England loss to Sri Lanka their fourth ODI World Cup defeat in five
England suffered yet another humiliating defeat at the Cricket World Cup, this time at the hands of Sri Lanka.
Having lost three of their four matches heading into the battle in Bangalore, including a record defeat to South Africa, England needed a win to begin building hope towards the semi-finals in India.
England failure
Dawid Malan fell for 28 runs before Joe Root (3) Jonny Bairstow (30) and Jos Buttler (8) fell before the 15-over mark.
Liam Livingstone was toppled for a solitary run while Moeen Ali followed after adding 15 to the total.
Chris Woakes was caught for a duck before the biggest contributor, Ben Stokes, fell for 43.
Adil Rashid and Mark Wood were dispatched for a combined seven with David Willey (14) finishing not out as England posted a 156 and a target of just 157.
Sri Lanka sensational
In response Kusal Perera was caught by Stokes off Willey’s bowling in the second over while Kusal Mendis followed four overs later having amassed 11 runs.
But Sri Lanka were coasting and completed their chase inside 27 overs with Pathum Nissanka unbeaten on 77 and Sadeera Samarawickrama not out on 65.
The result in Bangalore marks England’s fourth in five matches, the worst starting run for a defending champion outfit at a World Cup.
The pressure is now on for England, who have only beaten Bangladesh so far, as their chances of reaching the semi-finals slim further.