After losing the toss and being asked to bowl first, England’s
seamers and spinners throttled a dangerous Sri Lankan line-up in a wholehearted
display, then cruised to their target without blinking.
England132 for 3 (Pietersen 42*) beat Sri
Lanka 128 for 6 (Mathews 58, Broad 2-21) by
seven wickets.
Though Sri
Lanka recovered from 47 for 4 after nine
overs thanks to the calm accumulation of Angelo Mathews, who made 58 from 45
balls, their final total was at least 20 runs short of a competitive total.
With the exception of Mahela Jayawardene, who has scores of
81, 100 and 98 in his three innings, the other experienced batsmen have struggled
with even Sri Lankans criticising the players for being “rusty and tired”.
Englandhave never won an ICC title. They’ve been World Cup finalists in 1979, 1987 and
1992. They were also the finalists at the 2006 Champions Trophy at home.
Sri Lankawere the 2009 World T20 finalists. – (Showbiz 99)
Photo caption: Sanath Jayasuriya fell to the first ball he
faced from Ryan Sidebottom, as Englandtook control of their semi-final against Sri Lanka. Pic. courtesy Getty
Images
