Sri Lanka’s spinners on Thursday turned the screws to script a hard-fought 19-run victory over England in the opening one-day international at Colombo’s R. Premadasa Stadium.
Set 272 for victory, England appeared to be cruising at 129-1 with Ben Duckett and Joe Root stroking the ball sweetly and the asking rate firmly under control, but once the 117-run stand was broken, Sri Lanka dried up the runs and England faltered with the bat, being bowled out for 252 in the final over.
“It was a good game of cricket, but we need to keep improving. Our spinners did a terrific job. We knew it would start turning after the 30th over and batting would become a challenge,” Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka said.
Photo: AP
Duckett’s attempted reverse-sweep brought Sri Lanka back into the game as he was ruled out leg before wicket to Jeffrey Vandersay. However, it was Root’s dismissal that truly changed the complexion of the contest.
The former England Test captain, a perennial thorn in Sri Lanka’s side with imposing averages of 61 in one-day internationals and 62 in Tests against them, misjudged a sweep off part-time spinner Dhananjaya de Silva.
Sri Lanka reviewed instantly, the on-field decision was overturned and the roar from the Premadasa stands said it all.
With the required rate climbing north of eight an over, England were forced into risk mode.
Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell both paid the price, brilliantly stumped by Kusal Mendis, with Brook undone off a wide by his opposite number Asalanka.
Jamie Overton injected late drama with a muscular 34 off 17 balls, adding 39 for the last wicket with Adil Rashid, but it proved too steep a hill to climb and he was the final wicket to fall.
Sri Lanka’s fielders matched their bowlers stride for stride, with De Silva and Dunith Wellalage pulling off stunning catches to keep the pressure relentless.
Earlier, Mendis had been the glue that held Sri Lanka’s innings together after England’s leg-spin pair of Adil Rashid and Rehan Ahmed reduced the hosts to 124-4.
Battling cramps, Mendis rotated the strike cleverly and punished anything loose.
He added 88 runs for the fifth wicket with Janith Liyanage, who made 46.
Mendis was on 92 at the start of the final over and watched from the nonstriker’s end as Wellalage stole the limelight, launching three fours and a six in a blistering 25 not out from 12 balls. That proved crucial as it dragged the hosts to 271-6 from their 50 overs.
“Sri Lanka outplayed us,” England captain Harry Brook said. “We thought we could chase it and we were in a good position, but with the asking rate climbing it became difficult.”
US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes, and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the French Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
Liverpool on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the English Premier League’s bottom club. Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux. Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November last year. However, Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool. It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017. Liverpool
CHANCE TO QUALIFY: Both teams now have three points from two games, and Taiwan sit ahead of Vietnam and behind Japan, who last night beat India 11-0 Taiwan yesterday defeated Vietnam 1-0 to move into second place in Group C at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup with one match remaining. Su Yu-hsuan scored the decisive goal in the 26th minute after Taiwan midfielder Saki Matsunaga’s shot hit the crossbar, leaving Su to nod the rebound into an empty net for the team which won the last of their three Asian Cup titles in 1981. It was a deserved victory for Taiwan, 2-0 losers to Japan on Wednesday, who created several chances to extend their lead. Vietnam, the 2022 quarter-finalist, beat India in their opener, but struggled to
RSS