A sensational knock by Alex Hales saw England hand Sri Lanka their first loss in the World T20 tournament.
Put into bat by England, the Sri Lankans lost in form Kusal Perera in the second over of the game, adjudged to be caught down the legside. Mahela Jayawardene was the next man in, and he was extremely lucky to last more than one delivery, as what appeared to be a clean catch at cover was inexplicably given not out after being reviewed by the third umpire. He made full use of this lifeline as he smashed an elegant yet brutal 89, combining with TM Dilshan to put up a century partnership. Dilshan was looking for form coming into this game, and was scratchy for the most part of his innings, but managed to give Jayawardene good support and notch up a half century. The pair were helped by some abysmal fielding by the English, who dropped five catches in the innings, helping the Lankans put up what looked to be a formidable total of 189 at the end of their twenty overs.
Coming in to bat, the Englishmen got off to a disastrous start, losing opener Michael Lumb and in form batsman Moin Ali in the very first over. Nuwan Kulasekara was the man responsible for their dismissals, and with a double wicket maiden to start off with, the Lankans will have envisioned an easy win.
Alex Hales and Eion Morgan had other plans however, as the pair set about constructing a brisk yet risk free partnership, keeping England in the game right throughout. The Lankan bowlers struggled with the heavy dew around the ground, and the two batsmen cashed in duly, putting up a record stand of over 150. Alex Hales was the chief architect of the innings, reaching his first T20 international century. The Lankan bowlers were largely ineffective, and Ajantha Mendis in particular, was taken apart by the batsmen, going for 25 runs off one over that swung the balance of the match. Captain Chandimal gambled by bringing on Lasith Malinga and Kulesekara for their final overs in the 18th and 19th over respectively, but both went for runs, leaving Angelo Mathews only 7 to defend in the final over. Hales completed the job he had started, hitting a towering six to finish the game, giving England their first win of the tournament, and opening up group one in the process.
Chief Scores:
Sri Lanka: 189/4 in 20 overs (Jayawardene 89, Dilshan 55; CJ Jordan 2 for 28, JW Dernbach 2 for 42)
England: 190/4 in 19.2 overs (Hales 116*, Morgan 57; KMDN Kulasekara 4 for 32)
Man of the match: AD Hales
Full Scorecard (Statistics from cricket365)
