Englang\u2019s Ben Stokes hit a gutsy unbeaten 42 as England reached the T20 World Cup semi-finals on Saturday with a tense four-wicket win over Sri Lanka \u2014 and ended Australia\u2019s title defence.
\nEngland needed to win to make the last four from Group 1 alongside already qualified New Zealand and they achieved the feat in a nail-biting finish with two balls to spare at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
\nIf they had lost, hosts Australia would have gone through.
\nSri Lanka looked on track for a big total when they reached 80-2 after 10 overs but the aggressive Pathum Nissanka was out for 67 and the Asian champions crumbled to 141-8, with Mark Wood taking 3-26.
\nEngland raced to 75 without loss in reply and looked on track for an easy win. However, they collapsed to 111-5 under pressure from the Sri Lankan spin attack and it went to the wire.
\n\u201cDidn\u2019t enjoy that match, how close it was,\u201d admitted skipper Jos Buttler.
\n\u201cWe just had to find a way to win that game,\u201d he added.
\nHe further said, \u201cThese situations are built for him [Stokes]. He can play a lot of roles for us in this T20 setup.\u201d
\nMan-of-the-match Adil Rashid, whose spin kept Sri Lanka\u2019s batsmen at bay, was also full of praise for Test skipper Stokes.
\n\u201cIt was a tight game, it happens in T20 cricket,\u201d he said. \u201cThey bowled well and created pressure but Stokes played magnificent so we got over the line,\u201d Rashid added.
\nThe victory was not enough to dethrone New Zealand at the top of the table with England settling for second and a semi-final in Adelaide. The fate of Group 2 will be determined on Sunday.
\nSri Lanka\u2019s defeat ended Australia\u2019s stuttering tournament, with their title defence never recovering after losing heavily to New Zealand on the opening day, then having to share the points with England due to rain.
\n\u201cI think the wicket played a part in this game, even the English batters struggled in the second half,\u201d said Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka.
\n\u201cI think we played good cricket in patches but we had a few injuries which cost us the tournament,\u201d he said.
\nRuns flowing
\nSri Lanka \u2014 who have not beaten England in a T20 since 2014 \u2014 won the toss and asked England to field, conscious that all five previous games at the SCG during the World Cup had been won by the team batting first.
\nNissanka pulled Stokes for an authoritative six off the second ball and two more sixes in the third over \u2014 off Wood \u2014 signalled their intent.
\nHowever, the aggressive 39-run opening stand came to an end when Kusal Mendis (18) attempted another boundary from Chris Woakes and Liam Livingstone held a catch near the ropes.
\nNissanka kept the runs flowing but his new partner Dhananjaya de Silva (9) slogged at a slower Sam Curran ball and was caught by Stokes.
\nSri Lanka reached 80-2 at the halfway point but then, Livingstone took a simple catch to remove Charith Asalanka (8).
\nNissanka brought up his second 50 of the tournament and ninth overall, but tight bowling from Rashid slowed the run rate and he eventually accounted for Nissanka, who heaved to substitute fielder Chris Jordan at long-on after a 45-ball knock.
\nSri Lanka never regained momentum, making just 25 off the last five overs.
\nIn reply, Alex Hales and Buttler plundered 70 off the six-over powerplay, smashing 11 boundaries in the process.
\nSri Lanka gave themselves hope when Buttler (28) and Hales (47) were out in the space of three overs, with the spin of Wanindu Hasaranga accounting for both of them.
\nHarry Brook (4) quickly followed, caught and bowled by De Silva, then Livingstone (4) carelessly threw his wicket away with a slog, and Moeen Ali (1) joined them back in the pavilion.
\nBut Stokes kept his cool as the wickets tumbled and steered them into the last four alongside Woakes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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