Hales Storm of Boundaries Delays The Sri Lankan Lankan Dream of Semi-Finals
England played Sri Lanka in a group 1 match in Chittagong. Sri Lanka had already won two out of two matches while a victory in this would have ensured a semi-final berth to the team whereas this was the second match for the English side. After having won the toss, English skipper decided to field first. The Lankan opener Perera fell in the second over of the match. Dilshan and the Jayawardene took their team to a good score. Dilshan scored a slow 55 while the old guard Jayawardene scored 89 off just 51 balls. At the end of the first innings Lankans posted a score of 189 runs.
This total with bowlers likes that of Malinga and Mendis it seemed that it would be an easy walk to semi-finals for Lankans. Lumb fell for a duck in the very first over of the England’s innings and it seemed that there will be a huge mountain to climb for this English side. But heroic century from Hales and a half century from Morgan ensured that this English side beat the Lankans. Hales brought a Hales storm of boundaries in the stadium and scored 116 off just 64 balls. The English side won the match with four balls remaining. Hales was declared the player of the match.