Cricket World Cup 2023: Defending champions England are having a tough time in India in their journey to defend their title as they faced another batting collapse during their match against Sri Lanka on Thursday (October 26) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. After a steady start, Dawid Malan was caught by Kusal Mendis off a Angelo Mathews delivery and moments later star batter Joe Root had to walk back due to a run out in the middle. Then, Ben Stokes joined Bairstow walking in at number 4 but wickets kept falling for England as the opening batter was also trapped by Rajitha. (India Vs England ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: I Try To Put Myself In My Players’ Shoes, Says Captain Rohit Sharma)


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Fans could not keep calm as at one point England were in deep trouble after Jos Buttler's wicket. They were 123 for 7 with Ben Stokes and Chris Woaked in the middle with more than 25 overs left to bat.


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England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and opted to bat against Sri Lanka in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023 match at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday. The defending champions entered their match against Sri Lanka just two steps above the bottom of the World Cup net run rate standings.('Babar Azam, Inzamam-ul-Haq Were Given Freedom To...', PCB's BIG Statement After Pakistan's Three Defeats In Cricket World Cup 2023)


Meanwhile, Sri Lanka have the same 1-3 record as England going into this high-stakes match, as the hapless team continues to be plagued by injuries. Veteran Angelo Mathews has been brought into a squad that was in desperate need of seasoned reinforcements, and he will improve the batting line-up if he is pressed into service right away.


Speaking at the time of toss, Jos Buttler said, "We are going to bat first. Looks like a good wicket, a little bit drier but we will look to put up a good score. We have been short of our best, we have done enough talking and it is about performing. We have stayed very level as a group, there is some frustration around for not playing as well as we could but there is quality in the team individually and collectively. Throughout the team. We have three changes - Chris Woakes, Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone come in."


Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis said, "Pitch is good and we were looking to bat first as well. I am enjoying the captaincy. There are players who are advising me and supporting me. In the last match, we did well with bat and ball. Very important game, we need a good start with the ball and if we get that then we can manage the game. He (Mathews) comes into the team, the most experienced guy in the team and hopefully, he does well today. Angelo and Kumara are playing."


England were on their way to get bundled out with less than 200 runs on the board as Sri Lanka displayed a brilliant and dominant bowling performance against the 2019 World Champions. Jos Buttler would be hoping his bowlers can do the same magic as the Lanka ones did in the clash between the two sides in Bengaluru.