T20 World Cup’22, SL vs ENG: England 144 for 6 (Hales 47, Stokes 42*) beat Sri Lanka 141 for 8 (Nissanka 67, Wood 3-26) by four wickets

England defeated Sri Lanka by four wickets to advance to the semi finals of the T20 World Cup, eliminating Australia along the way.

After openers Jos Buttler and Alex Hales scored 75 for the first wicket in eight overs, a target of 142 appeared well within reach, but the chase was fraught with anxiety in the final match of Group 1. However, six wickets were lost in the space of 65 deliveries due to a series of unforced errors, adding only 54 runs.The triplet of Wanindu Hasaranga, Dhananjaya de Silva and Lahiru Kumara split those excusals equitably among them and briefly a steamed looked well and really on the cards.

Ben Stokes, however, continued to lead England to victory with 42 from 36 balls, two of which were fours. He also worked the scoreboard and Sri Lanka’s outfielders constantly, and Chris Woakes’ cut for four with two balls remaining sealed the victory. Stokes ranked No.3 after Dawid Malan fielded with an injury to his groin and displayed typical composure under tremendous pressure.

After Sri Lanka’s opener Pathum Nissanka scored 67 off 45 balls to get them off to a flying start, England fought back hard to keep them to a modest total, which was much closer than it should have been. With their own modest victory over Afghanistan on Friday, Australia, who are officially out of the running as champions, will be left to wonder what might have been had they not given up the chance to surpass England’s net run rate.

However, England’s collective attack served up cutters and slower deliveries that were responding well to the worn surface at the SCG, and Nissanka’s blitz had Sri Lanka 65 for 1 after seven overs. There was little around him for the blitz, which had Sri Lanka 65 for 1. The reply was led by Adil Rashid, who went 1 for 16 in his four overs. However, Mark Wood had the more impressive 3 for 26, two of which came in the 20th over, which also featured a run out, as Sri Lanka got to 141 for 8, which was the lowest total ever scored in the competition at this venue. When chasing, England also became the first nation to win at the SCG.

The team led by Buttler will now travel to Adelaide for the semi-final. In Group 2, which concludes on Sunday, they will play the winner

Stokes. Again

Even if the pre-tournament discussions regarding whether Stokes is in England’s best T20 team were justified, there was always going to be room for him. He once again opened up, finishing with 1 for 24 from three overs, which is as close to a revelation as you can get for a multifaceted cricketer who is admired worldwide. In many ways, it is his bowling that has been the closest thing to a revelation for him. But the real question was where to bat, and England didn’t realise how valuable he is until they were struggling in Sydney.

Even though opening for England is his best position, his assessment of the conditions around him – the tangible challenge of the pitch and the intangible stress of needing to save the day once more – was a reminder of his unrivalled value to England. He only hit two fours and ran for most of his runs because his problematic left knee was working harder and harder. He has yet to score fifty in T20Is, and this is only the third time in 35 innings that he has reached 40, but neither he nor his teammates will care.

There is no guarantee that Stokes will reprise his first-drop role in the semi-final if Malan’s injury is as feared. A batting replacement will need to be drafted in. No matter what position he plays, England’s best team is certain to have him in it.

Rashid dulls with class

There were four games, 16 bowled overs, and a wicket. Rashid has had a strange tournament, one in which the leg spinner has acted as a dampener rather than a disruptor. Even though the first position is extremely valuable in this format, the concern was that the shoulder injury, which has limited his usual speed on the field, would reduce his sharpness. Naturally, the reality may be closer to the fact that batters are more wary of him and are willing to play out his overs before making a run at the other end.

He married both sides here: In his four overs, he stopped Sri Lanka in their tracks and dismissed Nissanka. He did not concede a boundary.Things would have turned out very differently if he had failed at either task. He now has 90 wickets in T20Is, which is tied with Chris Jordan for the most by an Englishman.

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Change of pace

Here was a fixture that rewarded shifting down a few gears in a tournament where speed gun winners have taken centre stage. On this used pitch, the spinners were always going to shine, but the quicks got in on the act with their own variations. By the halfway point, England’s attack had discovered this, and pace-off deliveries were moving at 4.87 runs per over while pace-on deliveries were moving at 8.46. In the 18th over of the second innings, Sri Lanka’s own speedster Lahiru Kumara bowled six balls almost entirely reserved and into the pitch. These balls only resulted in two runs and the wicket of Sam Curran, leaving England needing over a run per ball for the final two overs. This was the most notable aspect of this.