Finally, we witnessed a team losing the toss and made to bat first, coming out victorious in this tournament. Also, the first century of the tournament at the hands of Jos Buttler became one of the many sights of this 29th match of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup played between England and Sri Lanka. A thriller match saw England emerging as the winner with a gritty fight from Sri Lankan men.
Even though the winning margin on paper would suggest that England won this comprehensively (26 runs), each player on the ground present yesterday will agree that this was the most pressured game England have been part of this tournament. Lankans created many chances and made errors along the way, which saw them losing their grip on the match. Let’s have a look at what exactly transpired last night in this fixture.
Buttler spoils the Lankan spin effort
Until now, the norm for the table-toppers (England & Pakistan, Group 1 & 2 respectively) was to win the toss, choose bowling, and eventually grab the win. But for the first time this tournament, England saw a true challenge when Lankans asked them to bat first. And this new challenge indeed started biting them right away, as they lost their first three wickets in the powerplay itself.
Till the 10th over, Sri Lankan spinners made sure to restrict the English batters not to move a muscle. But from the end of the first half of their innings, the experienced duo of Jos Butler and Eoin Morgan shifted their gears quickly. Morgan acted as an anchor today while Butler produced another tactical brilliance via his maiden T20I century. The sheer fact that the first 50 runs for Butler came in 45 balls, while the next 50 took only 22 balls, is enough to justify why Jos Butler is regarded as a white ball monster. A not-out 101 runs innings saw six fours and six sixes, an actual carnage which the Lankans had to witness.
The Buttler-Morgan duo and the lack of an additional spinner was one more thing that hurt Lankans dearly. They dominated the English batters in the first half, but when the spin spells got over, the same English batters returned the favor and how. While the spinners maintained a 4.25 economy rate, the pacers went for a 10 RPO overall, a recurring scenario for Sri Lanka. Hasaranga produced another incredible spell (consisting of three wickets), but the heavy-hitting which his fellow pacers took indeed must have spoiled his mood.
Fightback in vain from the Lankan batters
English batters may have faltered in some places over the tournament, but this bowling unit undoubtedly carries the true strength of this side. Even when Tymal Mills got injured while bowling his spell, Morgan’s shrewd brain did not falter and saw through his team’s victory.
The Sri Lankan batters were aggressive right from the start, but the English bowlers continued to take the wickets at regular intervals, which saw the demise of Lankan innings in the 19th over. Hasaranga, the star in the first innings for Sri Lanka, gave his team the hopes with the bat. But his inexperience was visible, where he missed the mark and departed early, taking away the team’s winning chances as well.
Conclusion
Sri Lanka might not have won the match and most likely are out of the semi-final’s contention; the way gave it back to this English side in both innings is commendable. They know where they stand, but the fearless intent that the team displayed last night will indeed be a thing that they’ll happily cherish.
With this win, Eoin Morgan is now the most successful captain of this format (43 wins in 68 games), going ahead of Asghar Afghan (42 wins in 52 games) and MS Dhoni (42 wins in 72 games). This win has now made them the clear favorites for the trophy, with the way they dealt with the tricky situations and came out on top with the pressure that the Lankan side had created in both the innings.