Sri Lanka outclassed England by 8 wickets to remain alive in the tight semi-final race in the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023. Kusal Mendis and Co. completely outclassed the defending champions at M Chinnaswamy Stadium to register their second win of the campaign. It was another flop outing from the England cricket team as their title defence gets weaker with every match here.
Chasing just 157 to win, Sri Lanka reached 160-2 with 146 balls to spare as in-form Pathum Nissanka and Sadeera Samarawickrama hit unbeaten half-centuries.
ICC ODI World Cup 2023 Points Table
Nissanka hit an undefeated 77, his fourth successive fifty at the tournament, off 83 balls with seven fours and two sixes, the second of which ended the contest when he launched Adil Rashid over long-on.
With the win, Sri Lanka have now jumped to the fifth spot on the points by pipping Pakistan and Afghanistan. They have the same points as the other two teams but managed to overtake them on better NRR -0.205.
However, the defeat has hurt England’s chances of qualifying for the semifinals as they have four defeats and just one victory. They need to win their remaining four matches to maintain their slender hope of sneaking into the semi-finals at the same time they have to rely on other teams’ results too.
They have slipped to the ninth spot on the points table and are just above the Netherlands on a better NRR.
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma’s Indian team are sitting pretty at the top of the points table with five wins from as many outings. The Men in Blue are the only unbeaten team in the tournament so far, and they have reached double figures after their win over New Zealand.
South Africa demolished Bangladesh by 149 runs on Tuesday which saw the Proteas leapfrog the Kiwis into second place, thanks to their massive NRR. Temba Bavuma and Co. have 8 points, but their superior NRR of +2.370 keeps them second ahead of New Zealand who slipped to third.
The massive 309-run win over Netherlands on Wednesday has put five-time world champions Australia on the fourth spot in the points table.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are also alive in the semifinals race but currently placed at the sixth and seventh spots.
Comments
0 comment