T20 World Cup: Buttler's unbeaten hundred propels England to 163/4

Sharjah, Nov 1 (IANS) Jos Buttler's maiden T20I century propelled England to a challenging 163/4 in 20 overs against Sri Lanka in a Group 1 match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium here on Monday.Buttler's knock, inclusive of six fours and as many sixes, was about adapting to the conditions and then attacking when it mattered the most. He was also involved in a crucial 112-run stand with Eoin Morgan (40) to rescue England from 35/3 in 5.2 overs.Inserted into batting first, England lost Jason Roy in the second over. Roy went for a slog-sweep but missed the ball and saw his off-stump rattled by Wanindu Hasaranga. In the next over, Jos Buttler hit Lahiru Kumara for two boundaries. Dawid Malan began with a boundary off Dushmantha Chameera in the fifth over. But three balls later, Chameera got one to nip back in and knock off Malan's stumps. In the final over of power-play, Hasaranga bagged his second wicket of the match, trapping an advancing Jonny Bairstow plumb lbw in front of the stumps.After playing out Maheesh Theekshana's final over, Buttler made a seamless shift of gears. He began by taking Chamika Karunaratne for four followed by a six on the leg-side. In the next over, he reached his second half-century of the tournament in 45 balls. Eoin Morgan joined the party, taking a four off Hasaranga. Kumara's 15th over yielded 22 runs, including three sixes, one from Morgan while Buttler hit two.From there onwards, there was a steady flow of boundaries from Buttler's and Morgan's blades. Hasaranga scalped his third wicket in the 19th over as Morgan was bowled while sweeping across the line. Buttler took a four off the first ball of the final over. He was dropped on the third ball and reached the three-figure mark by flicking a six over deep backward square-leg off Chameera on the final ball of the innings.Brief scores: England 163/4 in 20 overs (Jos Buttler 101 not out, Eoin Morgan 40, Wanindu Hasaranga 3/21, Dushmantha Chameera 1/43) against Sri Lanka
--IANSnr/bsk

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