Sangakkara blitz helps Lanka thrash England by nine wickets in WC tie

Wellington, Mar 01 - Sri Lanka have almost ensured their place in the quarterfinals of the Cricket World Cup 2015 after they defeated England by nine wickets on Sunday at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington.

Opting to bat first, England got off to a sluggish start with their opener Muhammad Ali scoring just 15 runs before returning to the stands as Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews claimed his wicket.

Ali's opening partner Ian Bell fell one run short of his half-century as he fell prey to Suranga Lakmal's express delivery.

Gary Ballance also failed to impress with the bat as he was caught and bold for just six runs by Tillakaratne Dilshan.

England's struggling ship gained some footing when Joe Root arrived on the pitch to knock a brilliant 121 runs before he was trapped LBW by Rangana Herath. Root knocked his 121 off 108 deliveries, including 14 fours and two sixes.

England managed to post 309-6 in their allotted 50 overs, thanks to Root's ton. Skipper Eoin Morgan failed to shine with the bat as he managed to add just 27 runs to the scoreline before he lost his wicket to Thisara Perera's delivery.

Sri Lanka started their chase comfortable, ripping apart England's bowling line-up and just lost one wicket as they chased down the target with 16 balls remaining.

Dilshan was the only wicket to fall for Sri Lanka on his individual 44 runs as he fell prey to all-rounder Ali's delivery.

Opener Lahiru Thirimanne was unstoppable in his 139-run knock that came off 143 deliveries and included 13 fours and two sixes.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Kumar Sangakkara arrived on the pitch after Dilshan's dismissal to take Sri Lanka to victory over England.

The former skipper was in splendid form as he knocked a blistering 117 off just 86 deliveries, which included 11 fours and two sixes. He was awarded the Player of the Match for his impressive unbeaten innings.

This is Sri Lanka's third win out of four matches in the 2015 World Cup so far. They lost only their tournament opener to New Zealand and have won every match since.

Matthews said that it was a brilliant performance, adding that 310 was a bit too much but brilliant batting by Sangakkara and Thirimanne, insisting that it was the two of the greatest knocks he has seen.

The Sri Lanka skipper claimed that if the bowlers fail, the batters need to step up, and insisted that that's what they want. He added that two of the areas they need to improve on is the fielding and bowling at the death.

Meanwhile, Morgan said that they certainly lost it with the ball, adding that his side had a par score on the board, insisting that Root batted beautifully. He said that he was happy at half time.

Morgan insisted that England were happy with the score, adding that they were flexible in their batting order, but admitted that they thought it was right to send James when he went in. (ANI)