Sri Lanka beat defending champs England by 8 wickets

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka beats defending champions England by 8 wickets in the ICC Cricket World Cup in India thanks to some brilliant batting by Pathum Nissanka and Sadeera Samarawickrama.

After making a rapid start with a flurry of boundaries to reach 44/0 in six overs, England suffered a batting collapse as they were shot out for a second consecutive total under 200 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in India.

Defending champions England were bowled out for a paltry 156 in only 33.2 overs in their World Cup match against Sri Lanka.

Ben Stokes was the top score for England with 43, while Jonny Bairstow made 30.

For Sri Lanka, Lahiru Kumara was the pick of the bowlers as he returned with figures of 3 for 35 while Angelo Mathews and Kasun Rajitha claimed two wickets apiece.

Chasing 157 runs to win, Sri Lanka lost Kusal Perera and Skipper Kusal Mendis early as were struggling at 23 for 2.

However, Pathum Nissanka and Sadeera Samarawickrama picked up the reigns to cruise their team to victory (with 146 balls remaining.

Pathum Nissanka smashed 71 and Sadeera Samarawickrama hammered a brilliant 65 to post 160 runs for Sri Lanka for the loss of 2 wickets.