T20 World Cup 2022 Points Table: Updated standings after England vs Sri Lanka Match 39
We are done with Group 1 of the Super 12 stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 and we have two semi-finalists. England beat Sri Lanka in a nail-biting contest at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday to qualify for the semi-finals alongside New Zealand.
Batting first, Sri Lanka posted 141 at the end of their 20 overs for the loss of eight wickets. In reply, the English side kept losing wickets at regular intervals. The game went down to the wire and England held their nerves to finish on the winning side to win the game by four wickets.
New Zealand finished the Super 12 stage at the top of the table of Group 1. They finished with seven points to their name, having won three out of five games. With a victory against Sri Lanka, England take their points tally to seven and pip the Aussies on the net run rate.
Australia got knocked out of the T20 World Cup 2022. They finished with seven points to their name but it wasn’t enough as they had a poor net run rate as compared to the English side. Aussies have a net run rate of -0.173 as opposed to England's net run-rate of +0.473.
Sri Lanka suffered their third loss in the Super 12 stage and finished with only four points to their name. They finish the competition in the fourth position. Ireland finished at the fifth position, having managed to win only a single game out of five. Afghanistan are the wooden spoon holder of Group 1 as they failed to win a single game and finish with two points to their name.
Group 1 ends in a thriller as England qualify for the semi-finals
Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka won the toss and opted to bat first. They got off to a brilliant start, thanks to Pathum Nissanka, who played some fantastic shots upfront. They scored 54 in the powerplay for the loss of one wicket. Nissanka brought up his fifty and departed on 67 in the 16th over.
Nissanka's departure led to a collapse as the lower-order batters failed to contribute and they managed to score only 141 at the end of their 20 overs. England picked up eight wickets in total, with Mark Wood being the pick of the bowlers with three wickets.
In reply, the English side got off to a blazing start. Alex Hales and Jos Buttler took on the bowling from the word go and smashed 70 at the end of the fielding restrictions. Wanindu Hasaranga dismissed both Buttler (28) and Hales (47) in quick succession, which allowed them to get back in the contest. Ben Stokes looked good at the crease but lacked support from the other end as the Lankan side kept picking wickets at regular intervals.
The game went down to the wire and it was the well-compiled innings of Stokes that saw the English side finish on the winning side. The southpaw remained unbeaten on 42 to guide his side across the line with two balls to spare. Hasaranga, Lahiru Kumara, and Dhananjaya de Silva picked up two wickets apiece but it wasn’t enough as they failed to defend the total.