Cricket news: England beat Sri Lanka by four wickets in yesterday’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 Super 12 match at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). With the win, England booked their place in the semi-finals from Group 1, knocking out the defending champions and hosts Australia. New Zealand had already booked the place in the knockouts from the group, following their triumph over Ireland on Friday.
Batting first after winning the toss, Sri Lanka came up with a disappointing effort to post 141/8. Opener Pathum Nissanka top-scored with an attacking 67 off 45 balls. However, he found no support from the other end as England kept striking crucial blows.
The Lankans got off to a decent start, reaching 32/0 after three overs. However, they couldn’t build on the early momentum. Kusal Mendis fell for 18, pulling Chris Woakes towards deep square leg. Dhananjaya de Silva (9) then lofted Sam Curran and was caught in the deep. Charith Asalanka (8) also fell for a single-figure score, even as Nissanka brought up an impressive fifty at the other end.
Sri Lanka suffered a massive setback as the set opener also perished in the 16th over, looking to go after Adil Rashid, who ended up conceding only 16 runs in his four overs. Nissanka’s knock featured two fours and five sixes. Without him, the Lankans would have folded up in rather embarrassing fashion.
Following Nissanka’s exit, Mark Wood (3/26) took out Dasun Shanaka (3), Bhanuka Rajapaksa (22) and Chamika Karunaratne (0), who found his pace too hot to handle.
Chasing 142, England seemed to be cruising towards the target as their openers added 75 in quick time. Alex Hales (47 off 30), not for the first time in this T20 World Cup, dominated the opening stand as England skipper Jos Buttler (28 off 23) was happy to play second fiddle. The partnership was broken when Buttler was caught at deep midwicket, looking to go after Wanindu Hasaranga.
The leg-spinner also dismissed Hales, who somehow miscued a slog-sweep straight back to the bowler. Dhananjaya de Silva joined in by sending back Harry Brook (4) and Moeen Ali (1), while Lahiru Kumara got the better of Liam Livingstone (4). Suddenly, at 111/5, Sri Lanka had a sniff and Australia hope!
Ben Stokes (42* off 36), however, played a highly mature innings under pressure, cutting down all the risky strokes. He placed the ball in the gaps along the ground and took singles and twos on a constant basis to whittle down the target. Stokes added 18 for the sixth wicket with Curran (6), which was hugely significant in the context of the match and England’s qualification for the semi-finals.
After Curran hooked Kumara to fine leg, Woakes (5*) came and hit the winning runs, smacking a short and wide delivery from Kumara to the boundary. The Englishmen won with only two balls to spare, a far from convincing performance. But their ultimate objective, that of booking a place in the knockouts, was achieved.
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Wood bowled a fiery spell, claiming three wickets to ensure Sri Lanka did not cross 150. Leggie Rashid was brilliant with his economy, conceding only 16 runs in four overs. He also got the key scalp of Nissanka. In the chase, Hales and Stokes contributed contrasting 40s to play crucial roles in a must-win clash.
For Sri Lanka, opener Nissanka stood out, slamming two fours and five sixes in his 45-ball 67. Hasaranga, Dhananjaya and Kumara all claimed two wickets apiece to give the Lankans faint hope of a win.
Rashid was named Player of the Match for his economical spell that stifled the Sri Lankan batting.