At the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, England beat Sri Lanka in a thriller to reach the semifinals. Three teams have the same points in Group 1 of the Super 12. But because of the better run rate, New Zealand and England sealed their place in the semifinal.
Unfortunately, Australia, the host of this world cup, failed to qualify for the semifinal despite having equal points with England. The victory of England over Sri Lanka confirmed Australia’s exit from this tournament.
Match Report
Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka won the toss and decided to bat first today at Sidney Cricket Ground. So, Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis came into the crease to start the innings for Sri Lanka. Both batters had a flying start for the Lankans. They started hitting boundaries from the very first over. However, Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis added 39 runs in the opening partnership. After that, Mendis lost his wicket to Chris Woakes in the 4th over.
The Lankan openers were leading the team toward a big score. But, Sri Lanka lost the tempo whenever they lost the first wicket. The following two batters failed to contribute much to the team. It was Pathum Nissanka who fought alone to make the score big. He scored the highest 67 runs from 45 balls. However, Mark Wood took three wickets to tie up Sri Lanka by 141 runs.
Chasing the target, England got a brilliant start. Both openers were ruthless between the wickets. They added 75 runs in the opening partnership. However, Wanindu Hasaranga gave Sri Lanka a breakthrough as he picked up Josh Buttler in the 8th over.
The Lankan spinner got another crucial wicket in his next over. This time, he picked up Alex Hales, who scored the highest 47 runs for England. However, England had gone under tremendous pressure after losing two set batters.
After that, Ben Stokes came in and fought for his life. On the other hand, Sri Lanka were continuously picking wickets. In the following four batters, no significant contributions were made. But Ben Stokes remained very strict on the crease. He scored 42 runs to seal the victory at the Sidney Cricket Ground. Therefore, England beat Sri Lanka by four wickets and secured a place in the semifinal.