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England's rollercoaster World Cup ride came to a juddering halt in Colombo as Sri Lanka cruised into the semi-finals with a 10-wicket victory.
England toiled to 229-6 on a slow track against Sri Lanka's naggingly accurate spin attack,Jonathan Trott
top-scoring with a solid if somewhat ponderous 86.
top-scoring with a solid if somewhat ponderous 86.But Sri Lanka made ridiculously short work of chasing down the runs, getting home with 63 balls to spare.
The hosts' openers put into sharp relief conditions which England's batsmen had made appear testing. Upul Tharanga andTillakaratne Dilshan both accumulated largely untroubled unbeaten centuries, with Tharanga bringing up his ton from the last shot of the match.
andTillakaratne Dilshan both accumulated largely untroubled unbeaten centuries, with Tharanga bringing up his ton from the last shot of the match.Victory earns the 1997 world champions a semi-final clash on the same ground against New Zealand on Tuesday, while England head home chastened by yet another disappointing performance on the game's greatest stage.
Trott's 86 was the foundation around which England's innings was built, although the 115 balls he took to make them may have been a price too high to pay.
Sri Lanka's three-strong specialist spin attack - with Dilshan also bowling new-ball off-breaks - sought to stifle the batsmen and they largely succeeded.
England scored just 12 fours in their entire innings as they appeared to settle for a safe score on a slow pitch.
Trott shared stands of 64 for the third wicket with Ravi Bopara and then 91 for the fourth with Eoin Morgan, who was dropped three times - on 16 and twice in the 30s - off Sri Lanka's spinners.
who was dropped three times - on 16 and twice in the 30s - off Sri Lanka's spinners.After winning the toss and batting, Andrew Strauss was never able to get Dilshan away in the early exchanges and was bowled trying to heave a short ball into the leg-side, having made only five from 19 balls.
was never able to get Dilshan away in the early exchanges and was bowled trying to heave a short ball into the leg-side, having made only five from 19 balls.Ian Bell looked in good nick with 25 from 32 balls but as so often before, he gave up his wicket when well-set, chipping Angelo Mathews to midwicket.
looked in good nick with 25 from 32 balls but as so often before, he gave up his wicket when well-set, chipping Angelo Mathews to midwicket.Trott and Bopara had to start again, with only a single between them, and they went 15 overs without a boundary as the hosts turned the screw.
Futile
Muttiah Muralitharan almost inevitably had a say, beating Bopara's attempted sweep to win an lbw verdict which prompted a ridiculously futile review.
almost inevitably had a say, beating Bopara's attempted sweep to win an lbw verdict which prompted a ridiculously futile review.Trott reached his 50, containing just one of his eventual two fours, with a reverse sweep for three off the returning Dilshan.
Morgan finally gave an unmissable chance into the off-side ring, just after reaching his near run-a-ball 50, Mathews making up for being one of the earlier culprits by holding a simple catch.
Graeme Swann was pushed up the order but went lbw first ball, trying to reverse-slog Ajantha Mendis.
was pushed up the order but went lbw first ball, trying to reverse-slog Ajantha Mendis.England could muster only 23-2 in the final powerplay, but Trott stayed the course until the penultimate over and Matt Prior contributed a defiant 22 from 19 balls.
It looked like it could be a competitive total against a side batting under lights and under pressure, but Sri Lanka's batsmen quickly proved otherwise.
Dilshan led the way with 10 fours and two sixes in his 108 from 115 balls, while Tharanga overcame cramps that forced him to call for a runner, smearing Chris Tremlett to the boundary to complete his 102 from 122 balls.
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