England outclassed with bat and ball

England's biggest chance to win was if they could pile up a big total and apply pressure on an untested and shaky Sri Lankan middle order. While the toss did go in England's favour, nothing much after went according to plan. The spin-heavy attack of Sri Lanka stifled the scoring in the initial overs so much so that England just managed to reach their fifty in the 16th over. The partnership between Jonathan Trott and Eoin Morgan for the fourth wicket was in sharp contrast to the batting in the rest of the innings. Trott was assured throughout while Morgan took a few risks to provide some impetus to an otherwise slow-paced innings. However, Morgan's fall just before the batting Powerplay proved crucial. Only 23 runs were scored in the five overs of the Powerplay for the loss of two wickets. An unfit Muttiah Muralitharan proved slightly more expensive than usual, but picked up two crucial wickets including that of Trott. Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath were outstanding conceding just 81 runs in their 20 overs.

Sri Lanka nullified any hopes that England may have harboured with a fantastic opening stand. The opening pair which had put on 282 against Zimbabwe was superb again against the new ball. Tharanga set the tone early by stepping down the track to Swann and hitting him for the first six of the game. Dilshan, who looked out of sorts early, soon found his touch and increased the tempo. While it took 28 overs for England to reach the 100-run mark, Sri Lanka achieved the same in just 19 overs. England stuttered through the batting Powerplay losing three wickets and passed 200 only in the 47th over. Sri Lanka, on the other hand passed 200 in just the 36th over. The 230-run target which was supposed to be competitive was hopelessly inadequate on a day where the Sri Lankan openers were in top form against a ragged England attack. The fact that Sri Lanka scored more boundaries in their first 20 overs than England did in their entire innings is a clear indicator of how England struggled to come to grips with the spin attack and the conditions. Overall, Sri Lanka hit 22 fours and three sixes whereas England managed just 12 fours in their innings.

Sri Lanka's score of 231 for 0 is the highest target chased successfully without the loss of a single wicket in a World Cup match surpassing the 221 by West Indies against Pakistan in the 1992 World Cup.

Dilshan and Tharanga put on their second 200-plus stand of their tournament. No other batting pair has shared more than one 200-plus partnership in the same World Cup tournament.

Both opening batsmen scored centuries during the ten-wicket win. It is the 2nd time in World Cups and 23rd time in ODIs that both openers have scored centuries in the innings.

The ten-wicket win is the 2nd in a knockout game in World Cups following Pakistan's win over West Indies in Mirpur. The win is also Sri Lanka's second ten-wicket win in World Cups and fifth overall in ODIs.

Trott, in the course of his 86, became the highest run-getter in the World Cup. He now has 422 runs in seven matches at an average of 60.28.

Only on two occasions have England scored fewer fours in an innings score of over 200 in ODIs since 2000. The lowest is ten fours against Australia in Sydney in January 2011.

Tharanga, with his sixth 200-plus stand, moved level second with Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly on the list of players to be involved in the most 200-plus stands in ODIs. Ricky Ponting is on top with seven 200-plus stands in ODIs.