T20 World Cup: England eliminates Sri Lanka.

T20 World Cup 2021, England vs Sri Lanka: Jos Buttler’s century dooms Sri Lanka’s semifinals chances. England spinners too much for Lanka picking up a total of 5 wickets between them.

Always a challenge when playing in Sharjah and this game was similar. Chasing 164 runs, Sri Lanka struggled right from the start. Their opening pair fails once again from a superb fielding effort from the English skipper.

The spinners were literally unplayable as it seemed. Adil Rashid picked up two wickets which could have been three but a dropped catch from Chris Woakes stopped him at two wickets. His two wickets also include a big wicket of Charith Asalanka who was looking like a dragon ready to throw fire.

Apart from Charith, Sri Lankan skipper, Dasun Shanaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, and Wanindu Hasaranga had noticeable innings. Especially, Bhanuka and Wanindu were looking to take away the match.

Flop batting show from the Asian team only managed to reach 137 against quality bowling and fielding performance. Chris Jordan, Moeen Ali, and Adil Rashid picked up two wickets each while Chris Woakes and part-timer Liam Livingstone got one.

The target was too big for Sri Lanka to chase off. For which Jos Buttler’s century innings counted the most. His unbeaten innings, playing the whole innings right from bowl one, consisted of six sixes and six fours.

The start of the England innings, however, belonged to Sri Lanka because of the mysterious spell Wanindu Hasaranga, who came from a hat-trick game. Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow could not pick the recent hat-trick taker getting cleaned of inside the powerplay. His last wicket of Eoin Morgan came at a crucial time too in the 19th over.

Sri Lanka could have restricted England under 150 but the partnership of Morgan and Buttler ensured the opposite to be true. With this loss, Sri Lanka is now technically out of the fight for the semifinals. While England are to top the group if everything goes right.

Sri Lanka however like India still has their chances but relies heavily on other results and betting that they win their remaining matches. Watch the England vs Sri Lanka, T20 World Cup 2021 highlight.

ICC T20 World Cup 2021, England vs Sri Lanka: post match presentation.

Dasun Shanaka:

“The bowlers have been good in the first 10 overs but good enough in the back end. I knew the dew factor will play in the second innings. Our batters played well. These players have come along in the tournament and it will be very good for us in the future.”

Eoin Morgan:

“I am incredibly proud of the boys. We had to put up a great fight and Ali and Livingstone did really well with the ball after Mills got injured. Sri Lanka pushed us more than the other teams and this was a tough win. Buttler was outstanding with the bat, he possess the ability to change the game. He was enjoying himself in the middle and his only aim was to build a partnership while he was out there.”

Jos Buttler:

“I was patient today and it was really tough at the start and Morgan and I just attacked at the backend. We tried to settle in and then tried to attack the shorter side and I enjoyed batting with Morgan today. At one point we were just thinking about getting to 120 so, 160 was always a bonus. I just use the same willow in the practice and well and pick up the one I like. It was actually my favorite bit today(the runout) and I was trying to guess where the bowler was going to bowl in the last over and got the six, in the end, to get to the milestone.”