Misbah-ul-Haq and Tillakaratne Dilshan pose with the trophy

Misbah-ul-Haq and Tillakaratne Dilshan pose with the trophy ahead of the one-day series in the UAE

 © AFP

Misbah-ul-Haq and Tillakaratne Dilshan pose with the trophy ahead of the one-day series in the UAE

 © AFP

Posted by

M Usman Arshad

Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat

Pakistan v Sri Lanka 2011-12

Pakistan v Sri Lanka, 1st ODI, Dubai

Usual suspects return, Sri Lanka bat

The Report by Nitin Sundar

November 11, 2011

On winning the toss, Sri Lanka expectedly decided to bat, but there were a couple of surprises in the Pakistan combination for the first ODI in Dubai. Shoaib Malik, who was expected to play despite being benched for the Tests, remained out of the XI, while Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq joined Mohammad Hafeez as the allrounders. Aizaz Cheema pipped Junaid Khan and is likely to take the new balls with Umar Gul. Imran Farhat and Umar Akmal also reappeared in their respective positions in the ODI line-up.

Misbah ul Haq and Tillakaratne Dilshan

Upul Tharanga and Dinesh Chandimal were included in the Sri Lankan line-up, fortifying their batting unit which struggled through the Tests. Tillakaratne Dilshan returned to his familiar opening spot, while allrounder Seekkuge Prasanna and limited-overs specialist Lasith Malinga also came into the equation.

Pakistan: 1 Imran Farhat, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Umar Akmal, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Shahid Afridi, 7 Abdul Razzaq, 8 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 9 Umar Gul, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Aizaz Cheema

Sri Lanka: 1 Upul Tharanga, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt), 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Mahela Jayawardene, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Kosala Kulasekara, 8 Seekkuge Prasanna, 9 Lasith Malinga, 10 Suranga Lakmal, 11 Dilhara Fernando

Nitin Sundar is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

Posted by

M Usman Arshad

Tillakaratne Dilshan is a major doubt for the final Test with a fractured thumb

Tillakaratne Dilshan is a major doubt for the final Test with a fractured thumb, England v Sri Lanka, 2nd Test, Lord's, June 7, 2011

©Getty Images

Tillakaratne Dilshan is a major doubt for the final Test with a fractured thumb, England v Sri Lanka, 2nd Test, Lord's, June 7, 2011 ©Getty Images

POSTED By

M Usman Arshad

The Sri Lankan team poses for a photograph

The Sri Lankan team poses for a photograph ahead of the Test, Lord's, June 2, 2011

©Associated Press

The Sri Lankan team poses for a photograph ahead of the Test, Lord's, June 2, 2011
©Associated Press

Posted by
M Usman Arshad

Kumar Sangakkara chats to Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan during a training session

Kumar Sangakkara chats to Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan during a training session, Lord's, June 1 2011

© PA Photos

Kumar Sangakkara chats to Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan during a training session, Lord's, June 1 2011© PA Photos

Posted by
M Usman Arshad

Chris Tremlett took a return catch to remove Tillakaratne Dilshan

Chris Tremlett took a return catch to remove Tillakaratne Dilshan, England v Sri Lanka, 1st Test, Cardiff, 5th day, May 30, 2011

©Getty Images

Chris Tremlett took a return catch to remove Tillakaratne Dilshan, England v Sri Lanka, 1st Test, Cardiff, 5th day, May 30, 2011©Getty Images

Post by

M Usman Arshad

Tillakaratne Dilshan and Tharanga Paranavitana played well to the tea interval

Tillakaratne Dilshan and Tharanga Paranavitana played well to the tea interval, England v Sri Lanka, 1st Test, Cardiff, 1st day, May 26 2011

© AFP

Tillakaratne Dilshan and Tharanga Paranavitana played well to the tea interval, England v Sri Lanka, 1st Test, Cardiff, 1st day, May 26 2011 © AFP

Tillakaratne Dilshan took a couple of blows during Sri Lanka's solid opening stand

Tillakaratne Dilshan took a couple of blows during Sri Lanka's solid opening stand, England v Sri Lanka, 1st Test, Cardiff, 1st day, May 26 2011 © Getty Images

Tillakaratne Dilshan took a couple of blows during Sri Lanka's solid opening stand, England v Sri Lanka, 1st Test, Cardiff, 1st day, May 26 2011 © Getty Images

Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan speaks to the media ahead of the first Test against England

Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan speaks to the media ahead of the first Test against England, Cardiff, May 25 2011©AFP

Tillakaratne Dilshan

Posting

M Usman Arshad

Sri Lanka win

six
Sri Lanka win

Sri Lanka v New Zealand, World Cup 2011, semi-final, Colombo

Sangakkara and Dilshan put Sri Lanka on course

Tillakaratne Dilshan

Jesse Ryder pulled off an outstanding one-handed catch at point to dismiss Upul Tharanga, as New Zealand defended their mediocre total of 217 with customary tenacity in the first semi-final in Colombo. However, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara responded with an unhurried stand of 70 in 18 overs, to manoeuvre their team into a formidable position of 116 for 1 at the halfway mark of the chase.

For the second match running at the Premadasa Stadium, there was a certain sense of inevitability to the proceedings - certainly so far as the packed and jubilant home crowd were concerned - and when Tharanga launched their run-chase by advancing down the track to club his third ball, from Nathan McCullum, straight down the ground for six, Sri Lanka were always ahead of the asking-rate.

Nevertheless, Tharanga's departure for 30 from 31 balls changed the tempo of the Sri Lankan innings, not least because the manner of his dismissal was sensational. Up until that point he had smoked four fours in addition to that six, as he continued his form where he had left off with his century against England, and he was sizing up his fifth four when he climbed into a wide one from Tim Southee and smacked a cut to Ryder's left at point.

Ryder is not the most nimble athlete at this tournament, but he saw the shot straight off the bat, flung himself horizontally to cling on his outstretched left hand, and celebrated with a fling of the arms reminiscent of Andrew Flintoff in his final Ashes series. A similar moment of fielding brilliance, from Jacob Oram, had ignited the charge against South Africa last week, and at 40 for 1, New Zealand dared to dream.

Dilshan and Sangakkara had other ideas, however. Though neither man was at his most fluent, the target was such that they did not need to rush. Sangakkara had an early let-off when he edged Oram at a catchable height through the vacant slip cordon, while Dilshan - who had been so combative against England - took 28 deliveries to score the second boundary of his innings, and his 50th of the World Cup to date.

But he went on to pass 400 runs for the tournament, en route to overtaking Jonathan Trott as the leading run-scorer, and New Zealand began to run out of ideas. Sangakkara began to nail his trademark cover-drive, with one fierce blow off Oram eluding the grasp of the fielder Martin Guptill, before Dilshan swiped the same bowler over midwicket for six, shortly after bringing up the 100 in the 24th over.

48.5 overs New Zealand 217 (Styris 57, Mendis 3-35) v Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Goes Down

Sri Lanka Goes Down
Silva falls to set up thrilling finish

Sri Lanka v New Zealand, World Cup 2011, semi-final, Colombo

Sangakkara and Dilshan put Sri Lanka on course

Jesse Ryder pulled off an outstanding one-handed catch at point to dismiss Upul Tharanga, as New Zealand defended their mediocre total of 217 with customary tenacity in the first semi-final in Colombo. However, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara responded with an unhurried stand of 70 in 18 overs, to manoeuvre their team into a formidable position of 116 for 1 at the halfway mark of the chase.

For the second match running at the Premadasa Stadium, there was a certain sense of inevitability to the proceedings - certainly so far as the packed and jubilant home crowd were concerned - and when Tharanga launched their run-chase by advancing down the track to club his third ball, from Nathan McCullum, straight down the ground for six, Sri Lanka were always ahead of the asking-rate.

Nevertheless, Tharanga's departure for 30 from 31 balls changed the tempo of the Sri Lankan innings, not least because the manner of his dismissal was sensational. Up until that point he had smoked four fours in addition to that six, as he continued his form where he had left off with his century against England, and he was sizing up his fifth four when he climbed into a wide one from Tim Southee and smacked a cut to Ryder's left at point.

Ryder is not the most nimble athlete at this tournament, but he saw the shot straight off the bat, flung himself horizontally to cling on his outstretched left hand, and celebrated with a fling of the arms reminiscent of Andrew Flintoff in his final Ashes series. A similar moment of fielding brilliance, from Jacob Oram, had ignited the charge against South Africa last week, and at 40 for 1, New Zealand dared to dream.

Dilshan and Sangakkara had other ideas, however. Though neither man was at his most fluent, the target was such that they did not need to rush. Sangakkara had an early let-off when he edged Oram at a catchable height through the vacant slip cordon, while Dilshan - who had been so combative against England - took 28 deliveries to score the second boundary of his innings, and his 50th of the World Cup to date.

But he went on to pass 400 runs for the tournament, en route to overtaking Jonathan Trott as the leading run-scorer, and New Zealand began to run out of ideas. Sangakkara began to nail his trademark cover-drive, with one fierce blow off Oram eluding the grasp of the fielder Martin Guptill, before Dilshan swiped the same bowler over midwicket for six, shortly after bringing up the 100 in the 24th over.

48.5 overs New Zealand 217 (Styris 57, Mendis 3-35) v Sri Lanka

Dilshan fifty puts Sri Lanka in charge

Dilshan fifty puts Sri Lanka in charge

Sri Lanka v New Zealand, World Cup 2011, semi-final, Colombo

Sangakkara and Dilshan put Sri Lanka on course

Tillakaratne Dilshan

Jesse Ryder pulled off an outstanding one-handed catch at point to dismiss Upul Tharanga, as New Zealand defended their mediocre total of 217 with customary tenacity in the first semi-final in Colombo. However, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara responded with an unhurried stand of 70 in 18 overs, to manoeuvre their team into a formidable position of 116 for 1 at the halfway mark of the chase.

For the second match running at the Premadasa Stadium, there was a certain sense of inevitability to the proceedings - certainly so far as the packed and jubilant home crowd were concerned - and when Tharanga launched their run-chase by advancing down the track to club his third ball, from Nathan McCullum, straight down the ground for six, Sri Lanka were always ahead of the asking-rate.

Nevertheless, Tharanga's departure for 30 from 31 balls changed the tempo of the Sri Lankan innings, not least because the manner of his dismissal was sensational. Up until that point he had smoked four fours in addition to that six, as he continued his form where he had left off with his century against England, and he was sizing up his fifth four when he climbed into a wide one from Tim Southee and smacked a cut to Ryder's left at point.

Ryder is not the most nimble athlete at this tournament, but he saw the shot straight off the bat, flung himself horizontally to cling on his outstretched left hand, and celebrated with a fling of the arms reminiscent of Andrew Flintoff in his final Ashes series. A similar moment of fielding brilliance, from Jacob Oram, had ignited the charge against South Africa last week, and at 40 for 1, New Zealand dared to dream.

Dilshan and Sangakkara had other ideas, however. Though neither man was at his most fluent, the target was such that they did not need to rush. Sangakkara had an early let-off when he edged Oram at a catchable height through the vacant slip cordon, while Dilshan - who had been so combative against England - took 28 deliveries to score the second boundary of his innings, and his 50th of the World Cup to date.

But he went on to pass 400 runs for the tournament, en route to overtaking Jonathan Trott as the leading run-scorer, and New Zealand began to run out of ideas. Sangakkara began to nail his trademark cover-drive, with one fierce blow off Oram eluding the grasp of the fielder Martin Guptill, before Dilshan swiped the same bowler over midwicket for six, shortly after bringing up the 100 in the 24th over.

Scott Styris ground out a responsible 57 from 76 balls on a worn wicket at the Premadasa Stadium, to provide the bed-rock of New Zealand's total of 217 in the first semi-final against Sri Lanka in Colombo. But when he was extracted lbw by the final delivery that Muttiah Muralitharan will ever bowl on home soil, Sri Lanka closed in to claim 4 for 4 from the final 12 balls of the innings to put themselves within touching distance of Saturday's World Cup final in Mumbai.

New Zealand's performance was eerily similar that which England compiled against the same opponents, and on the very same strip of turf, in last week's quarter-final. Then as now, their performance centred around one big partnership in the middle of the innings, a 77-run stand between Styris and Ross Taylor, and though they fared better than England in taking 41 runs from the batting Powerplay, they were also undone by the depth and variety of Sri Lanka's attack, with Lasith Malinga's yorkers scalping three key wickets at critical moments.

After winning the toss and choosing to bat first, New Zealand set themselves to be positive from the outset, with Martin Guptill flicking Malinga's fifth delivery over midwicket before Brendon McCullum galloped down the track to loft Rangana Herath's second ball down the ground, a shot which he followed with a superbly timed sweep over square leg for six.

But in between the boundary shots, runs proved stiflingly hard to come by, and in the eighth over McCullum's patience ran out. He sized up another slog-sweep against Herath but chose the wrong line to attack. The ball held its line to fizz past his outside edge and clip off stump, and McCullum was on his way for 13 from 21 balls.

Jesse Ryder, the hero of New Zealand's stunning quarter-final victory over South Africa, once again looked in good order as he cracked Ajantha Mendis fiercely past point for his first boundary, before leaning into a fraction of width from Angelo Mathews to ease his second four through the covers.

But Muttiah Muralitharan, who looked barely a quarter fit when he dived over a flick from Guptill to let four easy runs slip through his fingers at short fine leg, responded with a ripper of a delivery straight after the drinks break. Lured into another cut, Ryder was already committed to the shot as the ball gripped and bounced, and Kumar Sangakkara held onto the top edge.

All the while, Guptill was bedding down and building for the big one. But the strength of Sri Lanka's bowling is in its variety, and when Malinga returned for his second spell in the 21st over, he instantly found his range. Ross Taylor dug out a fierce late swinger that zipped through third man for four, but two balls later, Guptill was not so lucky. A brutal late-swinging yorker detonated his middle stump, and New Zealand had slumped to 84 for 3.

Styris, however, responded with bravado, driving a Malinga half-volley through the covers before pinging the shot of the day back past the bowler in the same over. With good running between the wickets, he and Ross Taylor were able to keep the scoreboard from stagnating against the spinners, but it was Malinga's extra pace that really got Styris going, as he pulled a bouncer firmly in front of square, then three balls later, nailed another drive through the covers.

While Styris continued to set New Zealand's tempo, Taylor at the other end found the going much tougher, and on 36 from 55 balls, he leaned back to pull a long-hop from Mendis, only to pick out Upul Tharanga on the deep midwicket boundary. His dismissal brought to an end a hard-worked stand of 77, but with 10 overs remaining, Kane Williamson arrived with an aggressive intent that served his team well in the batting Powerplay.

Though he was extremely fortunate to survive a suicidal piece of running on 4, when his tap to mid-off resulted in a missed shy from Mahela Jayawardene, Williamson's determination to use his feet served him well against pace and spin alike. A swatted four over midwicket put another dent in Malinga's figures, before Muralitharan was picked off for consecutive boundaries in his eighth over. The first of those, through the covers, also featured the worrying sight of Angelo Mathews pulling up lame as he chased the ball to the rope, and he soon left the field for treatment.

Malinga exacted his revenge one over later when another zippy yorker trapped Williamson in front of middle-and-off, although with 22 from 16 balls, he had done his job well. Malinga then followed up with a slower ball to have Nathan McCullum caught behind on the slog - though not before McCullum had drilled Muralitharan over the covers for six.

A poked four through third man from Jacob Oram meant New Zealand managed a respectable 41 runs in the Powerplay, the most conceded by Sri Lanka in the tournament to date, and almost twice as many as England (23) had managed from a similar starting point on Saturday. But then came the collapse, and all that good work unravelled.

These two teams have been in this position plenty times before. New Zealand have reached the semi-finals in six of the ten World Cups to date, a prolific record from a habitually under-rated team, while Sri Lanka have made it this far for the third consecutive tournament, having been knocked out by the eventual winners Australia in 2003, before beating the Kiwis at the same stage four years ago, thanks to a brilliant hundred from Mahela Jayawardene at Sabina Park.

Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo

Twin tons power Sri Lanka victory

Sri Lanka v England, World Cup 2011, quarter-final, Colombo

Tharanga and Dilshan crush England

The Bulletin by Andrew Miller

March 26, 2011

Tillakaratne Dilshan

Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga set an emphatic seal on Sri Lanka's place in their home semi-final against New Zealand next Tuesday, as England's chaotic World Cup campaign came to an abrupt and anticlimactic end under the floodlights at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Set a testing total of 230 at a venue where successful run-chases have been notoriously thin on the ground, Sri Lanka's openers set about proving that history is bunk as they sauntered to victory by 10 wickets and with a massive 63 balls to spare. After five months on the road for England's cricketers, and six consecutive nail-biters in the group stages of the tournament, they found they had nothing left to give as the first round of knock-out matches was concluded with an utter walloping.

Though several higher scores have been made in this tournament to date, England's total of 229 for 6 ought to have competitive in the conditions. Only eight times in 49 internationals at the venue had a team batting second chased 230 or more for victory, and the most recent occasion came back in 2004. However, Dilshan and Tharanga battled through a tricky start with a flurry of aggression, before settling back into an effortlessly accumulative tempo. For the second time in the campaign, following on from their crushing of Zimbabwe in Pallekele, both men brought up centuries in a massive and indomitable stand.

Such was Sri Lanka's dominance that the match was able to finish in comically contrived scenes, as Dilshan - who had already reached his landmark with a savage cut for four off Graeme Swann - set about shepherding his partner to his own hundred. With seven runs still needed and Tharanga on 98, Dilshan accidentally carved Swann clean through the covers, and was grimacing his apologies before the ball had crossed the rope. Dilshan responded with two of the most exaggerated forward defences he has ever played, the first to a rank long-hop that even Swann was able to smile about, and with both men rendered virtually immobile with cramp, Tharanga finished the game three balls into Chris Tremlett's subsequent over, with a flat-footed swipe through the off-side.

The statistics told a sorry tale for England. All told they managed 12 fours in the whole of their 50 overs, two of which were scored by Jonathan Trott, whose 86 from 115 balls was his fifth half-century in seven innings, as he became the first batsman to pass 400 runs in the current tournament. Eoin Morgan provided some impetus with a 55-ball 50, but the batting Powerplay once again scuppered their momentum, as they were restricted to 23 runs and two key wickets in their five overs of fielding restrictions. Sri Lanka by contrast clobbered 22 fours and three sixes in less than 40 overs. The final result was every bit as resounding as it had been when these two teams last met in a World Cup quarter-final, at Faisalabad 15 years ago, a match that was lit up by Sanath Jayasuriya's epoch-defining 82 from 44 balls.

The nature of England's campaign meant that everyone, players and spectators alike, was waiting for the inevitable twist in the narrative, a fightback of the sort that the bowlers had produced against South Africa and West Indies earlier in the tournament - two other occasions in which the openers had proven hard to dislodge. However, it simply never materialised.

England's bowling effort started promisingly enough. Tim Bresnan found good swing in a tidy first over, while Swann spun the ball sharply after being armed with the new ball. However, Tharanga quickly decided valour was the better part of discretion, and latched onto a modicum of width to crash his first four in Bresnan's second over, before using his feet expertly to deposit Swann back over his head for six.

Tremlett, retained in the team ahead of the experienced James Anderson, looked set to justify his place in a brilliant first over in which he beat Dilshan three balls in a row, including a massive nip-backer that shaved the leg bail on its way through to Prior. But his line and length became scrambled thereafter, and whereas England had managed just four boundaries in their first 25 overs, Dilshan cashed in with two in four balls, both crashed through the off side, as Sri Lanka reached 57 for 0 at the end of the first Powerplay.

The chances that England were able to create were too marginal to be capitalised upon. Early in his innings, Dilshan survived a miscued pull off Bresnan that looped over the head of short midwicket, while Ravi Bopara came within a whisker of bowling him in his first over, only for the ball to beat everyone and fizz away for four byes. The same fate awaited a beauty of a delivery from Swann, while James Tredwell, the hero of Chennai, was tidy but unthreatening in his first three overs, before Dilshan planted his front foot to drill him into the stands at long-off. Tremlett returned to create two half-chances as the ball was drilled hard back through his fingertips, but the game was as good as over long before then.

At the innings break, the scenario seemed to be very different. England looked nervous and leaden-footed against a Sri Lankan attack loaded with four front-line spinners, including the Man of the Match Dilshan, who took the new ball and scalped Andrew Strauss after a dreadful innings of 5 from 19 balls. But they endured and briefly, while Trott and Eoin Morgan were in harness, they thrived, adding 91 in 16 overs for the fourth wicket.

However, their ambitions of a formidable 240-plus total were scuppered by the dismissal of Morgan in the first over of the Powerplay. Until he drilled Lasith Malinga at deep cover for a 55-ball 50, he had lived a charmed life, with no fewer than four clear-cut chances going his way - three dropped catches, two of them extraordinarily easy, and an lbw appeal on 29 that would have proved stone-dead on review. His luck, however, ran out at an inopportune moment for England, and when Swann missed a switch hit to fall for a first-ball duck, England proved incapable of reaching the boundary while the field was up, with just 23 runs coming in the five overs of fielding restrictions, and 56 in the last 10 all told.

Trott's performance was that of a man who knew that if he batted through the innings, the runs would materialise somehow. He scored his first boundary from his 65th delivery, and eventually fell in pursuit of his third, as he swept Muttiah Muralitharan to deep backward square with nine balls of the innings remaining. Despite inevitable criticism of the tempo of his innings, his sang froid appeared to be well suited to the situation, as he backed himself to work the ones and twos in a boundary-less start to his innings, and at the same time he drew a gutsy response from Ravi Bopara, who was far less comfortable with the tempo, but knuckled down for 31 from 56 balls.

Murali, whose legendary career has now been extended by one more game at least, finished with 2 for 54 in nine overs before limping off with an apparent recurrence of his hamstring strain. However, that tally could have been higher but for an extraordinary sequence of events in his eighth over, when Morgan was dropped twice in consecutive deliveries. He had already survived one dolly of an opportunity on 16, when Thilan Samaraweera shelled a leading edge off Ajantha Mendis at point, but Murali couldn't contain his fury when, first, Angelo Mathews at extra cover fluffed a lofted drive, before Rangana Herath dived forward at point but failed to cling on.

If those moments were evidence that Sri Lanka were feeling the pressure of the big occasion, they were fleeting at best. The insolent ease of this performance means that New Zealand will arrive in Colombo with trepidation ahead of their sixth semi-final appearance in ten World Cups. They have never yet progressed beyond that stage, and four years ago in Jamaica, they were sent on their way by one of the best hundreds of Mahela Jayawardene's career. Today, however, Jayawardene's solitary contribution was a catch at deep square leg. Whereas England have been on their chinstraps all tournament long, Sri Lanka - it is clear -are a team with plenty still in reserve.

Sri Lanka 150/0

Sri Lanka 150/0 (29.2 ov)

Sri Lanka require another 80 runs with 10 wickets and 20.4 overs remaining

Sri Lanka v England, World Cup 2011, quarter-final, Colombo

Tharanga and Dilshan power Sri Lanka

Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga put their team within touching distance of the World Cup semi-finals, as they overcame a tricky start to their innings to lay into England's bowlers with an unbeaten first-wicket stand of 132. Under the Premadasa floodlights, and in front of a raucous and expectant home crowd, the two batsmen made a tricky target of 230 look insubstantial, as England's rollercoaster campaign looked finally as though it was about to hit the buffers.

Tillakaratne Dilshan

Though several higher scores have been made in this tournament to date, England's total of 229 for 6 ought to have competitive in the conditions. Only eight times in 49 internationals at the venue had a team batting second chased 230 or more for victory, and the most recent occasion was in 2004. However, with Dilshan taking the lead in a 57-ball half-century, there seemed little prospect of England staging the sort of fightback they produced against South Africa and West Indies earlier in the tournament - two other occasions in which the openers had proven hard to dislodge.

England's response with the ball started promisingly enough. Tim Bresnan found good swing in a tidy first over, while Graeme Swann spun the ball sharply after being given the second over. However, Upul Tharanga decided valour was the better part of discretion, and latched onto a modicum of width to crash his first four in Bresnan's second over, before using his feet expertly to deposit Swann back over his head.

Chris Tremlett, retained in the team ahead of the experienced James Anderson, looked set to justify his place in a brilliant first over in which he beat Dilshan three balls in a row, including a massive nip-backer that shaved the leg bail on its way through to Prior. But his line and length became scrambled thereafter, and whereas England had managed just four boundaries in their first 25 overs, Dilshan cashed in with two in four balls, both crashed through the off side, as Sri Lanka reached 57 for 0 at the end of the first Powerplay.

Whereas England had managed to find a crumb of comfort in each of their previous contests, nothing seemed to fall into place for them this time. Early in his innings, Dilshan survived a miscued pull off Bresnan that looped over the head of short midwicket, while Ravi Bopara came within a whisker of bowling him in his first over, only for the ball to beat everyone and fizz away for four byes. The same fate awaited a beauty of a delivery from Swann, while James Tredwell, the hero of Chennai, was tidy but unthreatening in his first three overs, before Dilshan planted his front foot to drill him into the stands at long-off.

Tharanga brought up his fifty from 70 balls with a jogged single off Swann, and as England delayed taking the bowling Powerplay, singles proved easy to come by as the fight began to drain visibly from an ailing attack.

50 overs England 229 for 6 (Trott 86, Morgan 50) v Sri Lanka

Jonathan Trott and Eoin Morgan turned up the heat on Sri Lanka with a fourth-wicket stand of 91 in 16 overs, only for the batting Powerplay to once again scupper England's momentum, as two nervy sets of players fought for the ascendancy in a gripping quarter-final in Colombo. After winning the toss on a typically spin-friendly surface, England overcame a sluggish start to post a defendable total of 229 for 6, with Trott once again playing the anchor role as he passed 400 runs for the tournament with his fifth fifty in seven innings.

However, their ambitions of a formidable 240-plus total were scuppered by the dismissal of Morgan in the first over of the Powerplay. Until he drilled Lasith Malinga to deep cover for a 55-ball 50, he had lived a charmed life, with no fewer than four clear-cut chances going his way - three dropped catches, two of them extraordinarily easy, and an lbw appeal on 29 that would have proved stone-dead on review. His luck, however, ran out at an inopportune moment for England, and when Graeme Swann missed a switch hit to fall for a first-ball duck, England proved incapable of reaching the boundary while the field was up, with just 23 runs coming in the five overs of fielding restrictions, and 56 in the last 10 all told.

Nevertheless, England have runs on the board, and that - according to the ground statistics at least - could be half the battle won. Thirty-six of the 49 completed matches at the Premadasa Stadium have gone to the side batting first, including 14 of the last 18 day-night fixtures, and Trott's performance was that of a man who knew that if he batted through the innings, the runs would materialise somehow. He finished with 86 from 115 balls with just two boundaries, none of which came in the first 30 overs, and eventually fell in pursuit of his third, as he swept Muttiah Muralitharan to deep backward square with nine balls of the innings remaining.

This could yet prove to be the last match of Murali's exceptional career, and he finished with 2 for 54 in nine overs before limping off with an apparent recurrence of his hamstring strain. However, that tally could have been higher but for an extraordinary sequence of events in his eighth over, when Morgan was dropped twice in consecutive deliveries. He had already survived one dolly of an opportunity on 16, when Thilan Samaraweera shelled a leading edge off Ajantha Mendis at point, but Murali couldn't contain his fury when, first, Angelo Mathews at extra cover fluffed a lofted drive, before Rangana Herath dived forward at point but failed to cling on.

In between his let-offs, Morgan produced a typically inventive and energising performance. England had collected a grand total of four boundaries before he came to the middle in the 28th over, but Morgan added that many off his own bat, as he worked the angles in his inimitable style, launching Malinga for a checked drive over extra cover before dabbing three more through third man, two via an open face, and one from a well-timed reverse sweep.

Such riches proved hard to come by at the top of the order, as Sri Lanka's bowlers applied the tightest of tourniquets in the opening exchanges of the contest. Despite enjoying a fine tournament to date, Strauss's ambitions were thwarted from the outset as Sri Lanka opened their bowling with a spinner for the first time in the tournament to date, and he already seemed resigned to ugly heaves through the leg-side when Tillakaratne Dilshan beat him on precisely that shot in the eighth over, to send the captain back for 5 from 19 balls.

At the other end, Ian Bell became Strauss's third opening partner of the campaign, after Kevin Pietersen and Matt Prior, and he launched his innings in fine style with a first-ball flick through square leg for four as Malinga strayed onto his pads. Mathews, though several notches slower than Malinga, also provided enough pace to pick the gaps, as Bell added two more boundaries in an attractive and promising 25 from 32 balls. But, just when he seemed set for a big performance, Bell chipped Mathews limply to midwicket, as England struggled to 32 for 2 in the mandatory Powerplay - their lowest total in the tournament to date.

However, Trott's sang froid was well suited to the situation, as he backed himself to work the ones and twos in a boundary-less start to his innings, and at the same time he drew a gutsy response from Ravi Bopara, who was far less comfortable with the tempo, but who knuckled down for an important 31 from 56 balls.

Bopara cut Herath sweetly through point for four early in his stay, but he might have fallen twice in two balls in Herath's next over, as an lbw appeal was deemed to be missing leg (although the decision would have stayed on-field) before Bopara missed a cut that zipped millimetres past his off stump. Herath also had another lbw appeal that was this time sent for a review, before Murali's wiles eventually extracted him on the sweep in the 27th over. Nevertheless, the collective effort has given England's bowlers something to chew on. Another thrilling finale is in prospect.

Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo

ENGLAND set 230

Sri Lanka v England, World Cup 2011, quarter-final, Colombo

Tharanga and Dilshan power Sri Lanka

Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga put their team within touching distance of the World Cup semi-finals, as they overcame a tricky start to their innings to lay into England's bowlers with an unbeaten first-wicket stand of 132. Under the Premadasa floodlights, and in front of a raucous and expectant home crowd, the two batsmen made a tricky target of 230 look insubstantial, as England's rollercoaster campaign looked finally as though it was about to hit the buffers.

Tillakaratne Dilshan

Though several higher scores have been made in this tournament to date, England's total of 229 for 6 ought to have competitive in the conditions. Only eight times in 49 internationals at the venue had a team batting second chased 230 or more for victory, and the most recent occasion was in 2004. However, with Dilshan taking the lead in a 57-ball half-century, there seemed little prospect of England staging the sort of fightback they produced against South Africa and West Indies earlier in the tournament - two other occasions in which the openers had proven hard to dislodge.

England's response with the ball started promisingly enough. Tim Bresnan found good swing in a tidy first over, while Graeme Swann spun the ball sharply after being given the second over. However, Upul Tharanga decided valour was the better part of discretion, and latched onto a modicum of width to crash his first four in Bresnan's second over, before using his feet expertly to deposit Swann back over his head.

Chris Tremlett, retained in the team ahead of the experienced James Anderson, looked set to justify his place in a brilliant first over in which he beat Dilshan three balls in a row, including a massive nip-backer that shaved the leg bail on its way through to Prior. But his line and length became scrambled thereafter, and whereas England had managed just four boundaries in their first 25 overs, Dilshan cashed in with two in four balls, both crashed through the off side, as Sri Lanka reached 57 for 0 at the end of the first Powerplay.

Whereas England had managed to find a crumb of comfort in each of their previous contests, nothing seemed to fall into place for them this time. Early in his innings, Dilshan survived a miscued pull off Bresnan that looped over the head of short midwicket, while Ravi Bopara came within a whisker of bowling him in his first over, only for the ball to beat everyone and fizz away for four byes. The same fate awaited a beauty of a delivery from Swann, while James Tredwell, the hero of Chennai, was tidy but unthreatening in his first three overs, before Dilshan planted his front foot to drill him into the stands at long-off.

Tharanga brought up his fifty from 70 balls with a jogged single off Swann, and as England delayed taking the bowling Powerplay, singles proved easy to come by as the fight began to drain visibly from an ailing attack.

50 overs England 229 for 6 (Trott 86, Morgan 50) v Sri Lanka

Jonathan Trott and Eoin Morgan turned up the heat on Sri Lanka with a fourth-wicket stand of 91 in 16 overs, only for the batting Powerplay to once again scupper England's momentum, as two nervy sets of players fought for the ascendancy in a gripping quarter-final in Colombo. After winning the toss on a typically spin-friendly surface, England overcame a sluggish start to post a defendable total of 229 for 6, with Trott once again playing the anchor role as he passed 400 runs for the tournament with his fifth fifty in seven innings.

However, their ambitions of a formidable 240-plus total were scuppered by the dismissal of Morgan in the first over of the Powerplay. Until he drilled Lasith Malinga to deep cover for a 55-ball 50, he had lived a charmed life, with no fewer than four clear-cut chances going his way - three dropped catches, two of them extraordinarily easy, and an lbw appeal on 29 that would have proved stone-dead on review. His luck, however, ran out at an inopportune moment for England, and when Graeme Swann missed a switch hit to fall for a first-ball duck, England proved incapable of reaching the boundary while the field was up, with just 23 runs coming in the five overs of fielding restrictions, and 56 in the last 10 all told.

Nevertheless, England have runs on the board, and that - according to the ground statistics at least - could be half the battle won. Thirty-six of the 49 completed matches at the Premadasa Stadium have gone to the side batting first, including 14 of the last 18 day-night fixtures, and Trott's performance was that of a man who knew that if he batted through the innings, the runs would materialise somehow. He finished with 86 from 115 balls with just two boundaries, none of which came in the first 30 overs, and eventually fell in pursuit of his third, as he swept Muttiah Muralitharan to deep backward square with nine balls of the innings remaining.

This could yet prove to be the last match of Murali's exceptional career, and he finished with 2 for 54 in nine overs before limping off with an apparent recurrence of his hamstring strain. However, that tally could have been higher but for an extraordinary sequence of events in his eighth over, when Morgan was dropped twice in consecutive deliveries. He had already survived one dolly of an opportunity on 16, when Thilan Samaraweera shelled a leading edge off Ajantha Mendis at point, but Murali couldn't contain his fury when, first, Angelo Mathews at extra cover fluffed a lofted drive, before Rangana Herath dived forward at point but failed to cling on.

In between his let-offs, Morgan produced a typically inventive and energising performance. England had collected a grand total of four boundaries before he came to the middle in the 28th over, but Morgan added that many off his own bat, as he worked the angles in his inimitable style, launching Malinga for a checked drive over extra cover before dabbing three more through third man, two via an open face, and one from a well-timed reverse sweep.

Such riches proved hard to come by at the top of the order, as Sri Lanka's bowlers applied the tightest of tourniquets in the opening exchanges of the contest. Despite enjoying a fine tournament to date, Strauss's ambitions were thwarted from the outset as Sri Lanka opened their bowling with a spinner for the first time in the tournament to date, and he already seemed resigned to ugly heaves through the leg-side when Tillakaratne Dilshan beat him on precisely that shot in the eighth over, to send the captain back for 5 from 19 balls.

At the other end, Ian Bell became Strauss's third opening partner of the campaign, after Kevin Pietersen and Matt Prior, and he launched his innings in fine style with a first-ball flick through square leg for four as Malinga strayed onto his pads. Mathews, though several notches slower than Malinga, also provided enough pace to pick the gaps, as Bell added two more boundaries in an attractive and promising 25 from 32 balls. But, just when he seemed set for a big performance, Bell chipped Mathews limply to midwicket, as England struggled to 32 for 2 in the mandatory Powerplay - their lowest total in the tournament to date.

However, Trott's sang froid was well suited to the situation, as he backed himself to work the ones and twos in a boundary-less start to his innings, and at the same time he drew a gutsy response from Ravi Bopara, who was far less comfortable with the tempo, but who knuckled down for an important 31 from 56 balls.

Bopara cut Herath sweetly through point for four early in his stay, but he might have fallen twice in two balls in Herath's next over, as an lbw appeal was deemed to be missing leg (although the decision would have stayed on-field) before Bopara missed a cut that zipped millimetres past his off stump. Herath also had another lbw appeal that was this time sent for a review, before Murali's wiles eventually extracted him on the sweep in the 27th over. Nevertheless, the collective effort has given England's bowlers something to chew on. Another thrilling finale is in prospect.

Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo