England yesterday qualified for the T20 World Cup semi-finals with a nervy victory by four wickets over Sri Lanka in their final Super 12 match, sending hosts and defending champions Australia out of the tournament in the process.
Superb death bowling from Mark Wood (3-26) and Sam Curran restricted Sri Lanka to 141-8, and although they made heavy work of it, England reached their target with two deliveries to spare.
The 2010 champions claimed a spot in the last four along with Group 1 winners New Zealand. The two semi-finalists from Group 2 are to be decided today.
Photo: AP
Australia had needed a Sri Lanka upset to keep alive their chance of progressing, but those hopes looked to have been dashed when Pathum Nissanka was dismissed for 67 in the 16th over of the Asia Cup champions’ innings.
Nissanka clubbed Ben Stokes for the first of his five sixes from the second ball of the innings and by the end of the 15th over Sri Lanka were 116-3 and looking good for a decent score at a ground where chasing can be hard.
Spinner Adil Rashid had Nissanka caught at the long-on boundary by substitute fielder Chris Jordan to claim his first wicket of the tournament and Sri Lanka fell apart, scoring 25 over the last five overs while losing five wickets.
Photo: AP
Openers Alex Hales and Jos Buttler put on 75 for the first wicket before the England captain was dismissed for 28 by Chamika Karunaratne’s fine diving catch at deep midwicket off the bowling of Wanindu Hasaranga.
Hasaranga removed Hales caught and bowled for 47 soon afterward before Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone and Moeen Ali followed cheaply to leave England wobbling on 111-5 in the 15th over.
However, the victory target was never much more than a run a ball away, and Stokes (42 not out) and Chris Woakes (5 not out) got them across the line in the final over.
“It was a tight game,” Rashid told ESPNcricinfo after the game. “It happens in T20 cricket. They bowled well and created pressure, but Stokesy played magnificent so we got over the line, which is a good thing.”
“You lose some wickets and build some dots, and that’s the way the game goes in T20 cricket, but thankfully we stuck to it and we got over the line,” he said.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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