T20 World Cup: England beat SL, enter Semis

by Staff Writer 05-11-2022 | 5:59 PM

COLOMBO (News 1st) - England booked a spot in the Semi-finals of the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup after comfortably beating Sri Lanka by 4 wickets, despite a nervous finish. The result means tournament hosts Australia have been knocked out of the tournament.

A target of 142 looked well within reach after openers Jos Buttler and Alex Hales posted 75 for the first wicket inside eight overs. But England lost six wickets in the space of 65 deliveries, for the addition of just 54 runs. Wanindu Hasaranga, Dhananjaya de Silva and Lahiru Kumara shared 2 wickets each.

But Ben Stokes saw England over the line with 42 from 36, as England ended on 144/6 in 19.4 overs. Alex Hales made 47 from 30.

Earlier, England fought back strongly to restrict Sri Lanka to a modest total after opener Pathum Nissanka (67 off 45) got them off to a flyer.

Mark Wood took 3 for 26 off his 3 overs. But Adil Rashid tightened the screws on the Lankans with miserly figures of 1 for 16 off 4 overs. He was adjudged Player of the Match.