ENG vs SL | Mathews, Kumara shine as Sri Lanka bowls England out for 156

England failed to respond to must-win match, producing a cagey batting effort to get bowled out for 156 against Sri Lanka. Ben Stokes' 43 off 73 was only bright spot, while Sri Lanka bowlers hustled the batters

England needed a return to their aggressive ways but they produced a cagey batting effort to get bowled out for a modest 156 against a confident Sri Lanka in their World Cup match at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday.

Having logged just two points from four games, England were expected to show some urgency but the defending champions struggled massively on a pitch that offered spongy bounce after batting by choice.

But more than the surface or the enterprising Sri Lankan bowlers, the English batsmen battled inner demons, save Ben Stokes who made a gritty 43 off 73 balls.

Opener Dawid Malan who milked 45 runs with Jonny Bairstow, could be excused though.

Angelo Mathews, an injury replacement for pacer Matheesha Pathirana, put him in two minds with a delivery that bounced from the length just enough to take an edge off his bat to Kusal Mendis behind the stumps.

However, Malan during his 25-ball 28 showed that the pitch is not a hard one to bat on while essaying some gorgeous drives through the off-side.

Unfortunately, the route was not taken by several subsequent batters and they were also culpable of playing some really poor cricket.