Player of the Match
Player of the Match
1890dThe Report by Andrew McGlashan

Hales ton keeps England alive

A breathtaking display from Alex Hales, who hammered England's first T20 hundred, inspired a beleaguered team to their highest-ever chase

Match Centre

Statistics

Best performances - Batsmen

AD Hales
AD Hales
116(64) 11x4 - 6x6
Control %89%
  • Productive Shot
  • leg glance
  • 36 runs
  • 3x4 - 1x6
0 0 14 10 30 7 4 51
DPMD Jayawardene
DPMD Jayawardene
89(51) 11x4 - 3x6
Control %66%
  • Productive Shot
  • leg glance
  • 26 runs
  • 4x4 - 1x6
4 10 17 23 8 0 8 19

Best performances - Bowlers

KMDN Kulasekara
KMDN Kulasekara
O4
M1
R32
W4
Eco8.00
RHB
OFFLEG
  • FTFULL TOSS
  • YYORKER
  • FFULL LENGTH
  • GGOOD LENGTH
  • SGSHORT OF GOOD LENGTH
  • SSHORT LENGTH
LHB
LEGOFF
CJ Jordan
CJ Jordan
O4
M0
R28
W2
Eco7.00
RHB
OFFLEG
  • FTFULL TOSS
  • YYORKER
  • FFULL LENGTH
  • GGOOD LENGTH
  • SGSHORT OF GOOD LENGTH
  • SSHORT LENGTH
LHB
LEGOFF

That's it from us for this game. Andrew McGlashan is updating the report shortly, and there's plenty more to come from our man Alan Gardner in Chittagong, so look out for that.


England have done something special here, not just because they toppled the top-ranked team, but also because they snapped Sri Lanka's 14-match unbeaten streak. Even 12 overs into the chase, they were well behind. They banked on catching up when the ball got wet towards the end, and Hales was too good in the final few overs.


Broad: "That's a very special knock and one of the best I've seen in an England shirt. World events are a big and that kind of win will give our dressing room a lot of belief. I feel for Sri Lanka's bowlers with the dew. We changed about four or five balls in the innings. We've been fielding with wet balls at training, we should probably make it wet bars of soap I think. The confidence we've got with the bat scoring 172 against New Zealand and this match today, we've got a lot of momentum. Alex's knock is one of the best I've ever seen. He kept up with the asking rate throughout and hit boundaries at the end."


Chandimal: "We started well thanks to Mahela and Dilshan. It was a good total, but it was difficult with the dew for our bowlers. We had two spinners, but they couldn't grip the ball - especially Mendis. Not sure how serious Mahela's injuy is. Alex batted really well, so did Morgan. We'll have to pick up the pieces and get ready for the next game."


Mendis was always going to struggle with the dew, and it was that 25-run over that swung it for England. They'll go back and have a look at their strategy.


Sree: "Whaddaplaya!!!! Hales, you the man. To see him smash Kula (a bowler full of confidence), especially at a time when he is nearing his hundred (considering he's been out twice before in the nineties), is a truly great sight. England's future is in real good hands. You can also see his name appear 4 times in the top 8 scores for England T20I. Hats off to you sir."


Hales is obviously man of the match. "We weren't in good form coming in, but we're buzzing now. After two wickets we knew if we stayed in we were in the game. The way Morgy played was outstanding. Centuries in this format don't come often. I've had a couple of 90s and it's good to get over the line. It's great to get on the board in the tournament. Without a shadow of a doubt it's the best I've ever played."

19.2
6
Mathews to Hales, SIX, tees off and that's it! Without a doubt, that is the innings of the tournament. Length ball on the stumps, Hales just waits for it and blasts it into the stratosphere on the leg side! What a comeback this has been! This is the highest T20 chase for England. The England dugout is ecstatic, and why not? Some seriously smart cricket from Hales and Morgan.
19.1
1
Mathews to Bopara, 1 run, Bopara runs at him, Mathews sees it, pulls back the length and bowls a slower ball. Somehow Bopara gets bat on it, with a cross-batted shot and it dribbles away to short fine leg

Mathews to bowl the last over. He has six runs to defend. England need 7 to win. Prabhash Miriya: "Where is Sten, please ask him to come for just one over"

END OF OVER:
19 | 16 Runs | ENG: 183/4 (7 runs required from 6 balls, RR: 9.63, RRR: 7.00)

  • Alex Hales110 (63b)
  • Ravi Bopara10 (5b)
  • Nuwan Kulasekara4-1-32-4
  • Lasith Malinga4-0-31-0
18.6
0
Kulasekara to Hales, no run, wide yorker, Hales tries to guide it to third man fence, but misses
18.5
1
Kulasekara to Bopara, 1 run, full and on off stump again, punched down to long on
18.4
1
Kulasekara to Hales, 1 run, fullish outside off drilled towards cover for one
18.3
6
Kulasekara to Hales, SIX, length ball on the stumps, that's smashed high over deep midwicket for six. What a shot! That is sent way, way back into the stands.
  • Hales achieves blast-off

    No Englishman had scored a T20 international century until Alex Hales did it while taking Sri Lanka apart in a tall chase

  • The problem with low catches

    The cricket cognoscenti is largely eager to give the fielder the benefit of the doubt when a catch is referred. This should not be the case

  • Why do we over-react when changing cricket's rules?

    Instead of helping umpires react instinctively to situations, we have burdened them with misleading technology that has turned them into second-class citizens

  • Chandimal suspended for one match

    Dinesh Chandimal will miss Sri Lanka's final group match against New Zealand after he was suspended for one match due to Sri Lanka being found guilty of maintaining a slow over rate for the second time inside 12 months

  • England discover map through uncharted waters

    Having tossed away opportunities in the field with reckless abandon and slumping into negative territory at the start of their chase, England found the courage to make amends

Late night chases

9

Nine of the eleven games beginning at 7:30pm in this tournament have been won by the team batting second

A new high

25

Runs Ajantha Mendis conceded in his 4th over, his most expensive in T20 internationals

Century partnerships

2

This is only the second time the third wicket has added a century stand after a team was 0 for 2

Dodgy start

0 for 2

The only other time England were two down for no score was in the last World T20, against West Indies

Bit of a struggle

44

Tillakaratne Dilshan's fifty equaled his slowest in T20Is