Match report: Malinga sends England packing

Source: AFP

• Sri Lanka 169/6 (Jayawardene 42, Mathews 28) defeated England 150/9 (Patel 67, Malinga 5/31)

Summary:

A devastating opening over from speedster Lasith Malinga has guided Sri Lanka to victory, and in the process knocking the defending champions England out of the tournament. Bowling the third over of the England innings, Malinga claimed the wickets with his third, fifth and sixth ball to leave England stunned at 18/3. Malinga then returned later in the innings to complete the Sri Lankan victory, taking the wickets of top-scorer Samit Patel and Jos Butler. Malinga's effort came after an even performance from Sri Lanka's batsmen, with all players reaching double figures as they posted a competitive 169 for England to chase.

Which captain?:

Sri Lankan keeper Kumar Sangakkara fronted up to to the toss of the coin as Sri Lanka's captain with the explanation that "Mahela lost three tosses in a row". However when Sri Lanka took to the field normal service resumed, with Mahela Jayawardene quite clearly playing a large role in the direction of the team. The reason? Sri Lanka to their credit at least, was more open after the match about why this occurred: the team had been warned about slow over-rates, with the punishment if it happened again being the suspension of the captain. By replacing Jayawardene with Sangakkara, it effectively was a clean-slate as the threat of suspension was not hanging over Sangakkara's head.

Who's hot:

Sri Lanka: Lasith Malinga put in his best performance of the tournament, claiming five wickets, but the fact that the entire batting order got amongst the runs will be an enormous confidence boost heading into the semi-finals.

England: Samit Patel and Graeme Swann put in probably the best two performances of the match, Malinga aside. Patel top-scored with 67, while Swann took two wickets with the ball and a quick-fire 34 with the bat.

What it means:

Sri Lanka: Goes into the semi-finals with three wins against top opposition under their belt, and with the home crowd right behind them they have a lot of momentum in their attempt to claim their first major title since 1996.

England: Their title defence never really got going, with wins against New Zealand and lowly Afghanistan the only things to write home about. England's inexperienced players appeared to have difficulties with subcontinental conditions, which poses the question as to what would have happened if Kevin Pietersen had been in the squad.

The Votes:

MVP: 3- L Malinga (only 2nd five wicket haul of the tournament), 2- G Swann (good all-round effort in losing side), 1- S Patel (would have been higher if not for bowling)

Tucker Trophy: 1- S Patel (went for 27 off two overs), 2- A Mendis (40 off four overs, continued up-and-down form), 3- J Dernbach (finished average tournament by going for 42 off four overs)