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| England stay third in the 10-team table, but their three most difficult group games – against Australia, India and New Zealand – are still to come |
England were strangled into a shock 20-run defeat by Sri Lanka that dented their hopes of reaching the World Cup semi-finals and breathed life into the tournament.
Chasing 233 on an increasingly difficult pitch, the hosts were smothered by a brilliant Sri Lanka bowling performance in a compelling contest at Headingley.
When Ben Stokes was joined by last man Mark Wood, England still needed 47, but Stokes clubbed 23 from eight deliveries to make a deafening crowd believe.
Wood, though, edged Nuwan Pradeep behind to leave Stokes stranded on 82 not out and England 212 all out.
They had earlier restricted Sri Lanka to 232-9, with Angelo Mathews’ painstaking 85 proving to be a match-winning innings.
England stay third in the 10-team table, but their three most difficult group games – against Australia, India and New Zealand – are still to come.
Sri Lanka climb to fifth, only two points behind England, their unlikely hopes of reaching the semi-finals still alive.
BBC
