What Loss to Sri Lanka Means to England’s Semi-Final Hopes
England next play tournament favourites Australia, India and New Zealand in their remaining group matches.
Old warhorses Angelo Mathews (85) and Lasith Malinga (4/43) scripted a memorable victory for Sri Lanka as they stunned tournament favorites England by 20 runs on Friday, 21 June.
Chasing a target of 233, England were bowled out for 212, despite Ben Stokes’s unbeaten 82 which almost won his side the match.
With these win, Sri Lanka now get to six points from six games and have edged Bangladesh to the fifth position on the points table. Meanwhile, England who had a chance to got to top of the table with a win, continue to remain third on the points table with 8 points from six games. They are now the first team among the top four to lose two matches.
Tough Road Ahead for England
After losing the game against Sri Lanka, England’s road to the last four will become even tougher. Their next three matches are against tournament favourites Australia, India and New Zealand. In fact, all these three sides are in the top four giving company to England.
At this moment it looks like, 12 points might end up being the cut-off for berth in the semi-finals. In that case, Eoin Morgan and Co need to pull up their socks and try to win at least two of their next three games. Two wins will give them four points, which will take them to 12 points.
Loss in all three games might spoil England’s party at home.
Sri Lanka Still Alive
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, have won just at the right time to keep themselves alive in the tournament.
With losses against New Zealand and Australia and two games against Pakistan and Bangladesh being abandoned due to rain, Sri Lanka found themselves in desperate need of a win coming into this match.
They play South Africa, West Indies and finally India ahead of the semi-finals. Sri Lanka now need to win all of their matches to give themselves a fighting chance to qualify for the semis.
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