ICC World T20 2016 Results: Saturday's Super 10 Scores, Group Tables, Schedule
England booked their spot in the semi-finals of the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 with a 10-run win over Sri Lanka on Saturday.
Team captain Eoin Morgan’s troops powered to a total of 171/4 thanks to a strong end to their innings, and the bowlers took care of the rest, taking four quick wickets and limiting the damage from that point onwards. Sri Lanka (161/8) nearly completed a fantastic comeback, but England dug in during the final overs.
Earlier in the day, New Zealand closed out the group stage with four wins out of four after putting Bangladesh to the sword with an emphatic 75-run victory.
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On a very slow pitch at Eden Gardens, the Group 2 table-toppers battled valiantly to chalk up 145 for eight before bowling Bangladesh out for 70. The Black Caps were already assured of progress to the semi-finals before the first ball, but their impressive victory provides some all-important momentum.
Here’s a look at the Super 10 results, standings and upcoming schedule.
| Match 30 | 1 | Sunday, Mar. 27 | 9:30 a.m. | Afghanistan vs. West Indies |
| Match 31 | 2 | Sunday, Mar. 27 | 2 p.m. | India vs. Australia |
| Match 32 | 1 | Monday, Mar. 28 | 2 p.m. | South Africa vs. Sri Lanka |
| Semi-final 1 | Knockout | Wednesday, Mar. 30 | 1:30 p.m. | New Zealand vs. TBD |
| Semi-final 2 | Knockout | Thursday, Mar. 31 | 1:30 p.m. | TBD vs. TBD |
| Final | Knockout | Sunday, Apr. 3 | 1:30 p.m. | TBD vs. TBD |
| West Indies | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | +0.609 |
| England | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | +0.145 |
| South Africa | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | +0.485 |
| Sri Lanka | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.287 |
| Afghanistan | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.067 |
| New Zealand | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | +1.900 |
| Australia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | +0.440 |
| India | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -0.546 |
| Pakistan | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.093 |
| Bangladesh | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.805 |
England vs. Sri Lanka
England, 171 for 4 (Buttler 66, Vandersay 2 for 26) beat Sri Lanka, 161 for 8 (Mathews 73*, Jordan 4 for 28) by 10 runs
Click here for full scorecard
England's bowlers survived a late rally from Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews to qualify for the semi-finals of the 2016 ICC World T20.
The batsmen had given the English a healthy total to defend, scoring an impressive 171 runs in the first innings. As shared by Bleacher Report UK, Jos Buttler played a huge factor in England's score with a timely half-century:
England knew going into the match a win over the defending champions would be enough to secure a semi-final spot, and Morgan's side were put in after Sri Lanka won the toss.
Opener Alex Hales was out for a duck, but the rest of England's batsmen quickly settled into a nice tempo, doing a fine job of keeping the scoreboard ticking over. Sri Lanka's bowlers sought to take advantage of a testing pitch, but to their credit, England remained patient in their play.
The Sri Lankans opted to throw pace at England's batsmen in the main, and while the decision seemed to be the right one during the first 15 overs, a five-over blitz from England to end the innings gave the team a stong total of 171.
Buttler led the charge with an excellent 66 from 37 balls, including eight fours and two sixes, while Morgan chipped in with 22 from 16 before he was run out. Ben Stokes added a six off the only ball he faced, as England exploded for 72 from the last five overs.
Former cricket star Mahela Jayawardena thought the Lions got their tactics right, but let things slip late on:
Jeffrey Vandersay led the way for Sri Lanka's bowlers with two wickets, but overall, the Lions would have been disappointed with their late lapses in concentration.
England's bowlers showed their opponents how it's done early in Sri Lanka's chase, as openers Tillakaratne Dilshan and Dinesh Chandimal combined for just three runs before both were dismissed.
David Willey got rid of Dilshan in the very first over, and per cricket writer Mazher Arshad, the opener has a tendency to take a lot of risks early in T20 action:
Chandimal followed soon after, and just two overs into the Lions' innings, the chase already looked doomed. That plight was compounded as Milinda Siriwardana and Lahiru Thirimanne were out in successive balls to finish the third over, leaving Sri Lanka on four for 15.
Cricket writer Elizabeth Amon praised Stokes, who smartly took aim at the stumps to run out Thirimanne, but also noted that Sri Lanka weren't making life hard on England:
Mathews and Chamara Kapugedera sought to steady the ship for the Lions after that, as England continued to squeeze the run-rate.
But as the second half of the innings wore on, the Lions started finding success against England's bowlers. Mathews in particular looked very sharp, despite suffering an apparent hamstring injury. Per BBC 5 live Sport, he needed just 40 balls to claim his half-century:
A massive 21-run over off Moeen Ali suddenly had Sri Lanka within striking distance, needing 40 runs off the last 24 balls. But the outstanding Chris Jordan, finishing with figures of four wickets for 28 runs, helped pull the match back in England's favour, with the wickets of Thisara Perera, Dasun Shanaka and Rangana Herath.
Stokes took the ball for the final over and closed the match out well, booking England's semi-final spot despite the best efforts of Mathews, who did not deserve to be on the losing side after his unbeaten 73.
England's spinners struggled tremendously on Saturday, nearly blowing a comfortable lead, and the relative lack of experience in their bowling attack remains an issue entering the knockout stages of the tournament.
That said, the 2016 ICC World T20 already looks like a success for England after the team qualified from a tough group, and the squad should enter the semi-finals with plenty of confidence after beating the defending champions.
New Zealand vs. Bangladesh
New Zealand, 145 for 8 (Williamson 42, Rahman 5 for 22) beat Bangladesh, 70 (15.4 overs, Hom 16, Elliott 3 for 12) by 75 runs
Click here for full scorecard
Bangladesh came into Saturday’s Group 2 match just looking to restore some pride after losing their opening three World T20 matches, but they were outclassed at every corner by the irresistible New Zealand.
The Black Caps won the toss and elected to bat on a pitch that heavily favoured bowlers, and Bangladesh didn’t waste much time getting on the board.
The ever-impressive Mustafizur Rahman bowled Henry Nicholls to send him packing for seven.
Kane Williamson restored a bit of solidity with 42, but it was clear that the Black Caps were struggling.
Fast bowlers were having plenty of joy thanks to the lack of bounce, and the wickets continued to fall.
At 100 for four in the 15th over, Bangladesh were looking in good shape, but New Zealand kept at it and eventually posted a 145 for eight total.
Mustafizur stole the show with impeccable figures of five for 22, which took him to the top of the tournament bowling standings, per ICC:
While limiting the lethal New Zealand order to 145 in T20 is always good, it was a very competitive score in such difficult conditions.
Bangladesh had a real mountain to climb on the Eden Gardens surface, and they never looked like getting there.
Colin Munro ran out Tamim Iqbal in just the second over to get the party started, before the likes of Grant Elliot and Ish Sodhi ran riot.
Bangladesh could only muster 70 runs before Sodhi took the last wicket, sending New Zealand to eight points out of a possible eight.
In fact, Bangladesh’s total was their lowest in T20 international history, per ESPNcricinfo:
The Black Caps are looking serious contenders for World T20 glory in India, with their bowlers and batsmen in excellent form.
Williamson’s men will take on the runners-up from Group 2 in the semi-finals, and based on Saturday’s form, they’ll be too hot to handle for whichever side progresses.
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