Jayawardene helps Sri Lanka crush England in T20
LONDON, June 25 - Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara gave a batting masterclass in the shortest version of the game to lead Sri Lanka to an emphatic nine-wicket win over England in a one-off Twenty20 international in Bristol on Saturday.
Chasing a mediocre total of 136 for nine, the tourists romped home with 16 balls to spare as Stuart Broad suffered defeat on his debut as England's Twenty20 captain.
Jayawardene made a cultured 72 not out in 57 balls while Sangakkara added an undefeated 43 in 39 deliveries as the pair put on 97 for the second wicket after the 41-year-old Sanath Jayasuriya was dismissed for eight by paceman Jade Dernbach.
Skipper Thilina Kandamby, leading Sri Lanka for the first time in the absence of the injured Tillakaratne Dilshan, told reporters: "Our target was to keep them under 150. We thought 150 would be gettable here on a fast outfield."
Earlier, England failed to take advantage of an 83-run stand for the third wicket between Kevin Pietersen (41) and Eoin Morgan (47) as fast bowler Lasith Malinga (2-15) proved almost impossible to get away for the lower-order batsmen.
"It was a disappointing performance," said Broad. "But Malinga is one of the best in the world and we didn't find the boundaries we needed."
The two teams meet again at The Oval on Tuesday in the first game of a five-match series of one-day internationals. 
No comments:
Post a Comment