England have been on the road a long time, and it's been showing for some time. Injuries have taken their toll, but mentally they've been struggling as well. They have been able to lift themselves occasionally, with strong performances against South Africa and India, but otherwise they've frequently looked like they'd rather be home. And now they're headed home after a comprehensive flogging at the hands of Sri Lanka.
After winning the toss, Strauss chose to bat, but his day went downhill quickly. Struggling to get the ball away, he was eventually put out of his misery with just 5 from 19 balls. England struggled to gain momentum was Bell and Boapara also departed, and while Morgan (50) and Trott (86) were together there were still hopes of 250. But Morgan's departure sapped their momentum, and 6/229 was never likely to be enough against a strong Sri Lankan line-up, especially with England's undermanned attack.
As it was, England failed to make any inroads into that line-up as the openers ran down the target without loss. With 63 balls remaining, Tharanga (102) brought up his century and the winning runs with his 12th boundary, plus one six, while Dilshan finished on 108 (10x4, 2x6). Sri Lanka's 22 fours and three sixes sat in stark contrast to England's 12 fours, underling just how much easier the Sri Lankan batsmen found conditions.
Sri Lanka now move onto a semi-final match with New Zealand, and look a strong chance to go all the way. They possess a bowling line-up with enough variety to keep runs down to a level that their batting line-up can deal with, and I'm not sure that New Zealand can say the same.
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