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Sri Lanka were 175 for four after 39 overs in their World Cup Super Eights match against England at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in St John’s yesterday.

Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene was out for 37 while Chamara Silva was joined at the crease by Russell Arnold after opener Upul Tharanga departed, scoring 62.

Jayawardene was the last man out when the report was filed as he surrendered meekly to the slow-medium pace of Collingwood for 56 off 51 balls with four boundaries.

Sanath Jayasuriya, making a world record 385th one-day appearance, was the first man out, bowled by Sajid Mahmood for 25 in the eighth over with the score on 37.

Kumar Sangakkara was then caught by Paul Collingwood off Mahmood for 17 with the score on 69 off the first ball of the 19th over.

Earlier, England skipper Michael Vaughan won the toss and elected to field on a weary wicket.

Sri Lanka were unchanged from the side that beat West Indies by 113 runs on Sunday and England went in with the same team that defeated Ireland by 48 runs on Friday.

Tharanga struck only two boundaries in his 103-ball knock which basically anchored the innings after Jayasuriya’s departure. Sangakkara’s cup of woes continued as he again fell cheaply.

Sri Lanka’s natural born aggressors were restricted by a canny opening spell from Mahmood, and clever field placings by Vaughan, as England rose to the occasion at Antigua with two wickets in the first 25 overs.

The big fear for England’s bowlers yesterday was whether the nightmares of last summer — when Sri Lanka drubbed them 5-0, saving particular scorn for Mahmood — would haunt them. It did not as James Anderson and Mahmood, the two opening bowlers, were tight, controlled and accurate in their opening spells on an odd-looking sub-continent like pitch.

Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka’s bristling opener who on the day became the most-capped ODI player, struggled initially before opening his vast locker of shots, hammering past square and flicking a few leg-side gifts England offered through midwicket.

Sri Lanka, the 1996 champions, currently have four points to lie third in the Super Eights and England only two after losing to fellow qualifiers New Zealand in the group stage.

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