Engalnd won b 4 wickets ( 2 balls left ).
England defeated Sri Lanka by a margin of four wickets to advance to the T20 World Cup semifinals, eliminating Australia in the process.
Even though a target of 142 appeared to be comfortably within reach after openers Jos Buttler and Alex Hales produced 75 for the first wicket in just eight overs , the group 1 match's decisive chase was anxiety-inducing. But six wickets fell in the space of 65 deliveries due to unforced errors, adding only 54 . These dismissals were evenly divided among the trio of Wanindu Hasaranga , Dhananjaya de Silva, and Lahiru Kumara, and for a brief while , it appeared as though an upset was definitely in the cards.
However, Ben Stokes, as usual, led England to victory with a 42 from 36 that only had two fours but allowed the score to keep ticking up until Chris Woakes' cut for four with two balls remaining. The game was much tighter than it should have been, especially when Sri Lanka's opener Pathum Nissanka (67) got them off to a fast start after Dasun Shanaka decided to bat first after winning the toss.
Australia will reflect on what might have been now that they are no longer the reigning champions after having missed the chance to beat England's net run rate with their own modest victory over Afghanistan on Friday.
75/0 through 111/5. Down a batter. The final 31 runs are certainly causing some anxiety in English supporters right now. Rightfully so.
We are aware that Sri Lanka has some of the most reliable spinners on the circuit and that this pitch is difficult to bat on. At the same time, Brook, Livingstone, and now Moeen all suffered self-inflicted terminations. The intelligence that England needs to possess appears to be coming from Ben Stokes' end. The all-rounder entered the game at number three due to Malan's hamstring injury, despite the fact that boundaries are difficult to come by. Much has been made about his perfect position in the format.
100.911 SRY