World Cup 2015: Riding on unbeaten centuries from Lahiru Thirimanne (139*) and Kumar Sangakkara (117*), Sri Lanka pulled off a facile 9-wicket conquest of England in Wellington on Sunday.

Earlier, a 121-run knock from Joe Root steered England to 309-6 in 50 overs. However, their batting efforts eventually went in vain after a substandard bowling performance let the Asian side off the hook.

Sri Lanka got off to a flying start with openers Tillakaratne Dilshan (44) and Thirimanne joining hands for a 100-run partnership, before the latter framed a spectacular 212-run stand that led their way to victory.

Meanwhile, Pakistan survived a scare en route their nervy 20-run win over Zimbabwe in Brisbane.

Pakistan lost both their openers – Nasir Jamshed (1) and Amhed Shehzad (0) – early on in the innings, and they never got going thereafter.

Even as skipper Misbah-ul-Haq (73) held one end of the wicket, he sought no support from the other end, until Wahab Riaz (54*) scored his maiden fifty to bolster the team total to 235-7.

In response, Zimbabwe batsmen seemed oblivious against the likes of Mohammad Irfan and Wahab Riaz, who shared 8 wickets between them to restrict their opponents to 215 runs.

(Image courtesy: Zee News India)