Twitter Reactions: Sri Lanka staves off Stokes-storm to vanquish England

Stokes was left stranded on 82 off 89.

By CricTracker Staff verified

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4 Min Read

Lasith Malinga
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Lasith Malinga. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Very few would’ve given Sri Lanka a chance to even give England a run for their money. However, Dimuth Karunaratne’s men soared above the expectations and took the hosts down by 20 runs at the Headingley in Leeds. The Lankans desperately needed the victory as they were hanging in the middle of the points table. It was Lanka’s fifth triumph versus England in their last six World Cup matches.

Mathews returns to form

The Lankans got off to the worst possible start as the in-form Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Perera got out inside the first three overs. It required a 62-run stand between Aviskha Fernando, who returned from an injury layoff, and Kusal Mendis for the Islanders to make a comeback. Mark Wood got rid of Fernando for 49 to separate the duo. Angelo Mathews joined Mendis and carried on the good work.

They stitched together another stand of 71 after which Adil Rashid got rid of Mendis for 46. Jeevan Mendis gave Rashid his second wicket and the Lankans got in a tangle. However, Angelo Mathews didn’t throw in the towel and remained unbeaten on 85. Dhananjaya de Silva gave him support with 27 runs. For the Brits, Joe Archer and Wood picked up three wickets each as Lanka ended with a fighting 232.

Stokes’ efforts go in vain

Lasith Malinga nipped out both James Vince and Jonny Bairstow to make it a dream start for the Lankans. Eoin Morgan also strained to find his time and he fell prey to Isuru Udana after scoring 21. Thereafter, Ben Stokes and Joe Root steadied the ship with a 54-run stand.  Malinga delivered the blow as he got rid of Root, who looked threatening with 57. The pressure gradually shifted towards England.

De Silva dictated terms and git rid of Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and Adil Rashid. Meanwhile, Malinga pinned Jos Buttler in front to unfold more mayhem. At the other end, Stokes showed nerves of steel. With England needing 47 runs and one wicket in hand, he farmed the strike and remained not out on 82 off 89. Unfortunately, he didn’t get adequate support as England got bowled out on 212 in 47 overs.

Here is how Twitter reacted to the humdinger

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