive 51-run win over Sri Lanka in their opening Super 8 clash in Pallekele. They defended 146 runs comfortably with their spinners leading the charge in a dominating win. Sri Lanka were skittled for just 95 runs in the 17th over in the run-chase as they committed harakiri, much to the disappointment of the jam-packed stadium. Their captain, Dasun Shanaka, tried his best but the collapse at the top of the order in the powerplay overs eventually cost them the game big time.

Earlier in the game, Sri Lanka won the toss and surprisingly opted to bowl first. Phil Salt was the best batter for England as he even scored 62 runs off 40 balls with six fours and two sixes. But wickets kept falling around him and England finished only 146 runs for the loss of nine wickets in their 20 overs. Dunith Wellalage picked up three wickets while Maheesh Theekshana finished with a couple as Sri Lanka's spinners dominated the



proceedings.

Dushan Hemantha was a disappointment as he conceded 38 runs in his four overs and went wicketless. For England, apart from Salt, only Will Jacks crossed the 20-run mark and the rest of the batters struggled completely.

Sri Lanka would've backed themselves to chase down 147 runs. But they took Will Jacks' spin bowling too lightly and the part-time bowler turned things around dramatically in the powerplay itself. Sri Lanka lost five wickets for 19 runs to collapse from 15/0 to 34/5 in 19 deliveries.

Shanaka, their captain, fought hard for Sri Lanka but no other batter could stick around him. He scored 30 runs and his wicket was the final nail in the coffin as Sri Lanka didn't have much to celebrate in their batting innings at all. They were eventually folded for their third-lowest total (95) in the T20 World Cup, even as England spinners picked seven wickets, the most ever for them in a T20 World Cup match.