Player of the Match
Player of the Match

Match Centre

Statistics

Best performances - Batsmen

JC Buttler
JC Buttler
101(67) 6x4 - 6x6
Control %81%
  • Productive Shot
  • flick
  • 28 runs
  • 1x4 - 2x6
3 14 15 4 14 14 12 25
EJG Morgan
EJG Morgan
40(36) 1x4 - 3x6
Control %67%
  • Productive Shot
  • pull
  • 9 runs
  • 0x4 - 1x6
0 0 2 5 10 8 8 7

Best performances - Bowlers

PW Hasaranga
PW Hasaranga
O4
M0
R21
W3
Eco5.25
RHB
OFFLEG
1W1W
  • FTFULL TOSS
  • YYORKER
  • FFULL LENGTH
  • GGOOD LENGTH
  • SGSHORT OF GOOD LENGTH
  • SSHORT LENGTH
LHB
LEGOFF
1W
MM Ali
MM Ali
O3
M0
R15
W2
Eco5.00
RHB
OFFLEG
1W1W
  • FTFULL TOSS
  • YYORKER
  • FFULL LENGTH
  • GGOOD LENGTH
  • SGSHORT OF GOOD LENGTH
  • SSHORT LENGTH
LHB
LEGOFF

Scorer: @Thilak_Rama | Commentator: Peter Della Penna

END OF OVER:
19 | 3 Runs 2 Wkts | SL: 137/10 (27 runs required from 6 balls, RR: 7.21, RRR: 27.00)

  • Lahiru Kumara1 (2b)
  • Moeen Ali3-0-15-2
  • Chris Jordan4-0-24-2

9.43 pm England let Buttler walk alone to lead the team off the field. It's his day. Now with a century in all three formats for England. Runaway winner of Player of the Match here. And how! From 47 for 3 after 10 overs, he gains steam making the turn at the end of the backstretch and then sprints through the home stretch through the final furlong pulling away like Secretariat. Who'd have thought three hours ago at the 10-over stage that England would not just win, but win by bowling Sri Lanka out with an over to spare?!

Eoin Morgan now has the most number of wins by a captain in Men's T20Is with 43, moving past former Afghanistan captain Asghar Afghan.

And now it's Jos Buttler's post-match award acceptance speech: "I think staying patient and keeping my head. I found it really tough early on. I managed to get a really good partnership going with Morgs and we tried to attack the back end. We were just trying to get something going, were finding the spin bowlers a bit tricky and thought 120 might be a good score. We each tried to take the small side and target that and I really enjoyed batting with Morgs. I just use the same [bat] all the time. Even in the nets, if I find one I like, I keep it. [The runout] was probably the favorite bit of my day. We were under pressure there for a long part of that chase knowing that [Moeen] had to bowl that [missing over after Mills left injured] so to take that wicket there was crucial and I was delighted with that. [About the final ball six to bring up 100] I was trying to guess where he was going to bowl to be honest. I was pretty calm. But I think at that stage I'd batted for a long time, just staying patient and hoping he'll miss."

So England solidify their position at the top of the table with that win. Meanwhile Sri Lanka are effectively eliminated with their third loss in Super 12s play.

More Buttler with Michael Atherton on Sky Sports: "We showed a lot of character. Obviously conditions changed quite a bit and Tymal picking up an injury as well. Guys stepped up really well. I thought we showed great character as I said. Liam Livingstone was asked to bowl two tough overs there and picked up the key wicket of Hasaranga. I think it was a completely different wicket [compared to the Australia game]. I found it tough early on, the spinners especially tricky with the low bounce and they were hard to get away. So I'm really pleased to keep a calm head and work through it, back myself to come good at the end and start to target certain bowlers and at certain ends with a shorter side on one side. I felt like I used a lot of experience. I remember saying awhile ago, if I can put both parts of my game together then I think I'll be getting in a really good place with my T20 batting. I've had a lot of experience batting in the middle and to put that together with the top, I can back myself to catch up at certain times and the death hitting of my game which is a strength. Experience helps a lot to remaining calm in those situations and it was great to have Morgs at the other end, someone I enjoy batting with a lot and we worked through it together there. He never shows too much emotion and never looks like he's down about things. He certainly enjoyed getting a few out of the middle. He'll feel great for that. It was an incredibly great knock. Being three down when it's tough to come in and start, and when you've had a run of low scores it's probably not the place you want to come and bat. I thought he showed a lot of character and remained calm, which is one of his greatest assets and I thought it was a brilliant partnership we put together. The dew was bad. That was one reason we bowled Adil out early to give him the best chance to bowl with the ball as dry as we could. We don't know if the dew is coming or not. What's pleasing for us today is that we didn't have the best of conditions, which we did have in the three games before, and we still managed to show the character to get a win. [On the decision to use Woakes to finish Mills' over after leaving injured] We just felt with the short side there, we felt it was going to be a big three balls in the game if those two targeted Moeen in that situation. To be fair, we got the wickets which helped in his over. But with the long side, he was confident to bowl with a good field set. We put an immense amount of trust in the guys to ask Livingston to bowl two overs there, great character, and for Moeen to bowl the 19th. Our fielding has been great throughout the tournament so far and that shows the character of the group. It's an attitude and a selfless thing you do for the team. [On scoring 100s for England in all 3 formats] It's a nice thing, a nice stat. I don't really play the game for the stats, just excited about where I feel I am with my batting and for the rest of the tournament."

Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka: "The whole tournament, the bowlers have been outstanding in the first 10 overs. It's been a concern for us the back end every game. For most of the guys, it's their first World Cup and the experience is very low. When they gain more experience, they will do good for the team. In the second half, we knew the dew factor will be a big factor but losing wickets at regular intervals really cost the match for us. But credit to Jos and Morgan, the way they played they showed the experience behind them in international cricket. Six months back, we were not the same team. But these boys have come a long way in this tournament and am really happy about the way the boys have been fighting."

England captain Eoin Morgan: "I'm incredibly proud of everything we've done tonight. I felt the guys had to fight unbelievably hard, particularly with the ball and in the first 10 overs with the bat. Conditions continued to change and then Tymal going down asked another question of ourselves but I thought Liam Livingstone and Moeen Ali stepped up unbelievably well to support the other guys with the ball. But I can't fault our guys tonight. We thought it was challenging for the top of the order. I thought Jos Buttler played one of his best ever innings in an England shirt. It was incredible to be at the other end and watch just the ebb and flow, and then just the sheer domination at the end. He really is one of the best in the game, a privilege to play with and great to have in our team. I thought our all-round fielding performance was pretty good, given conditions and how wet things got. We're just delighted with the win. Sri Lanka have pushed us further than we've been pushed so far in this tournament. They've boxed above their weight so far in the World Cup so they should be incredibly proud so far of what they've achieved but we're delighted with four wins. [Why Jos Buttler is special] A combination of unbelievable skill level and the calm nature in which he goes about it. He combines them along with reading the game, knowing where and when to score. If he gets on top, he punishes you."

My fingers need a rest. That's all from myself and Alan Gardner tonight. On behalf of Matt Roller chiming in from Sharjah and the rest of the scoring team, I'm Peter Della Penna. Come back tomorrow for another doubleheader starting with South Africa v Bangladesh in the early game before Pakistan looks to maintain their perfect record against Namibia in the second half of the twin bill. Until then, take care!

18.6
W
Ali to Theekshana, OUT, flighted full on middle, charges to heave this down the ground but only manages to pick out Jordan at wide long-on. He positions his body to swivel his hips sideways in order to take the catch side-on rather than front on in order to take some steam off the ball and keep his body balanced inside the rope. In it comes at chest height and he's balanced himself perfectly to stay a yard inside the rope. England do everything so so well. Perfectly symbolic way to close out the match.

M Theekshana c Jordan b Ali 2 (7m 2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 100.00

18.5
2
Ali to Theekshana, 2 runs, good length ball on off, pushed into the covers for one.

Shyam Mehta: "I'm not sure we need to continue this tournament. England have proved they are far and away the best T20I team in the world, by a distance. " In the world of Mike Francesa NY Sports Talk radio, this is what's called Tank Mush. If you're wondering what that is alluding to, google is your friend.

18.4
1
Ali to Kumara, 1 run, full and charges, driven back to Moeen.
18.3
0
Ali to Kumara, no run, good length ball, goes to heave and mistimes it back to Moeen.

Speak of the devil, here is Kumara in at No. 11. 30 from 10 balls needed to win. Moeen around the stumps.

Hemanth: "As much as this looks like Sri Lanka fluffing the chase, this is actually the case of England's imposition on the opposition." Buttler's first innings demolition of Lahiru Kumara in the second half of the innings certainly had something to do with it.

18.2
W
Ali to Karunaratne, OUT, length ball on off stump, a big heave for long-on, big splices this halfway up the bat and floats gently to Roy 10 yards inside the rope. Safe catch taken at head height with palms facing out and fingers to the sky in front of his face.

C Karunaratne c Roy b Ali 0 (13m 2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00

18.1
0
Ali to Karunaratne, no run, back of a length on middle and off, punched to long-on and they turn down a single. Karunaratne is going for boundary or nothing.

prakash: "when ever morgan take some questionable decision like chris wokes bowling 3 balls some starts criticizing him but before evryone joining them it turns into gold ....even in this match two wuick wickets now he can go to moeen for last over ....what a captain he has been". The Dublin lad shows I'm just a dumb American.

Here's Moeen.

Sri Lanka 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st1MDKJ PereraP Nissanka
2nd23MDKJ PereraKIC Asalanka
3rd10MDKJ PereraWIA Fernando
4th23PBB RajapaksaWIA Fernando
5th19PBB RajapaksaMD Shanaka
6th53MD ShanakaPW Hasaranga
7th1MD ShanakaC Karunaratne
8th4PVD ChameeraC Karunaratne
9th0C KarunaratneM Theekshana
10th3CBRLS KumaraM Theekshana

ICC Men's T20 World Cup

First Round Group A
TeamMWLPTNRR
SL33063.754
NAM3214-0.523
IRE3122-0.853
NED3030-2.46
First Round Group B
TeamMWLPTNRR
SCOT33060.775
BAN32141.733
OMA3122-0.025
PNG3030-2.655
Group 1
TeamMWLPTNRR
ENG54182.464
AUS54181.216
SA54180.739
SL5234-0.269
WI5142-1.641
BAN5050-2.383
Group 2
TeamMWLPTNRR
PAK550101.583
NZ54181.162
IND53261.747
AFG52341.053
NAM5142-1.89
SCOT5050-3.543