Sri Lanka sent shockwaves through the 2019 World Cup by defeating hosts England by 20 runs at Headingley.
The hosts were chasing a modest 233 as they sought a victory that would have seen them leapfrog Australia in first place, but instead crashed to 212 all out.
They were undone by Sri Lanka’s two oldest stagers, 32-year-old Angelo Mathews digging deep for an unbeaten 85 that kept the first innings afloat and 35-year-old seamer Lasith Malinga rolling back the years with 4-43.
After the win, Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne hailed Malinga as a legend. Veteran pacer Malinga had to leave the ongoing World Cup to be back home for his mother-in-law’s funeral. Karunaratne said it was important for Malinga to be in the right mindspace.
“I think he’s a legend. He knows what he has to do. I think, whatever we do he’s doing his best. So that’s why I said: ‘If you want to go home and come back, that’s fine’,” the skipper said.
“So I think he did that and he came back again and he gave a good example for the rest of the guys. He just… keeps doing what he knows. That’s the main thing.”
