World Cup 2019: Top 5 performers from Sri Lanka's stunning win over hosts England
Sri Lanka produced the upset of the ICC World Cup 2019 so far with a remarkable win against England at Headingley.
There were some stand-out performances by players from both teams, but who were the five players to make a real difference? Here's a look at them:
Joe Root (England)
One of the few England batsmen to actually get in and score a considerable amount, Root provided a solid base for his team to push on. While maybe not at his fluent best, he looked solid nonetheless, scoring 57 runs to bring his total for the tournament to an impressive 424.
On a pitch which wasn't the easiest to score freely on, Root showed his adaptability, digging in to contribute a substantial amount of runs.
Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka)
An icon of the game, Malinga rolled back the years with a superb performance with the ball.
Removing England's top three of James Vince, Jonny Bairstow and Root, he gave his team the impetus that they needed early on to make a real fist of things.
With England seemingly well set, he took the crucial wicket of key man Jos Buttler to stunt their progress and give his team reason to believe.
Mark Wood (England)
With the recent arrival of Jofra Archer into the team, the Durham man has gone somewhat under the radar. But once again, he was able to demonstrate his importance to the team with three wickets in a hostile spell of bowling.
Today's haul brought his tally for the tournament to 12, enough to place him fourth on the list for most scalps.
Dhananjaya de Silva
After contributing 29 with the bat, the Sri Lankan off spinner took two wickets in an over to turn the game on its head.
The 27-year-old sent the middle order tumbling, dismissing Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and Adil Rashid to completely shake up the outlook of the match.
On a pitch which wasn't offering too much in the way of spin, De Silva used his skills to bowl in testing areas, resulting in Woakes and Rashid edging behind to wicket-keeper Kusal Perera.
Angelo Mathews
Perhaps the pick of the bunch, the former captain used all of his experience to craft a patient 85 runs in the face of some excellent England bowling.
With both openers getting out cheaply, and Avishka Fernando and Kusal Mendis being dismissed in the 40s, Mathews knew that it was his job to hang around and get his side to a respectable total.
With wickets falling around him at regular intervals, he managed to remain focused and dragg his team single-handedly towards a total which would prove to be enough to secure a famous win.
Also read – Cricket World cup winners
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