PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka: Slinging bowler Lasith Malinga took a career-best five wickets as Sri Lanka beat England by 19 runs to reach the World Twenty20 semi-finals and send the defending champions crashing out yesterday.
Malinga took 5-31 as England, chasing a daunting 170-run target, were restricted to 150-9 in the Super Eights match at Pallekele stadium before a packed and rowdy 30,000 crowd.
The victory meant Sri Lanka and the West Indies reach the semi-finals after the hosts won all their three matches in the Super Eights. West Indies earlier enjoyed a dramatic Super Over win against New Zealand.
England batsman Samit Patel fought a lonely battle with a career-high 67 but Malinga and spinner Akila Dananjaya (2-26) ensured Sri Lanka did not lose control after scoring 169-6 when they were sent to bat first.
England’s chase did not get the desired start as they were rocked by Malinga in the third over when they lost Luke Wright (12), caught off the third ball, Jonny Bairstow (two) off the fifth and Alex Hales off the sixth for three.
It needed a fourth-wicket stand of 55 between Patel and Eoin Morgan (10) to repair the early damage but England then lost Morgan and Ravi Bopara in the space of three runs.
Malinga then returned for his second over to dismiss Jos Buttler, caught in the deep for one, while captain Stuart Broad gave a simple catch off Dananjaya for one to leave England in disarray.
Patel and Graeme Swann (34) then added a brisk 51 for the eight wicket to raise hopes of an unlikely win. But Malinga bowled Patel in the penultimate over to improve on his previous best figures of 3-12 against New Zealand in 2010.
When Sri Lankan batted Mahela Jayawardene top-scored with 42 off 38 balls, while Angelo Mathews hit 28 and Thisara Perera made 26 not out with two sixes. Sri Lanka raced to 35-0 before Swann pegged the hosts back with a double strike, dismissing Jayawardene caught at deep mid-wicket off a lofted shot, and off the next ball had Kumar Sangakkara caught behind for 13.
Mathews and Jeevan Mendis (18) added a quick-fire 52 for the fourth wicket. Broad finished with 3-32 while Swann took 2-26.
AFP
