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.
Sri Lanka vs England, 22nd Match, Group 1 at Chattogram, Mar 27 2014 - Ball by Ball Commentary
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."
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"
wide yorker, Hales tries to guide it to third man fence, but misses
full and on off stump again, punched down to long on
fullish outside off drilled towards cover for one
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.
Hey OH! This could be it! Is this the stroke that seals the game? Hales walkes across the stumps, so Kule fires it even wider, and it's a length ball, Hales throws his bat at it, and carves it beautifully over cover for a flat six. That's Hales' hundred as well. What a way to get there!
wide yorker, drilled out square on the off side. Kusal Perera runs around to cut it off, and Hales comes back. A better throw might have had him in trouble, but he's safe
Vikram Raj: "Well played Bopara! Setting up Malinga with a press conference, and getting two fours off of him in the first two balls, and very possibly deflating all Sri Lankan hopes." Kulasekara to bowl this 19th over.
slow yorker on the toes, clipped to deep square leg. Just the one.
yorker on off stump, drilled straight to cover. Dot ball.
wide, fired down the leg side. Sanga is almost appealing, but he's not touched that.
this is the slower one on the toes, slightly overpitched. It's turned towards midwicket for one.
yorker outside off stump again, Bopara opens the face agaiin, but can't connect this time
and again. Super shot once more. Malinga goes for the wide yorker, maybe gets a bit wider than he actually wanted. Bopara reaches out and opens the face again, and that goes even quicker to the fine third man boundary. Lovely hands from Bopara.
oh and what a shot to play first ball. He knew this would be a yorker, so he backs away and opens the face to get it wide of the keeper to the fine leg fence. Bopara is the finisher. Can he get the best of Malinga?
Massive six-man conference about who should bowl this next over. Kule has another over. Malinga has one. Who will it be? It's Malinga to bowl. Sri Lanka gamble.
gone! A fourth for Kulasekara, and this one is off a short ball, around stomach high. Buttler backs away and tried to thump it over the straight boundary, but it takes the top edge and it loops to cover, where Chandimal backpedals and holds the catch, close to his chest.
short ball, but too short. That's over the head and given wide
Buttler comes at Kulasekara, who delivers a yorker on the stumps. He;s squeezed that to cover, who has a shy at the stumps as the batsmen scamper through. Kule doesn't collect cleanly at the stumps and gives away an unnecessary run.
length ball outside off stump again. Buttler comes forward and drives it on the up straight to cover.
length ball outside off, Hales walks across and pushes this into the leg side for a single
and there's the breakthrough for Sri Lanka! Kulasekara does it. All three wickets have fallen to him. It's a fullish ball outside off stump, and hes pummeled it straight to the man at long on. Not sure why Morgan didn't get under it as he'd hoped, he's smashed balls like that for the last half hour. Maybe it stopped on the pitch a little.
length ball outside off stump, Hales flat-bats it aerially down to long on
Hamza Khan: "This is eerily similar to the Pakistan Australia match earlier in the tournament. A huge score posted following an assault by the star batsmen in the first innings. Two wickets go down in the second innings early in the first over. A brilliant fightback by the team batting second. The only thing left is the last twist in the end by the bowling side." Sri Lanka running out of resources though. England are definitely ahead at this point. Kulasekara is back, wiping the ball furiously as well.