‘They made that very hard’ – Fans puzzled as England make a meal of regulation chase against Sri Lanka
England vs Sri Lanka (Image Credit: Twitter)
England and Sri Lanka locked horns in the last game of their Super 12 round from Group One of the ongoing 20-20 World Cup 2022. Australia needed Sri Lanka to win while England needed to win to qualify for the semis alongside New Zealand for their group. After winning the toss, the Lankan Lions elected to bat first. Just like the Lankan fans, the Aussie fans felt great after the 2014 winners scored 54/1 in the powerplay.
At this stage, it looked like the former champions will take the game away. However, thanks to losing regular wickets in the middle and slog overs, they were restricted to 141/8. The Lankan batters failed to take inspiration from Pathum Nissanka, who scored 67. Apart from him, no batter could cross the 30-run mark. For the 2010 winners, Mark Wood took three wickets while Ben Stokes, Adil Rashid, Sam Curran, and Chris Woakes took one each.
England eventually cross the line after messing up in the middle overs
In reply, the former champions has a great start as skipper Jos Buttler and Alex Hales scored 75 runs in 7.2 overs. The former scored 28 off 22 while Hales scored 47 off 30. After Buttler’s wicket on 75, the team slipped to 111/5. However, it is important to note that England players made mistakes rather than Sri Lanka bowlers bowled well.
However, thanks to the likes of Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes took the team over the line. The team won by four wickets and had two balls to spare. With this loss, Australia has been kicked out of the semis race. On the other hand, Sri Lanka was already out of the race after losing two games and Afghanistan losing to Australia. With this, the tradition of the host nations not winning the 20-20 World Cups will continue for at least 2024.
New Zealand and England are likely to play against South Africa and India respectively. The last two semifinalists will be decided on November 6 after the last three Super 12 games from Group Two.
This is how Twitter reacted
The best T20 World Cup EVER! #Thrillers
— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) November 5, 2022
They made that very hard work, but England are into the semi-finals and Australia are out. #ENGvSL #T20WorldCup
— Andrew McGlashan (@andymcg_cricket) November 5, 2022
What an amazing T20 World Cup this is,every game has been intense in different ways!
— zainab abbas (@ZAbbasOfficial) November 5, 2022
Well that was close! #England through to the #T20WorldCup semi finals. Not quite by the ‘barest of margins’, but almost!! Ben Stokes the hero with the bat in the end! SL pushed them hard, but didn’t have enough runs to play with. All eyes on the other group now. #ENGvSL #SLvENG pic.twitter.com/XbWXjCd4ei
— Nikesh Rughani (@NikeshRughani) November 5, 2022
Chris Woakes, like the electric kettle and rainbows, was invented in Birmingham.
— George Dobell (@GeorgeDobell1) November 5, 2022
There's been a lot written & said about Stokes being back in this England team but this innings today is exactly what the management mean when they talk about his big game temperament. Marshalled a really tense finish. There's no column in the spreadsheet for that. #T20WorldCup
— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) November 5, 2022
For all the talk about Ben Stokes’ place in this England side, there is no cricketer in the world I’d rather have in that situation in a knockout game
Throw in bowling and fielding and he’s been good value this World Cup. Importance will grow if Malan is out of the tournament
— Will Macpherson (@willis_macp) November 5, 2022
No team has ever retained the T20 World Cup.
The list of winners:
2007 India
2009 Pakistan
2010 England
2012 West Indies
2014 Sri Lanka
2016 West Indies
2021 Australia#T20WorldCup #Cricket— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) November 5, 2022
Ben Stokes’ best T20 innings for England: calm, clinical, focused.
— Simon Mann (@Cricket_Mann) November 5, 2022
Ben Stokes was the only middle-order batter to score at a 100+ strike rate today on either side. Vital innings when England needed it to take them through to the semi-finals
— Matt Roller (@mroller98) November 5, 2022
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