England vs. Sri Lanka: Highlights, Scorecard, Report from Cricket World Cup

England suffered a third defeat at the World Cup as Sri Lanka chased down a target of 310 with nine wickets and 16 balls to spare in their Pool A clash in Wellington, New Zealand.

Joe Root's impressive century and Jos Buttler's late fireworks had helped to justify England's decision to bat first, their score a far cry from the 123 they limped to against New Zealand at the same ground a week ago.

But Sri Lanka were never overawed by the chase, and Lahiru Thirimanne's century at the top of the order kept them on pace throughout, with Kumar Sangakkara's ton settling the contest emphatically.

A single win from four games—and that to Scotland—says plenty about England's prospects of winning the tournament, but despite that the immediate target a place in the quarter-finals is still possible. Victories against Bangladesh and Afghanistan would likely be enough.

Sri Lanka have rebounded from their opening-day defeat to New Zealand impressively, meanwhile—though their next match against Australia will be far tougher.

Batsman	Dismissal	Bowler	Runs	Mins	Balls
Bowler	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Moeen	c Lakmal	b Mathews	15	42	26
Bell		b Lakmal	49	87	54
Ballance	c and b Dilshan		6	10	14
Root	lbw	b Herath	121	150	108
Morgan	c Dilshan	b T Perera	27	52	47
Taylor	c Dilshan	b Malinga	25	51	26
Buttler	not out		39	27	19
Woakes	not out		9	18	8
Extras	2nb 9w 4b 3lb	18
Total	for 6 (50.0 ovs)	309
Malinga	10.0	0	63	1
Lakmal	7.4	0	71	1
Mathews	10.0	1	43	1
Dilshan	8.2	0	35	1
Herath	5.5	0	35	1
T Perera	8.1	0	55	1

Unchanged England started well enough, with Ian Bell showing more attacking intent than he has all tournament as he and Moeen Ali went after the expensive Suranga Lakmal. 

But Sri Lanka's experience told—they weathered the early storm and pegged their opponents back with wickets. 

A score of 62-0 after nine overs became 101-3 after 20.2 as the direction fizzled out, leaving Root and Eoin Morgan to piece the innings back together. Cricket Record noted Joe Root's record-setting performance:

"

Joe Root now have scored four ODI centuries, the most 100s by any England player in their ODI history at age less than 25. #CWC15 #ENGvSL

— Cricket Record (@cricinfo_record) March 1, 2015"

Root rode his luck, too, surviving a dropped chance from Mahela Jayawardene with just two runs to his name. But he made the most of it, helping his side add 148 runs from the last 15 overs. ICC was not pleased by the decision review:

"

WATCH: Is the worst decision review of #cwc15!!?? #ENGvSL http://t.co/9y00OX80MM pic.twitter.com/jIDIglDnXH

— ICC (@ICC) March 1, 2015"

Those around him picked up the pace. Morgan's 27 came from a limping 47 balls, James Taylor scored at just shy of a run-a-ball in his cameo of 25, while 19 deliveries were enough for Buttler to crash 39, in what was an encouraging partnership between two men likely to be a key part of the England ODI set-up in years to come. Jack Mendel noted Taylor's performance, hopefully negating any doubts:

"

James Taylor swatting a ball for six - take that doubters https://t.co/PurWJlaoHd #ENGVSL #shot

— Jack Mendel (@JackMendel4) March 1, 2015"

But scores in excess of 300 no longer instill fear in top-class teams, and Sri Lanka set about the chase smoothly.

Batsman	Dismissal	Bowler	Runs	Mins	Balls
Bowler	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Thirimanne	not out		139	196	143
Dilshan	c Morgan	b Moeen	44	82	55
Sangakkara	not out		117	113	86
Extras	0nb 3w 8b 1lb	12
Total	for 1 (47.2 ovs)	312
Anderson	8.0	0	48	0
Broad	10.0	1	67	0
Woakes	9.2	0	72	0
Finn	8.0	0	54	0
Moeen	10.0	0	50	1
Root	2.0	0	12	0

Thirimanne was dropped by Root in the slips on three runs, which proved painful as he went on to form century stands with both Tillakaratne Dilshan and then Sangakkara.

Dilshan launched two short deliveries from Stuart Broad over square leg for six in a single over to set the tone, the highlights of what was otherwise an even-paced start.

England were perhaps counting on scoreboard pressure to take its toll, but though Dilshan departed, offering a catch to short midwicket from Ali's spin, the veteran Sangakkara was unlikely to be intimidated.

He played the foil to Thirimanne as the opener closed in on a century, but having brought up his 50 from just 45 deliveries, Sangakkara kicked into life in the powerplay overs to feast on a flurry of leg-side bowling from the seam attack of Broad and Steven Finn. Cricket Record noted Sangakkara set a record for "runs in WC matches:

"

K Sangakkara 1234* runs in WC matches, he has become the 3rd most runs getter in WC history, behind SRT 2278 & Ponting 1743. #CWC15 #ENGvSL

— Cricket Record (@cricinfo_record) March 1, 2015"

When they did wobble briefly, England did not punish it—a couple of communication mishaps as Thirimanne sought his ton did not lead to a run out, while Ali fumbled a simple chance to catch Thirimanne on 98.

By the time the batting powerplay had passed, Sri Lanka were 50 runs better off and had whittled the target down to 63 from 60 balls. 

There was time for Sangakkara to breeze to his 23rd ODI century, this one taking just 70 balls to bring up, as Morgan rotated his toothless seam attack without any joy. Cricket World highlighted Wellington's "electric" atmosphere:

"

#SL is flying and Sangakkara has a ton! Atmosphere is electric in Wellington #cwc15 #ENGvSL https://t.co/cgCoETanum

— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) March 1, 2015"

When England return to action next week, what changes can they make—and will they have any effect?