Veteran pacer Lasith Malinga produced his best bowling at the ICC World Cup as Sri Lanka pulled off a stunning 20-run upset of pre-tournament favourites and hosts England at Headingley, Leeds, Friday.
Defending 232 in the second innings, Malinga returned figures of four wickets for 43 runs as England were skittled out for 212 - their second loss of the tournament.
Malinga removed the heart of the England batting order in two spells, including the scalps of Jonny Bairstow (0), James Vince (14), Joe Root (57) and Jos Butler (10).
In the process, he claimed his 50th World Cup wicket, joining greats in countryman Muttiah Muralitharan (68), Aussie Glenn McGrath (71) and Pakistani Wasim Akram (55) as the only bowlers to do so. He was also denied what should have been a clear-cut five-wicket haul after England topscorer Ben Stokes, who was unbeaten on 82, was dropped on the mid-wicket boundary by Kusal Mendis as England fought for the win. However, Malinga and his teammates were quite willing to settle for their second win of the tournament the expense of England, who were denied the opportunity to retake lead of the 10-team table.
With the win, Sri Lanka jumped to fifth on the table with six points while England remained at third with eight, two less than leaders Australia and one less than second-placed New Zealand.
Dhananjaya de Silva also chipped in with three wickets for 32 runs for Sri Lanka.
Earlier, Angelo Mathew's determined unbeaten 85 helped steer the Sri Lankans to 232 for nine but many felt this total was far below a par score against the hosts.
Middle-order batsmen Avishka Fernando (49) and Kusal Mendis (46) also had valuable contributions to the cause.
pacer Jofra Archer was once again in the wickets with three for 53 while Mark Wood also bagged three for 40.
SUMMARISED SCORES:
SRI LANKA 232-9 (50) (Angelo Mathews 85, Avishka Fernando 49, Kusal Mendis 46, Jofra Archer 3/52, Mark Wood 3/40) v ENGLAND 212 (47) (Ben Stokes 82, Joe Root 57, Lasith Malinga 4/43, Dhanajaya De Silva 3/32)
Result: Sri Lanka won by 20 runs