A GREAT RELIEF
England do it hard way to make the semi-finals
ENGLAND certainly don’t do straightforward. At times, it is as if they are contractually obliged to do precisely the opposite. But they are in the World Twenty20 semi-finals after a pulsating 10-run win over Sri Lanka.
There were many heroes on a muggy night in Delhi. Jos Buttler blitzed a brilliant unbeaten 66 off 37 balls to help England to an imposing 171 for four, David Willey made two early incisions and Chris Jordan held his nerve at the death to pick up a career-best four for 28.
But, as so often in Twenty20, the game pivoted on a single moment. Sri Lanka needed 17 off 10 balls with four wickets in hand when the dangerous Dasun Shanaka got hold of a drive off Jordan that appeared to be heading for four.
Instead, Joe Root leapt high at mid-off, clinging on to a catch that, in an instant, lifted English spirits. Had it flown to the fence, the game might have been over.
There was still work to be done, but Angelo Mathews, who had brilliantly dragged his side back from 15 for four, was struggling with a hamstring injury.
With runners not permitted by the ICC, the Sri Lankan captain had to hobble on and needed to conjure 15 from Ben Stokes’s final over to keep his side in the competition and condemn England to yet more World Cup agony.
Stokes, though, aimed full and straight, and Mathews — with No 10 Jeffrey Vandersay for company — knew he had to hit twos, fours or sixes.
He managed only a pair of twos, leaving England to prepare for a semi-final against, almost certainly, New Zealand on Wednesday here. They will tell themselves they have one crucial advantage; while New Zealand have been travelling round India, England are starting to feel at home at the Feroz Shah Kotla.
For now, though, they can reflect proudly on an about-turn that began when they had to chase 230 against South Africa in Mumbai to stay in the competition. It has not been a breeze; the collapse to 85 for seven against Afghanistan was too familiar for comfort.
But the grit they have shown while recovering from their battering by West Indies’ Chris Gayle feels like the latest tick in a box for Eoin Morgan and Co. ‘This gives us confidence,’ said the captain. ‘Our three wins have shown an immense amount of character.’
Pleasing, too, was the manner in which England responded to Morgan’s plea for an all-round performance. Alex Hales had fallen in the second over for a duck to the spin of Rangana Herath, but Jason Roy and Root added 61 at a rate quick enough to lay a meaningful platform.
England entered the final five overs on 99 for three but, with Morgan content to play wingman, Buttler blasted 44 of the 71 that came from the last five overs.
Their momentum surged into the start of the Sri Lankan reply. Tillakaratne Dilshan swung Willey’s third ball to Hales and Dinesh Chandimal fell to Jordan.
Milinda Siriwardana slapped Willey to Morgan at cover and next ball it was 15 for four when Mathews sent back Lahiru Thirimanne, who was beaten by Stokes’s throw as he tore in.
Game, set and match? Not with England. Mathews decided to take down the spinners, sharing stands of 80 with Chamara Kapugedera and 42 with Thisara Perera.
When Sri Lanka needed 40 off four overs, it looked as if England were heading for another exit.
Perera chipped Jordan to Willey at mid-off, but 12 off Willey’s last over made the equation 22 off two.
Then came the Root catch, setting up a final over when England would not be denied.