England beat Sri Lanka by 4 wickets, qualify for World Cup semifinals

Sydney: England defeated Sri Lanka by four wickets to qualify for the semifinals of the T20 World Cup here on Saturday.

The result eliminated defending champions Australia from the tournament.

Batting first, Sri Lanka scored 141 for 8, riding on Pathum Nissanka's 45-ball 67 and Bhanuka Rajapaksa's run-a-ball 22.

In response, England achieved the target with two balls to spare, scoring 144 for six in 19.4 overs.

Alex Hales gave a flying start to the chase with a 30-ball 47 but England suffered a collapse before Ben Stokes took the team home with an unbeaten 36-ball 42.

Wanindu Hasaranga (2/23) and Dhananjaya de Silva (2/24) were the successful bowlers for Sri Lanka.

For England, Mark Wood (3/26) claimed three wickets, while Ben Stokes (1/24), Chris Woakes (1/24), Sam Curran (1/27) and Adil Rashid (1/16) took one each.

Brief Score: Sri Lanka: 141 for 8 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 67; Mark Wood 3/26).

England: 144 for 6 in 19.4 overs (Alex Hales 47, Ben Stokes 42; Wanindu Hasaranga 2/23, Dhananjaya de Silva 2/24).