T20 World Cup
\nSpot in semi-finals all but firmed up; Sri Lanka will need a near-miracle
\n Islamabad
\nEngland survived a scare against Sri Lanka to complete their fourth straight win at the T20 World Cup and all but confirm their spot in the semi-finals.
\nButtler once again starred for England, scoring his first ever T20I hundred in an absolutely brilliant innings.
\nHaving struck 71 not out off just 32 balls in the win over Australia, Buttler took some time to get going against Sri Lanka before accelerating rapidly at the back end of the innings.
\nAfter losing the toss for the first time at the tournament, England were put into bat and they were immediately under pressure after losing three early wickets in the Power Play.
\nSri Lanka\u2019s spinners dominated the early proceedings, with leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga continuing his excellent tournament and mystery spinner Maheesh Theekshana proving miserly as the pair recorded figures of 3-21 and 0-13 respectively.
\nHasaranga made the first breakthrough, bowling Jason Roy for nine with an excellent googly.
\nDawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow were dismissed soon after, with Malan getting bowled by Dushmantha Chameera for just six and Bairstow falling LBW to Hasaranga for a duck.
\nButtler and Morgan were then able to build a partnership, but both players initially struggled to time the ball or find the boundary.
\nAt the halfway stage, England had scored just 47-3, with Buttler on 24 from 30 and Morgan on six from 15.
\nHowever, they were both able to tee off at the back end of the innings, firing England to a total of 163-4.
\nButtler took 45 balls to reach his half-century, laying the platform for him to go berserk and add a further 51 runs off just 22 balls.
\nMorgan was also able to up the ante late on, scoring just nine off his first 20 deliveries and then bludgeoning 31 off the next 15. But it was Buttler who was the star of the show, reaching three figures with a towering six off the last ball of the innings.
\nIn response, Sri Lanka got off to the worst possible start with Pathum Nissanka getting run out in the first over after a mix-up with his opening partner Kusal Perera.
\nHowever, the likes of Charith Asalanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka and Hasaranga all played important cameos to keep Sri Lanka in with a chance of winning.
\nShanaka and Hasaranga in particular shared a crucial 53-run partnership, edging their side close to a potential upset.
\nHowever, an excellent relay catch on the boundary between Jason Roy and substitute fielder Sam Billings saw Hasaranga perish for 34.
\nHis dismissal saw the momentum swing back in England\u2019s favour, with Buttler running Shanaka out just three balls later.
\nSri Lanka ultimately fell 27 runs short of their target and England wrapped up their fourth straight win.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
T20 World Cup Spot in semi-finals all but firmed up; Sri Lanka will need a near-miracle Islamabad England survived a scare against Sri Lanka to complete their fourth straight win at the T20 World Cup and all but confirm their spot in the semi-finals. Buttler once again starred for England, scoring his first ever T20I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":224920,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-224914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n