Super eight: spinners’ magic works as England beat Sri Lanka by 51 runs

Pallekele: In the Super Eight stage of the ICC T20 World Cup, England comfortably defeated Sri Lanka by 51 runs.

Chasing a target of 147 set by England, the Sri Lankan team was bowled out for just 95 runs.

None of the Sri Lankan batters could deliver a significant performance and fell victim to the web spun by the English spinners. Shanaka was the top scorer for Sri Lanka with 30 runs, while Kamindu Mendis scored 13, Wellalage made 10, and Theekshana remained not out on 10.

For England, Will Jacks took 3 wickets, while Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, and Adil Rashid claimed 2 wickets each. Overton picked up one wicket.

Earlier in the match played in Pallekele, Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to field first against England.

Batting first, England posted 146 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in their allotted 20 overs. Sri Lanka bowled impressively and, apart from Phil Salt, did not allow any English batter to play freely.

Phil Salt scored a brilliant 62 runs off 40 balls for England, while Will Jacks contributed 21 runs as the other notable performer.

For Sri Lanka, Dunith Wellalage took 3 wickets, and Maheesh Theekshana claimed 2 wickets.

It is worth mentioning that the first Super Eight match between Pakistan and New Zealand was scheduled to be played the previous day but could not even begin due to rain. As a result, both teams were awarded one point each.