Twitter Reactions: England survive Sri Lankan storm to seal semi-finals berth

With this win, England crushed defending champions Australia's dreams of making it to the knockout stage.

By Vaishnavi Thiagarajan Iyer

View : 1.3K

3 Min Read

England Cricket Team
info
England Cricket Team. (Photo Source: SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Sri Lanka and England squared off in the 39th match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. It was a must-win game for England in what was their final Super 12 stage fixture. The Jos Buttler-led side faced a few difficulties initially but managed to bounce back stronger and win the contest by four wickets to confirm their semi-final spot, thereby crashing Australia’s dreams.

Sri Lanka batted first in the contest at the SCG. Sri Lanka were off to a brilliant start as the openers were on fire from the word go. Though Kusal Mendis had to walk back early, Pathum Nissanka played a brilliant knock and added some great runs to Sri Lanka’s scoreboard. Though he kept going for more than 15 overs in the game, no other batter could provide him with the required assistance.

Dhananjaya de Silva and Charith Asalanka failed to make an impact before Bhanuka Rajapaksa walked in to anchor the innings alongside Nissanka. Mark Wood was the pick of the bowlers as he added three wickets under his belt. The England bowlers kept the batters in control but after a point of time, Sri Lanka kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Even after a high start, they were able to post a target of 142 runs only.

Sri Lanka bowlers keep England on the edge

England openers Jos Buttler and Alex Hales, just as expected, started off brilliantly. They started piling up runs quickly and posted a 50-run stand within the powerplay itself, and scored 70 runs in the first six overs. Sri Lanka got the first breakthrough late in the eighth over when Wanindu Hasaranga dismissed the opposition skipper as Buttler walked off scoring a 23-ball 28.

It did not take long for Hasaranga to scalp another wicket as he returned for his next over and sent Hales walking back. The middle-order batters could not do much as Harry Brook and Liam Livingstone lost their wickets cheaply. Sri Lanka bowlers did a tremendous job and kept England on the hunt for those two points. The game came down the wire as England batters struggled to score runs in the death overs.

The contest was a thriller and it came down to the final over as England were left needing five runs from the final six deliveries. Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes held their nerves and completed the chase by running brilliantly between the wickets. Woakes found the gap and hit the ball for a boundary to win the game with just two balls to spare as England qualified for the semi-finals.

Here's how the Twitter reacted:

Get every cricket updates! Follow Us:

googletelegraminstagramwhatsappyoutubethreadstwitter

Download Our App

For a better experience: Download the CricTracker app from the IOS and Google Play Store
T20 World Cup 2024Sri LankaEnglandWanindu HasarangaBen StokesAlex Hales