The defending champions England have suffered an embarrassing eight-wicket defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka in the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023. In order to keep themselves alive in the competition, the Jos Buttler-led side couldn’t afford to drop a point, but nothing went in their favour at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, as it looked too simple for the Lankan Lions.
Losing skipper Jos Buttler said:
It’s incredibly tough. As a captain you feel that a lot – disappointed with myself and the boys that we’ve not shown our best. We’re playing a long way short of our best. There’s a lot of really experienced cricketers in the room. You don’t become a bad team overnight. That’s the frustration. We’ve been so far short of our best, and there’s no particular reason. Can’t put my finger on it. Selection is something you want to be consistent with. Selection hasn’t been our problem. We’ve been short of our standards. Lots of the dismissals – Root’s run out – you don’t see that kind of mistakes from us. Haven’t been building partnerships. Not doing the basic things well with both bat and ball. The biggest thing is personal pride. The standards we set for ourselves. Rest of the matches we want to get back to playing good cricket. Whatever will be will be.
Winning skipper Kusal Mendis said:
NRR going up is good for the team. We bowled very well today. Everyone did really well today. Another 4 games left. If we win 3 games back to back, we’ll be in the semis. Players did well last match also. Hope we can do well next couple of matches. Kumara did well today. He’s the main fast bowler in Sri Lanka. Bowled 140-145 speeds. Very happy that he came back strong today. Mathews bowled really well. He offers so many things. Can bat also. Can play the pressure situation also. I’m very lucky to be playing with him. Fielding was excellent today. Want to keep doing the same in the next 4 matches.
POTM Lahiru Kumara said:
Playing a team like England, I’m very happy to perform this way today. Didn’t make a lot of changes after the previous match, the Australia game was an off day for me. I’ve worked hard on my bowling. (On Mathews) Having him back is an inspiration, he gave me a lot of support and was talking to me throughout. (On his role in the team) The plan was to attack the middle overs with disciplined bowling, and we were rewarded with wickets.
