RSWS 2022, Match 5 Review: Sri Lanka Legends cruise to easy victory as England Legends collapse on 78 runs
Sanath Jayasuriya, who was declared player of the match, took four wickets while conceding only three runs in his spell.
Sri Lanka Legends beat England Legends to register their second consecutive win in the 2022 Road Safety T20 World Series at Green Park on Wednesday. England Legends were bowled out on only 78 runs while batting first after a sensational 4/3 spell from the legendary all-rounder Sanath Jayasuriya. Then Lankan batters impressed to earn a big seven-wicket in just 14.3 overs.
England Legends' captain Ian Bell lost the toss and was invited to bat first by Tillakaratne Dilshan. Sri Lanka managed to score 218/1 against Australia Legends in the last match while batting first at the same venue so his decision was somehow surprising. Jayasuriya replaced a legendary pacer Chaminda Vaas for this fixture. Bell and wicketkeeper batter Phil Mustard started England's innings and put a good 25-run partnership for the first wicket.
Star all-rounder Isuru Udana gave Sri Lanka the opening they needed by dismissing Mustard on 14 runs in the last of the powerplay overs. Then England batters failed to stand against Sri Lankan spin and their innings collapsed on just 78 runs with skipper Bell scoring the highest 15 runs. Jayasuriya, who has over 400 international wickets to his name, took four wickets while conceding only three runs in his four-over spell. Nuwan Kulasekara and Chaturanga de Silva took two wickets each.
Sri Lanka Legends reach the top of the table with another big win:
Sri Lankan opener Tillakaratne Dilshan and Dilshan Munaweera formed a 24-run partnership for the first wicket to give their team a good start. Tillakaratne, the last match's centurion, was caught out on Stephen Parry's delivery on the last ball of the powerplay overs. But wicketkeeper-batter Upul Tharanga smashed 23 runs off 19 balls to avoid any surprise fall.
Chris Schofield dismissed Tharanga in the 13th over but Sri Lanka were only short of 16 runs off the target. Jeevan Mendis smashed a big six to Scholfield in the 15th over and ran two runs on the next delivery to guide Sri Lanka to a seven-wicket win.
Sri Lanka are now placed at top of the table with four points in two matches and are looking as strong contender for the semi-final spots this year. They will face South Africa Legends in their next match on September 17 and England will clash against West Indies Legends on the same day in Indore.
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