Print

Mail

wiki links

Sri Lanka defeat England by 119 runs

Farveez Maharoof grabbed four big wickets as Sri Lanka posted an emphatic 119-run victory over England in the opening one-day international here on Monday.

The seamer dismissed Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell and debutant Phil Mustard in his opening four overs as England were bowled out for 150 on a slow pitch in reply to Sri Lanka's 269-7 to concede a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

Maharoof (4-31) then removed opener Alastair Cook, who top-scored with a defiant 46. Mustard (27), Ravi Bopara (27 not out) and Graeme Swann (24) were the other batsmen to reach double figures in a dismal batting performance.

Sri Lanka earlier used skipper Mahela Jayawardene's 66 to reach a challenging total after winning the toss before man-of-the-match Maharoof added to the advantage with his disciplined opening spell.

"Our bowlers did a brilliant job. They got a few early wickets and that really put them under pressure. Maharoof showed what he is capable of doing," Jayawardene said.

"When we saw the wicket we knew we needed to be patient," he said. "We knew a total of 250-260 would be competitive."

England got off to a brisk start when Cook and Mustard put on 43 for the opening wicket, but lost their way under the lights when Maharoof was pressed into the attack after seven overs.

Maharoof provided the breakthrough in his first over when he had Mustard caught by a diving Lasith Malinga at wide mid-off and then had Bell and Pietersen caught behind to reduce England to 60-3.

The tourists could never recover from the early blows, losing wickets at regular intervals before being dismissed in the 35th over.

"I was happy with the way we bowled. I think the total was gettable, but we lost wickets in the middle order and that cost us the match," England skipper Paul Collingwood said.

"Hopefully, we can improve and get a win next time," he said.

Also see story:
Australia beat India by 84 runs to take 1-0 lead

This story has been viewed 904 times.