England enter semi-final with four-wicket win over Sri Lanka, knock out Australia

Sri Lanka received the toss and opted to bat in a recreation the place delight was at stake for them, having been eradicated from the semi-final race. They started properly to succeed in 32 for no loss after three overs, however it all went downhill for them after that. Kusal Mendis perished to Chris Woakes for 18, pulling a brief ball to the fielder within the deep.

Nissanka batted brilliantly at one finish, contributing 67 off 45 balls. His knock featured two fours and as many as 5 sixes, one other demonstration of his expertise. Nevertheless, round him the Sri Lankan innings simply fell aside. Dhananjaya de Silva holed out towards Sam Curran for 9, Charith Asalanka (8) top-edged Ben Stokes to level.

Nissanka’s innings got here to an finish within the sixteenth over then he was undone by Adil Rashid (1/16) and gave a catch within the outfield. Mark Wooden (3/26) helped himself to 3 wickets on the finish, dismissing Dasun Shanaka (3), Bhanuka Rajapaksa (22) and Chamika Karunaratne (0). Additionally, Wanindu Hasaranga was run-out for 9 as Sri Lanka managed solely 141 for 8.

Within the chase, England received off to a flyer as Alex Hales and Jos Buttler added 75 for the opening wicket. Hales slammed seven fours and a six in his dominant innings, whereas the England captain was sedate, placing two fours and a six. The partnership was damaged when Buttler (28 off 23) miscued Hasaranga to deep midwicket. Hales (47 off 30) fell quickly after, chipping a return catch to Hasaranga.

Dhananjaya took out Harry Brook (4) and Moeen Ali (1), whereas Lahiru Kumar dismissed Liam Livingstone (4) and Curran (6). Nevertheless, Ben Stokes introduced all his expertise into play and guided England into the semi-final. Coming in at No.3, he remained not out until the top, 42 off 36. His knock featured solely two fours, however considerably, he stayed agency, which is what England wanted.

Talking after the sport, England captain Buttler admitted, “Did not get pleasure from that match, how shut it was. We simply needed to discover a strategy to win that recreation.” He, nevertheless, praised Stokes and added, “These conditions are constructed for him, he can play lots of roles for us on this T20 setup. They received off to a very good begin, and we felt the wicket would play that approach because it was a used wicket. However the best way Adil Rashid received us again was great.”

Rashid was named Participant of the Match for his figures of 1/16 from 4 overs.

–By A Cricket Correspondent