ENG Vs SL, ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: England's Title Defence In Jeopardy After Heavy Defeat Against Sri Lanka - As It Happened

Five matches, one win and four defeats: England's title defence is turning out to be a nightmare. After suffering a nine-wicket defeat against New Zealand in the tournament opener, they beat Bangladesh by 137 runs. And talks of Three Lions roaring back to form did the rounds. But in reality, it was a mere whimper from an aging squad with no fight left in them. On Thursday, they were shot out for 156 in 33.2 and then succumbed to an eight-wicket defeat with another set of Lions, from the Indian Ocean, winning the survival fight in Bengaluru with 24.2 overs to spare. The defeat left Jos Buttler's much-vaulted team just above the Netherlands, an Associate side, in the 10-team table. They can still make the knock-outs, but it will take some miracle to complete such a turnaround. England next face hosts India on Sunday in Lucknow. Sri Lanka, with two wins from five matches, head to Pune to face giant killers Afghanistan on Monday. Catch highlights of the ENG vs SL match from here (Scorecard | Report | Points Table | Full Coverage)

That's all from our side!

Player of the match - Lahiru Kumara: (7-0-35-3)

Brief Score: SL - 160/2 (25.4)

Pathum Nissanka - 77*(83),  Sadeera Samarawickrama - 65*(54)  |  David Willey: (5-0-30-2)

7:20 pm: Sri Lanka won by 8 wickets
Pathum Nissanka scored his fourth consecutive fifty in this tournament along with Sadeera Samarawickrama to help Sri Lanka register a big 8-wicket victory against the defending champions. After taking early two wickets, David Willey put England in the game, which was considered a one-sided event from the start. But a 137-run stand between the two batters produced a clinical win against England. Pathum Nissanka sealed the victory with a six and handed England their fourth defeat in the tournament.

6:50 pm: SL - 118/2; Overs 11-20 Highlights
Sri Lankan batters Sadeera Samarawickrama and Pathum Nissanka are taking their team near to a big victory. Both batters completed their respective fifties and kept scoring runs. England bowlers were not able to take any further wickets and Lankan batters grabbed the opportunity with both hands and scored boundaries at regular intervals. Mark Wood tried some short-pitch bowling but all went in vain. This is Pathum Nissanka's fourth consecutive fifty. Sadeera also supported well and completed his fifty easily. 

6:10 pm: SL - 56/2; Overs 1-10 Highlights
England bowlers started well with the new ball. David Willey sent Kusal Perera early in the 2nd over. Kusal Mendia came out to bat and was dismissed by Willey for 11 runs. England bowlers bowled good lengths but could not keep up with the momentum as Sadeera Samarawickrama and Pathum Nissanka kept searching for boundaries and never let the run rate go down. 56 runs are made in the first powerplay with the loss of 2 wickets. It is very similar to England's innings. Now, Sri Lanka have to prevent any further wicket loss and would eye for an early win in Bengaluru.

5:25 pm: Sri Lanka start batting
Kusal Perera and Pathum Nissanka opened the Lankan innings and Chris Woakes opened the bowling attack for England. The first delivery was fuller and no run came on that. Next, Woakes bowled a wide and after that, Nissanka smashed a boundary to start the chase. 5 runs off the first over. Sri Lanka start the chase.

Innings Break!!
Looks like England's title defence is going to end prematurely. Needing a win against Sri Lanka in match 25 of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 on Thursday, Jos Buttler won the toss and elected to bat first at Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium, a venue known for its high-scoring matches. Only last week, Australia and Sri Lanka aggregated 672 runs. But the defending champions collapsed, from 45/0 to 156 all out in 33.2 overs with Ben Stokes' laboured 43 off 73 being the highlight of the innings. Sri Lanka, also with one win from their four matches, found bowling heroes in Lahiru Kumara (3/35), Kasun Rajitha (2/36) and returning Angelo Mathews (2/15)

Target set for Sri Lanka - 157 runs in 300 balls

Brief Score:  ENG - 156/10 (33.2)

Ben Stokes - 43(73),  Dawid Malan - 28(25)  |  Lahiru Kumara: (7-0-35-3)

4:45 pm: ENG - 144/8; Overs 21-31 Highlights
England continued to struggle for runs. Their batters never looked set and kept falling wickets from one end. Ben Stokes fought the battle from one end but eventually, he also gave his wicket to Lahiru Kumara. Angelo Mathews bowled beautifully today and delivered with a wicket whenever he got introduced into the attack. He removed Moeen Ali for 15 in the 25th over and left the England tail to come. England's batting depth is something they were very proud of and today that saved them from an early collapse when Moeen and Willey contributed in runs. Chris Woakes however could not contribute anything and went back for a duck on Rajitha's bowling. Ben Stokes was the lone warrior but he also lost his wicket while trying to run the scoreboard and gave his wicket to Lahiru Kumara when substitute fielder Dushan Hemantha took his catch at the deep mid-wicket. Adil Rashid and David Willey are adding some runs for defending.

3:45 pm: ENG - 89/5; Overs 11-20 Highlights
This phase started with a review loss for Sri Lanka when they reviewed for LBW on Ben Stokes, but it was turned down when the ball was pitching wide outside leg. Rajitha strikes after coming into the attack and took the wicket of Bairstow who was looking lucky today. Jos Buttler came next and hit a four off Lahiru Kumara before he sent him off when Kusal Mendis took a diving catch to his right. Liam Livingstone comes next and Lahiru Kumara LBW out him to send him back for just 1 run. England's team lost three wickets in quick succession and the game shifted to the Lankan side. Still, Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali kept the scoreboard moving and also kept England's hopes alive. Theekshana almost trapped Stokes in the 20th over, but Stokes took a successful review to overturn the Umpire's decision. England need a big partnership from here.

2:55 pm: ENG - 59/2; Overs 1-10 Highlights
Madushanka bowled very well in the starting overs and got help from the air. His swing kept England under pressure and they targeted other bowlers. After surviving on the very first delivery of the England innings, Bairstow started well and kept rotating the strike. Malan attacked from the other end and kept the scoreboard moving. Rajitha proved to be expensive. Matthews got into the attack and delivered with the first breakthrough. Theekshana got early into the attack (6th over). In the last over of the powerplay, Joe Root got run out for 3 runs. England could not utilise the good start and lost two early wickets. 

2:02 pm: England start batting
Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow are opening the innings for England and for Sri Lanka bowling attack is opened by Dilshan Madushanka. Madushanka bowled the first ball yorker to Bairstow and the ball went near to the rope. Matthews saved the ball from the boundary and the batters ran 3 runs. Long chat between the bowler and captain but no review was taken. It was pad first, then bat. All three reds at the ball tracking. Bairstow survived on the very first ball. England are off the mark. 3 runs from the first over. Tight bowling from Sri Lanka.

1:55 pm: It's do or die for England
Not even in their wildest dreams would defending champions England have envisaged such a torrid start to their World Cup campaign. The Jos Buttler-led side have lost three of their first four games, including a demoralizing 229-run defeat to South Africa. The setback has left England with a mountain to climb in their quest to retain the title. The English side are currently languishing in the eighth spot on the points table, with just two points to show from their solitary win against Bangladesh. Today, they face another massive test -- against a team they failed to beat in the previous meetings.

1:30 pm: Toss Update

England have won the toss and have opted to bat

Teams:

Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis(w/c), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Angelo Mathews, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara, Dilshan Madushanka

England (Playing XI): Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler(w/c), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

1:30 pm: What captains said
Jos Buttler: We will bat first. Looks like a solid pitch, a little drier than usual, but we'll try to put up a good score. We have fallen short of our potential; we have spoken enough; now it is time to act. We have remained pretty level as a group; there is some irritation for not performing as well as we might have, but there is quality in the team both individually and collectively. We have three changes - Topley has returned home with a broken finger. Woakes, Moeen and Livingstone come in. Atkinson misses out, Brook is out and we have changed our combination.

Kusal Mendis: The pitch is terrific, and we planned to bat first as well. I'm enjoying being captain. Players are advising and helping me. We performed admirably with bat and ball in our most recent contest. We need a solid start with the ball, and if we have that, we'll be able to handle the game. He (Mathews) joins the squad as the most experienced member, and hopefully, he does well today. Angelo and Kumara are in today's playing XI.

1:15 pm: Pitch and Weather report
A flat wicket with enough scope for big runs. The only other World Cup 2023 game played at this venue achieved a first-innings total of 367/9. In terms of weather, Bengaluru is in for a lovely evening.

1:10 pm: Head-to-head record between England and Sri Lanka
England and Sri Lanka have played each other in 78 One-Day Internationals (ODIs). England won 38 of these matches, while Sri Lanka won 36.

Preview
England take on Sri Lanka at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. England were thrashed by South Africa in Mumbai by 229 runs and another defeat could well end their hopes of retaining the World Cup. The road to Semi-finals is very tough for England from here. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, beat the Netherlands and have a win under their belt. However, injuries have piled up in the Sri Lankan squad and the latest to the list was Mateesha Pathirana, who has been replaced by Angelo Mathews.

England came into this World Cup as one of the major contenders alongside hosts India, Pakistan, Australia, South Africa and others. However, defeats to Afghanistan, South Africa and New Zealand has left Jos Buttler facing the heat. Their defence of the World Cup is on the brink of disintegration as we reach the midway mark at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Ben Stokes has returned to the side but his return might be too little too late. Reece Topley's World Cup has ended with Brydon Carse roped in as a change. With a must-win situation at hand, England face a trick opponent in Sri Lanka, who beat them in the last edition.

As for the Islanders, Angelo Mathews has been included for the injured Mateesha Pathirana. The former skipper could well come into the playing XI against the English in Bengaluru. If Dunith Wellalage is passed fit, the all-rounder could well reclaim his spot from Dushan Hemantha.

England face an unbeaten India post this game and would look to up the ante and go into Saturday's fixture with some form. Sri Lanka's task won't be easy but the 1996 champions will be fuelled by their 2019 performance when they ended up beating the eventual champions.