Sri Lanka's Pallekele:With a decisive 51-run victory over Sri Lanka in their first Super 8 match at Pallekele, England has finally qualified for the T20 World Cup. With their spinners at the forefront, they easily defended 146 runs in a commanding victory. To the dismay of the crowded stadium, Sri Lanka committed harakiri and were dismissed for just 95 runs in the 17th over of the run-chase. Despite their captain's best efforts, they ultimately lost the game because of their collapse at the top of the order in the powerplay overs.
Surprisingly, Sri Lanka chose to bowl first after winning the toss earlier in the match. With 62 runs off 40 balls, six fours, and two sixes, Phil Salt was the best batsman for England. However, England finished with just 146 runs for the loss of nine wickets in their 20 overs as wickets continued to fall around him. Sri Lanka's spinners dominated the match, with Maheesh Theekshana finishing with a couple and Dunith Wellalage taking three wickets.
Dushan Hemantha was disappointing because he went wicketless and gave up 38 runs in his four overs. Only Will Jacks scored more than 20 runs for England, aside from Salt, and the other batters all had a terrible time.
When chasing runs, Sri Lanka's top five hitters engage in harakiri.Sri Lanka would have bet on themselves to chase down 147 runs. However, Will Jacks' spin bowling was taken too lightly by them, and the part-time bowler drastically improved the situation during the powerplay. Sri Lanka fell from 15/0 to 34/5 in 19 deliveries after losing five wickets for 19 runs.
Although their captain, Shanaka, put up a valiant fight for Sri Lanka, no other batter was able to support him. He scored thirty runs, and his dismissal was the last straw for Sri Lanka, who had very little to celebrate from their batting innings. Even though England's spinners took seven wickets, the most they have ever taken in a T20 World Cup match, they were ultimately folded for their third-lowest total (95).