England have done considerably well to restrict Sri Lanka to 141/8 in 20 overs after their captain Dasun Shanaka (3) won the toss and chose to bat in the last Group 1 Super 12 match at the Sydney Cricket Ground tonight.
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Sri Lanka opening batter Pathum Nissanka’s ninth T20I half-century had put them in a commanding position in the first half of their innings. Already knocked out of the tournament, Sri Lanka scored 54/1 in the powerplay to follow it with reaching 80/2 by the halfway mark.
It was a pity that the Sri Lankans could only manage 61/6 in the second half of their innings. As a result, ended up putting on board a below par innings total in a match where they had a chance to really challenge the opposition on the back of a challenging total. Barring Nissanka scoring 67 (45) with the help of two fours and five sixes, no other Sri Lankan batter created any sort of impact on Saturday.
England speedster Mark Wood was their best bowler on the night with figures of 3-0-26-3. Wood, who picked all his wickets in the final over, sent back the likes of Bhanuka Rajapaksa (22), Wanindu Hasaranga (9) and Maheesh Theekshana (0).
In addition to Wood, England were able to cause a middle-order collapse because of spinner Adil Rashid and all-rounders Ben Stokes, Sam Curran and Chris Woakes picking a wicket each.
How can England qualify for semi final of T20 World Cup 2022?
In very simple words, all England need to qualify for T20 World Cup 2022 semi-finals is win this match. Nothing more. Nothing less. A Sri Lankan victory, however, will make way for Australia to walk into the semis.
England EXCELLENT! 🚀#T20WorldCup2022
— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) November 5, 2022
Currently at the third position below Australia in Group 1 points table, both England and Australia will be at seven points after an English victory. However, Australia’s NRR (Net Run Rate) is so poor that even a last-ball victory for England will result in a better NRR than arch-rivals Aussies.