What a match. England fought till the end, Stokes fought till the end but it was Sri Lanka which came out on top. With its semifinal chances in doldrums, the experience of Angelo Mathews (86 n.o.) and Lasith Malinga (four-for) came to Sri Lanka's rescue as it grabbed a nerve-wracking 20-run win. Malinga's the Man-of-the-Match.
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Pradeep to bowl out. Stokes is playing a blinder here. Whips one between mid-wicket and long-on for four more. England now in charge. Down on one knee and slammed away to fine leg for another boundary. England needs 22 runs in 21 balls. GONE! Amazing scenes at Headingley. Sri Lanka have pulled one back from the jaws of defeat. The World Cup needed a finish like this. Bravo Sri Lanka. Well fought, England. Well fought, Stokes!
SIX! Ben Stokes has launched one over long-on for a maximum. Udana takes a pounding. Another one: this one disappears over long-off. Now, he steals a brace. A single to get off strike. Mark Wood has to stave off the last ball. He does so successfully. 15 from the over. England needs 30 runs in 25 balls.
Udana continues. He bowls a slower one which misses the wide line by a whisker. WICKET - Archer hits one straight to Thisara Perera. Just three runs came from that over. England needs 47 off six overs. Malinga to bowl out. Two dots and a wide to start the over. Stokes refuses a single two straight balls. Kusal Mendis drops a tough one. Malinga finished with figures of four for 42. ENG 188/9 after 45 overs.
Udana back into the attack. He starts off with a wide. A number of slower deliveries from Udana. Five off the over. England needs 50 in eight overs. Malinga is back on now. Archer finally manages to sneak a single. Just two off the over. ENG 185/8 after 43 overs.
de Silva strikes again. Sharp catch behind the stumps. Woakes falls for 2 and England is seven down now for 176. Adil Rashid goes back without troubling the scorers. What a turnaround this is proving to be. ENG 178/8 after 41 overs. Archer in next. Two runs and two wickets from the over.
Moeen Ali perishes after hitting a six. A final twist in the tale? de Silva with his first wicket. Chris Woakes comes to the crease. Pradeep into the attack and an outside edge off Ben Stokes fetches four runs. Good comeback from the bowler: four dots. Five runs from the over. ENG 176/6 after 40 overs.
de Silva back into the attack. Five off the over. Perera continues. Another five-run over. Sri lanka needs wickets. It's a little over run-a-ball from here and Stokes wouldn't mind doing it in ones and twos either. ENG 164/5 after 38 overs.
Perera continues. Brilliant from Stokes: just a gentle push, but the timing on it takes it to the fence. Good comeback from Perera - five dots to follow the boundary. Malinga continues. Stokes brings up the 150 with a single. Three from the over. ENG 151/5 after 35 overs.
Malinga continues. GONE! England in a spot of bother now, and it's that man Malinga again . Gets Buttler out lbw. England review. Three reds and it's out. The hosts have lost their review. Moeen Ali joins Stokes. ENG 144/5 after 33 overs.
Jos Buttler in next. Successful over for Malinga comes to an end. Five runs and a wicket. Perera returns into the attack. Five singles before Stokes puts one away for four. Nine from it. ENG 140/4 after 32 overs. England need 93 runs to win.
Jeevan Mendis into his third over. Only four singles from it. England needs 107 runs to win. Malinga back into the attack. Sri Lanka desperate to break the stand. Loud appeal for caught behind. Umpire not interested. Karunaratne reviews. Snicko shows an edge. Root departs. HUGE WICKET. 50th world cup wicket for Malinga.
Ben Stokes taking on Jeevan Mendis. Two sixes off his second over and England get a much-needed move-on. Pradeep into his eighth over. Five singles from the over. ENG 122/3 after 29 overs. The partnership between Stokes and Root is now 50.
Joe Root takes a single and reaches his half-century, his fifth in the World Cup. The right-handed batsman has been in tremendous form. ENG 96/3 in 26 overs.
Three runs and a dot to end de Silva's fifth. Udana continues. Three from the over.
de Silva back into the attack. Four singles from the over. Udana into his fourth over. Stokes gets one away - a pull to backward square-leg for four. Five dots and a four. ENG 85/3 after 23 overs.
Perera in the middle of an economical spell. Three from his fourth over. Meanwhile, Udana slips in a one-run over. Stokes remains on nought. ENG 77/3 after 21 overs.
Perera continues after drinks. Two from the over. OUT! Whatay catch. Udana has pulled off an excellent reflex catch to get rid of Morgan. Ben Stokes comes to the crease. Three runs and a wicket from the over. ENG 73/3 after 19 overs.
Spin and pace in tandem. De Silva, bowling his third over, gives away just three singles. Three singles and a brace from Perera's second. Isuru Udana has been introduced into the attack. Morgan works one off his hips for a boundary to fine-leg. Root, now, times one beautifully past mid-wicket for four. 10 off it. ENG 68/2 after 17 overs
de Silva continues, only five off the over. Thisara Perera has been brought into the attack. 50 up for England. Only three off that Perera over: he has managed to keep the pressure on the duo. ENG 50/2 after 14 overs.
Dhananjaya de Silva, right-arm off break, comes into the attack. Tidy start. Just three from the over. Pradeep cotinues from the other end. Another good over from Pradeep, but no wickets to show for it, yet. ENG 42/2 after 12 overs.
FOUR! Morgan absolutely drills that Malinga delivery through the covers. Another four to end the over. This time, it's Root. Nine from the over . Now Pradeep goes for just three in his fifth over. The new ball pair keeping a lid on the scoring. ENG 38/2 after 10 overs.
Vince finally coming into his own against Malinga. Two back-to-back fours for Vince but Malinga strikes back, gets the opener caught in the slips . Eoin Morgan at the crease. 10 runs and a wicket. Pradeep into his fourth over. Maiden over that. Good start this from the Lankan Lions. ENG 26/2 after 8 overs.
Root continues to exploit the region behind square on the off-side. Couple of braces and a single from that over. Pradeep backs it up with a one-run over. ENG 15/1 after 5 overs.
Nuwan Pradeep to share the new ball. Good one from Pradeep. Just one run from it. Malinga continues. Brilliant from Slinga! A maiden. Root gets one through this time, Pradeep concedes the first boundary. Follows it up with a brace. Six from the over. ENG 10/1 after 4 overs.
Vince and Jonny begin the chase. Malinga with the new ball. Vince off the mark with a single. GONE! Bairstow has been given out lbw. The batsman reviews but replays show the ball just clipping the leg-stump. Umpire's call and Sri Lanka has the early breakthrough. Root in at 3. Opens his account with a brace. ENG 3/1 after 1 over.
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Sri Lanka never quite recovered from those early jolts. Two batsmen got starts but couldn't convert. Angelo Mathews played a cautious knock of 85, pushing Sri Lanka to 232. Archer and Wood grabbed three wickets each, while Adil Rashid picked two in as many balls. England needs 233 to win.
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Better late than never. Mathews gets one off the middle of the bat. Huge six to greet Archer. Archer finishes the over with a bumper. Just eight from it. Sri Lanka finishes on 232/9.
Malinga is in next. Archer into his ninth over. Well played that by Mathews. Short ball, Mathews arches back and helps it over the bowler's head for four. Bouncer and a yorker does the trick for Wood, cleans up Malinga. Three wickets for Wood too. Nuwan Pradeep, right handed bat, comes to the crease. SL 224/9 after 49 overs .
Wood continues. Excellent over from Wood. Only five off it. Archer continues. GONE! He's now the joint-highest wicket-taker with 15 strikes. Perera departs. Six runs from the over. Isuru Udana at the crease. Udana follows suit. Lankans losing wickets in a heap. Wood with his second wicket. From 132/3, Sri Lanka has slipped to 209/8. SL 214/8 after 47 overs.
Wood back into the attack. Single to end the over. Five coming off it. Archer continues. De Silva perishes ... thanks to a brilliant catch from Joe Root. Thisara Perera comes to the crease. Four singles and the wicket of de Silva. SL 192/6 after 44 overs.
Root continues. Poor ball: Mathews brings up his fifty with a boundary to fine leg. Archer is back into the attack. The 50 partnership comes up off 73 balls. Three runs from the over. SL 183/5 after 42 overs .
Rashid goes for four in his ninth. De Silva gets a life off the last ball; Buttler failing to latch on to the edge. Joe Root into the attack. Tidy start - just four runs from it. Rashid to bowl out. Both batsmen struggling to middle the ball. They want to, make no mistake but they just don't seem to be able to for the time being. 10-0-45-2. SL 171/5 after 40 overs.
Moeen into his ninth over. Just a two from it. That would be drinks! Rashid continues. Four singles to end the over. Moeen bowling out. Tow runs off it and Moeen's done: 10-0-40-0. SL 160/5 after 37 overs.
Moeen and Rashid concede three each off the 31st and the 32nd over. Five runs off Moeen's eighth. Rashid continues. Dhananjaya de Silva takes Sri Lanka past 150 with a boundary. SL 152/5 after 34 overs.
Moeen and Rashid keeping the lid on the scoring at the moment. Sri Lanka needs a move-on. Speaking of which, Mathews has swept Rashid away for four. And gone! Rashid has broken the nagging stand, and once again a batsman falls short of a fifty: Mendis departs. Rashid's on a hat-trick. Jeevan Mendis is caught and bowled first ball. Dhananjaya de Silva survives . SL 135/5 after 30 overs.
Mendis and Mathews have brought up the 50-run partnership: crucial in context of the match. Meanwhile, Rashid slips in a one-run over. Moeen and Rashid continue to bowl in tandem. Three from Moeen's fifth. SL 119/3 after 27 overs.
100 up for the Lankans. First boundary for Mathews, and a much-needed one for him and the team. Eight from that Rashid over. Brilliant fielding from Bairstow in the deep: saves a boundary twice in as many balls. Moeen goes for eight. SL 113/3 after 25 overs.
Adil Rashid, right-arm leg break, comes into the attack. One slip in place. Five singles to end the over. Moeen continues, so Stokes has been taken out of the attack.Spin from both ends. Six singles from it. SL 98/3 after 23 overs.
DRIVEN! Low full toss from Stokes and Mendis takes full toll of it. Moeen to continue. Mathews is struggling to get the ball away, clearly. Good over: only three runs. SL 87/3 after 21 overs .
Ben Stokes to bowl his fourth over. Just a one off the over. Moeen Ali comes into the attack. Four singles from it. SL 79/3 after 19 overs.
FINALLY! Mendis pummels a full delivery from Stokes through extra-cover for his first four. Mathews off the mark after 13 balls. Wood into his fourth over. Just two from it. SL 74/3 after 17 overs.
Mathews plays out five dots. Just a run from that Stokes over. Wood into his third over. Mathews continues to be on nought. Being comprehensively beaten by Wood and Stokes. Just three from that over. SL 66/3 after 15 overs.
Ben Stokes has been introduced into the attack. Just three singles off it. Wood continues. Fernando moves to 49 with a couple. GONE! Fernando falls one short of a deserved fifty: short and wide, Avishka hits it straight to Adil Rashid at third-man . Angelo Mathews in next. SL 62/3 after 13 overs.
Pull for four. Pull for six. Fernando's going after Archer here. 11 from the over. Mark Wood brought into the attack. Sri Lanka's 50 comes up with a single. Four more for Fernando. Moves to 46. He has hit six fours and a couple of sixes. SL 56/2 after 11 overs.
After the beating he took at the hands of Avishka in the last over, Archer responds with a second maiden. Avishka into the thirties with a cracking hit to the square-leg fence. The 21-year-old is getting stuck into England's new-ball bowlers. Six runs from Woakes' over. SL 37/2 after 9 overs.
Two braces and a couple of singles from that Woakes over. SHOT! Avishka stands tall and drives one through the covers for four. Massive! A four followed by a maximum. High pace from Archer and Avishka swivels it over fine-leg. And a four to end the over. 14 off that over. Avishka's hit the ground running - hits a delightful on-drive against Woakes. Seven from the over. SL 31/2 after 7 overs.
Avishka Fernando in at 3. GONE! Kusal Perera holes out to Moeen Ali at third-man. Woakes gets his first. Kusal Mendis at the crease. Three slips in place. Single and a wicket from the over. It's a maiden for Archer. SL 4/2 after 4 overs.
Great start from Woakes. Right on the money. Stifled appeal for a caught behind! Karunaratne off the mark after three dots. Perera too opens his account. Just two from the first over. Archer to share the new ball. GONE! Archer strikes with the new ball; Karunaratne caught behind. SL 3/1 after 2 overs.
Time for the national anthems. Out come the teams. First up Sri Lanka, followed by the host's. Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Perera march out. Woakes with the new ball.
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TOSS UPDATE: Sri Lanka has won the toss and elected to bat.
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Dimuth Karunaratne(c), Kusal Perera(w), Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Jeevan Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Isuru Udana, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Pradeep
England (Playing XI): James Vince, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan(c), Jos Buttler(w), Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood
Karunaratne: "We'll bat first, looks a batting surface and want to put runs on the board. Hoping to put some scoreboard pressure. We have two changes, need to do something special against England."
Morgan: "We would have batted as well, looks like a really good wicket. Best time to bat on. We're playing the same team. The wicket here has assisted turn a bit in recent games, so we have both Adil and Moeen."
PITCH REPORT: It's a batting day in Leeds. The wicket's dry and hard without a hint of grass. Win toss, bat first wicket, reckons Wasim Akram .
WEATHER WATCH: It's bright and sunny in Leeds. No showers have been predicted through the day: yes, you heard it right!
Lost revenues from a record number of rain-hit World Cup games may result in insurance claims of a few million pounds for each abandoned fixture| Rain-hit World Cup 2019 may cost insurers millions: Sources
The Eoin Morgan-led side is currently placed second on the table with eight points from five outings. And another win will bring it closer to the semifinals. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, is four points behind.
Read: England smashes 25 sixes, breaks World Cup record
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The Preview
One last chance for Sri Lanka
Riding high on confidence after a big win against Afghanistan, England will look to keep the momentum going when it faces Sri Lanka in a World Cup fixture here on Friday.
The Eoin Morgan-led side is currently placed second on the table with eight points from five outings. And another win will bring it closer to the semifinals. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, is four points behind.
At the iconic Headingley — which hosts its first game of the tournament — all eyes will be on the England captain. Morgan played a solid knock of 148 against Afghanistan at Old Trafford on Tuesday, smashing 17 sixes, the maximum by any player in ODI cricket.
READ| David Warner slams highest score of World Cup 2019
Tournament favourite England has fared well in every department so far. In absence of regular opener Jason Roy, who is missing a couple of games due to a hamstring injury, the onus will be on Jonny Bairtstow, Joe Root and Morgan to fire at the top. Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler add depth to the batting line-up.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, is a struggling side. So far, it has won only one game out of five, but received a point each from two of its earlier games that were washouts.
Though the side is hanging in there, it now faces a far superior opponent. Captain Dimuth Karunaratne — who has been consistent with the bat, amassing 179 runs in three innings — needs to inspire the rest of the team. It will be interesting to see how the side tackles a star-studded England pace attack starring Mark Wood and Jofra Archer.
With just four games left, Sri Lanka desperately needs to improve its performance if it has to cruise to the last-four stage. A lot also would depend on the pace attack, spearheaded by the seasoned Lasith Malinga, who has so far scalped four wickets.
Before the World Cup, the venue hosted a high-scoring fifth and final ODI between England and Pakistan, where the host bundled out Sarfaraz Ahmed’s side for 297 after scoring 351-9. That raises hopes of a run-feast on a day, which promises to be bright and sunny, with some clouds hovering around.
The match will be streamed live on Hotstar.
Hello and welcome to Sportstar's live coverage of the World Cup 2019 match between England and Sri Lanka at Headingley Cricket Ground, Leeds.
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