Sri Lanka smothers England

No contest really. Last evening’s quarterfinal encounter between England and Sri Lanka at Colombo in the ICC World Cup 2011 was a decidedly one-sided affair. After a spell of brilliant bowling by Muralitharan and Malinga, amply aided by the others, the English side had put up a score of 229 for 6. The English batting was nothing spectacular to speak of, with Trott scoring 86, the highest in the innings.

When Taranga and Dilshan came to the crease in Sri Lanka’s second innings, it was a calculated effort between the openers. As they hit their respective tons, English bowlers were slammed all over the ballpark with sublime sixes and numerous boundaries. Dilshan scored his century first and with Sri Lanka requiring 3 runs to win the match and Taranga requiring 2 to score his ton, Dilshan idly pushed the ball till Taraga got his chance which he used it to perfection. A blistering boundary and Sri Lanka had won the match, displaying a strong domination right from the first ball. In the process, Dilshan and Taranga set the record for the highest opening partnership in the world cup. It was a clear and concise effort as Sri Lanka had their game plan in place which sent England back, winning by a whopping 10 wickets.

Sri Lanka would face New Zealand, the underdogs who upset South Africa’s world cup dreams, in the semifinal encounter.