• England defeated Sri Lanka by a narrow margin of four wickets to advance to the T20 World Cup semifinals
• England completed their target with two balls to spare thanks to excellent death bowling from Mark Wood and Sam Curran
• England will play the winning team decided on Sunday in Semi-Finals

In their final Super 12 game on Saturday, England defeated Sri Lanka by a narrow margin of four wickets to advance to the T20 World Cup semifinals, eliminating the tournament’s hosts and defending champions Australia in the process.

England completed their target with two balls to spare thanks to excellent death bowling from Mark Wood (3-26) and Sam Curran, who held Sri Lanka to 141 for eight.

The 2010 champions and Group 1 winners New Zealand both earned spots in the last four. On Sunday, the two Group 2 semi-finalists will be chosen.

Pathum Nissanka’s dismissal for 67 in the 16th over of the Asia Cup champions’ innings appeared to have ended Australia’s prospects of moving on, which had depended on a Sri Lankan upset to remain alive.

The second ball of the innings saw Nissanka smash Ben Stokes for the first of his five sixes, and by the end of the 15th over, Sri Lanka was 116 for three, looking good for a respectable total on a surface where chasing can be challenging.

After taking his first wicket of the competition, spinner Adil Rashid had Nissanka caught at the long-on boundary by replacement fielder Chris Jordan as Sri Lanka crumbled, reaching 25 for 5 in the final 5 overs.

Before the England skipper was caught for 28 by Chamika Karunaratne’s exquisite diving catch at deep midwicket off the bowling of Wanindu Hasaranga, openers Alex Hales and Jos Buttler put up 75 for the first wicket.

Hasaranga is gone Soon after, Hales caught and bowled for 47 before being quickly followed by cheap wickets from Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, and Moeen Ali, leaving England reeling at 111-5 in the 15th over.

Stokes (42 not out) and Chris Woakes (five not out) helped them reach the finish line in the final over on 144 for six despite the fact that the winning target was never more than one run per ball away.

Playing XI

England: Alex Hales, Jos Buttler (c) (wk), Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Chamika Karunaratne, Dasun Shanaka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara

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The 8th ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is set to be the biggest and the best yet, with 16 teams playing 45 matches in seven Australian cities between 16 October and 13 November.

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