England enter semi-finals with nervy Sri Lanka victory

England enter semi-finals with nervy Sri Lanka victory

England secured their spot in the semi-finals of the 2022 T20 World Cup with a nervy victory over Sri Lanka in their final Super 12 fixture at the SCG on Saturday. It was far from plain sailing for Jos Buttler’s side in Sydney, but after restricting the Lankans to a below-par score of 142, England managed to hold their nerve and chase down the target with two balls to spare.

This victory means that England have qualified for the semi-finals by finishing in second place in Group 1 behind New Zealand, with the hosts and defending champions Australia knocked out due to their poorer net run rate.

Having won the toss and opted to bat, Sri Lanka came out storming from the gates as Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis took on the new ball attack. Mendis slog-swept Mark Wood over the leg-side while Nissanka hit three sixes in the opening five overs, taking Sri Lanka to 52 for one. However, batting got tougher on a used Sydney pitch as the innings wore on and England fought back with Adil Rashid bowling a wonderful spell and the pacers mixing up their speeds and using the change of pace effectively. Sam Curran had Dhananjaya de Silva caught on the boundary, while Rashid conceded just 16 runs in his four overs to go along with the scalp of Pathum Nissanka on 67.

Sri Lanka were well set up at 115 for three at the 15-over mark but could only manage 25 runs off the final 30 deliveries, falling short of a competitive total. Sam Curran continued his excellent record at the death for England in the tournament – conceding just 11 in his two overs at the back end – whilst Mark Wood picked up three wickets in the final over to finish with figures of 3 for 26.

Needing 142 from 20 overs to secure their semi-final spot, England went hard in their batting powerplay as Jos Buttler and Alex Hales smashed 70 runs in the first six overs. Hales, in particular, was at his destructive best, taking on pacers Kasun Rajitha and Lahiru Kumara to score 42 runs in 19 balls in this period. However, Wanindu Hasaranga removed both openers in consecutive overs to cause a change in momentum before Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, and Moeen Ali departed in quick succession to raise the tension in the English camp.

The Sri Lankan pacers made life difficult for the batters with their slower balls dug into the pitch, but Ben Stokes held his nerve at the death and took England home with just two balls to spare with a crucial knock of 42 from 36 deliveries.