Lasith Malinga nearly did it—in the second-last ball of his final over—when Ben Stoke’s hit did not carry to the fielder by an inch or so. Malinga was crushed and fell to his knees. Stoke’s plan to see him off worked and he hit 2 sixes and 2 boundaries in the next 2 overs – bringing run rate and balls at par. However, England (Eng) were 9 down, and though Stokes tried his best, Sri Lanka's (SL) bowlers got Eng. Stokes had to give Mark Wood one ball and he nicked it to the keeper behind. SL won a fantastic thriller. Malinga defeated Stokes and ten others – if you want to get personal that is.
SL’s total was not great and everyone thought Eng would reach it without fuss. The Cricinfo predictor gave Eng an almost 100% win chance, but that percentage slowly plummeted. My heart loves the results though my head knows that SL, with 6 points, are in fifth position, replacing Bangladesh (BD). But, so what? It was great cricket, great bowling, great gunning that felled the enemy. Congrats.
My recently-lifted ban on Facebook posts tell the story of Eng’s chase and SL’s demolition job wicket by wicket.
SL are now in fifth place, with 6 points, for good reason. They have fantastic bowling which decides most matches – including low-scoring ones. People are now saying that a team—Eng—that is beaten by Pakistan and SL, plus have to fight hard against BD and South Africa, to win, cannot be a top performer. It could just be a bad day at the office but this is becoming a habit.
Eng's next opponents are Australia, India, and New Zealand – the three top guns. After a good beginning, Eng—the host and the top ODI team—are faltering. Is the fourth spot vulnerable now?
Today, we celebrate a huge blow to English pride and arrogance. Like Pakistan did once, SL make Eng look ordinary.Remembering the famine of 1770 or some other history, South Asians will always rejoice when England falls.
