Sri Lanka have cruised to a comfortable nine-wicket victory over England in their World Cup clash as they successfully chased down 310 thanks to centuries from Lahiru Thirimanne and Kumar Sangakkara.
Thirimanne recorded his third one-day international century as he powered to an unbeaten knock of 139, while his efforts were matched by Sangakkara at the other end with an innings of 117 not out as the duo put on a partnership on 212 to secure the win.
England set a competitive total in Wellington as a century from Joe Root guided Eoin Morgan's men to 309-6, aided by some excellent lower-order striking from Jos Buttler.
The Three Lions almost got off to the perfect start as they attempted to defend their total, only for Root to drop Thirimanne at first slip off the bowling of Stuart Broad, although he was distracted by a late move from Buttler to try and snag the catch.
The missed opportunity was to cost England dearly as Thirimanne and Tillakaratne Dilshan managed to find the boundary with ease as James Anderson, Steven Finn and Broad were guilty of dropping short in their length.
Sri Lanka brought up their 50 in the ninth over, and Thirimanne began to find further gaps to put the pressure on the England bowlers as he reached his half-century off 58 balls.
Dilshan and Thirmanne then passed the 100-run mark, but Dilshan was to depart for 44 when he edged the ball back to Moeen Ali for 44 to give Morgan's side a chance to get back into the game.
However, the window was quickly shut by Sangakkara as he found his rhythm with ease as the run chase gathered pace with the veteran at the crease.
The 37-year-old blasted his way to his half-century off 45 balls as Sri Lanka passed the 200-run mark as they used the powerplay to great effect as Broad and Chris Woakes came in for punishment as they bowled back of a length.
Thirimanne registered his century off 117 deliveries as he began to take a backseat to Sangakkara who dismantled the England attack to shift his side over the 250-run mark in the 41st over, passing their 150-run partnership in the process.
The veteran notched his 100 off just 70 balls, in a superb innings, as he brought up his 23rd one-day international century.
Sri Lanka secured the victory with 16 deliveries to spare as Thirimanne launched a six off the bowling of Woakes to clinch the match by nine wickets to leave England's hopes of reaching the last eight of the competition in serious peril.
PAK beat ZIM by 20 runs
Zimbabwe fell just short in their run chase against Pakistan in the World Cup at the Gabba this morning, losing by 20 runs after being bowled out in the final over.
Pakistan posted a total of 235-7 off their 50 overs, setting Zimbabwe a target of 236 for victory in Brisbane.
It did not take long for Pakistan to break up the opening partnership as Chamu Chibhabha (9) was dismissed in the fifth over, after edging the ball to Haris Sohail at slip.
Sikandar Raza soon followed, while Mohammad Irfan claimed his third wicket of the day to end a 52-run partnership between Hamilton Masakadza and Brendan Taylor.
Taylor continued to battle hard for his runs, but was dismissed just after securing his half-century, while Sean Williams was out for 33, reducing Zimbabwe to 150-5.
Irfan and Wahab Riaz continued to cause problems for the batsmen, with the latter picking up two wickets in the 40th over to leave Zimbabwe on the ropes at 168-8.
However, Elton Chigumbura was joined by Tinashe Panyangara at the crease to get his side back into contention, leaving them needing just 28 off the final three overs.
Riaz bowled a maiden in the 48th over to leave Zimbabwe still needing 28 runs with just 12 balls remaining, while Chigumbura added just four in the penultimate over.
Still looking for 21 with four balls to go, Zimbabwe pushed for a quick single, resulting in Panyangara being run out.
Tendai Chatara tried to smash the ball on his first delivery, but he edged it behind to Misbah-ul-Haq, handing Pakistan their first win of the tournament.
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