Even Lankan legend Angelo Mathews is surprised by the way the Sri Lankan batsmen surrendered to the England bowlers at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Balagolla on 22 February. He took to his official ‘X’ account to express his disappointment immediately after the match.
On Sunday, Sri Lanka were up against England for their opening match of the Super 8 of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2026. Tournament co-hosts Sri Lanka displayed top-class cricket in the group stage and were favorites to defeat England today.
Sri Lanka was at the forefront of winning the match
At Balagola, England’s batting order collapsed in front of the home team’s bowling attack. 3 wickets from Dunit Velazquez and two each from Mahesh Theekshana and Dilshan Madushanka restricted England to 146 runs for 9 wickets in 20 overs.
Since many of the Sri Lankan batsmen were in top form, and defending the target seemed inadequate, many cricket experts and fans believed that the island nation’s cricket team would easily defeat England.
The momentum changed as soon as England came out to bowl.
As the second innings of the match began, things started shaping up quite differently, proving most of the predictions wrong. Pathum Nissanka, who scored a century against Australia and is one of the leading run scorers in the tournament, was out cheaply.
Kusal Mendis, Dunith Velalej, Pawan Rathnayake, Kamindu Mendis and other stars of the Sri Lankan batting combination come and go without making any notable efforts to save the team.
Captain Dasun Shanaka tried hard to hold one end of the crease, but his innings of 30 runs was not enough against England’s 146 runs. As soon as Shanaka was out, all the hopes of Sri Lanka of winning the match disappeared within a few seconds. The island nation was bowled out for just 95 runs as England won by 51 runs.
Awesome: Angelo Matthews
Former Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews could not believe what he saw. Mathews, who is now working as a commentator and cricket expert on the tournament, described the moment as ‘terrible’. He criticizes the batsmen for not performing intelligently.
“OMG! No words! Pathetic batting by Sri Lanka. After bowling so well, no batsman wanted to bat intelligently to give Sri Lanka a win! “Terrible,” the former cricketer expressed himself.
Oh God! There are no words! Pathetic batting by Sri Lanka. After bowling so well, no batsman wanted to bat wisely and help Sri Lanka win! Horrible
– Angelo Matthews (@Angelo69Matthews) 22 February 2026
England all-rounder Will Jaques was named player of the match for his contributions with both bat and ball. With the bat, he added a crucial 21 runs off 14, and with the ball, he took the game by dismissing Kusal Mendis, Rathnayake and Velez.
“We played poorly. All the bowlers on our side bowled well; it’s not that they (England) bowled really well. We played some quick shots at important intervals,” Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka said after the match.
read more: Dushan Hemantha loses his wicket in a strange manner as England cause chaos against Sri Lanka
