Angelo Mathews posted a defiant 85 and Lasith Malinga took four wickets in vintage fashion as the veterans combined to guide Sri Lanka to an upset 20-run victory over England that could change the momentum of the Cricket World Cup.
England had been aiming to retake the lead in the standings with a win at Headingley on Friday and was on track after Jofra Archer and Mark Wood took three wickets apiece to restrict Sri Lanka to 232-9.
But when Malinga removed Jonny Bairstow on the second ball and dismissed opener James Vince (14) in the seventh over, England was suddenly wobbling at 26-2. The massive win over Afghanistan earlier in the week suddenly seemed like an age ago.
Malinga returned to take 2-12 in his second spell, claiming his 50th World Cup wicket when he had Joe Root (57) caught behind edging down the leg side. He made it 51 when he trapped Jos Buttler (10) lbw with a full ball that crashed into the batsman’s boot.
The paceman became just the fourth bowler to take more than 50 World Cup wickets, joining retired greats Glenn McGrath (71), Muttiah Muralitharan (68) and Wasim Akram (55).
He almost bagged a five-wicket haul, but Ben Stokes was dropped by Kusal Mendis at deep midwicket on his penultimate delivery. Malinga finished with man-of-the-match figures of 4-43 off 10 overs.
Stokes responded by going on the attack, with nine wickets down, stroking two sixes and two boundaries. He tried to retain the strike as much as possible, declining singles, but was left stranded on 82 when No. 11 batsman Wood was caught behind at the end of the 47th over.
Offspinner Dhananjaya de Silva’s 3-3 in nine balls triggered the late collapse, starting when Moeen Ali (16) was caught on the long-on boundary in the 39th over immediately after lofting him for six.
“I hope this game will give Sri Lanka a lot of confidence in this ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. They have beaten one of the best teams in the world, and they need to believe in themselves,” Jayawardene wrote in his column for the ICC.
“At times it feels like they have played with a little bit of fear and have not been able to really express themselves. This win should change that.”
He praised Lasith Malinga for his match winning spell.
“It’s not about the six pack, it’s about the skill and Lasith Malinga showed that in spades in Sri Lanka’s win over England.
“He has done it so many times for Sri Lanka over the years but it was great to see him at his best.”