1st Semi-Final: England v Sri Lanka at Gros Islet

aussie1st

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1st Semi-Final: England v Sri Lanka at Gros Islet, May 13, 2010 (11:30 local, 15:30 GMT).

The first Semi-Final pits the inform English team versus a team that maybe peaking at the right stage in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka knocked out India and then put the icing on the cake by winning the match. Needing 164 at 8.2 runs an over, the run rate required got to 13.66 (41 off 18 balls). At that stage SL were focused on knocking out India and relying on Australia to beat WI. Mathews and Kapugedera choose the perfect time to hit form with some impressive sixes including one off the final ball to win the match.

The bowling has been the weak point for Sri Lanka in this tournament thus far. Their highest wicket taker is Malinga with 5 wickets which is the lowest of the Super 8 teams. Taking wickets clearly is a problem for Sri Lanka and if they don't find a way to take more wickets they could end up being punished by the long English batting lineup.

England have marched into the semis relatively unnoticed. Their players aren't household names in the T20 format to people outside of England but they have done their job throughout the tournament. Four of the English batsmen have past the 40 mark with two going one better with 50 or more (Morgan, Pietersen). Swann leads the English attack with 8 wickets, Sidebottom one behind on 7 wickets.

Unlike Sri Lanka, England have no such problems with taking wickets and may have taken more if their two group games weren't affected by rain. The batting goes very deep, all the way down to Broad at 10 and they have a good range of power hitters all the way through the lineup backed up by the steady Collingwood.

This match promises to be a ripper with both sides presenting strong batting lineups. The team that can restrict their opponent to a par total should end up winning the match. The captain, Paul Collingwood has yet to fire in this tournament, the semis may be his day.

Key Players
For England: Kevin Pietersen will obviously be the key wicket, Eoin Moran has been the other standout batter for England. Swann the leading English wicket taker will be one the Sri Lankans need to get away.

For Sri Lanka: Jayawardene is obviously the big wicket, he has failed in his past two outings so you could say hes due to return to his lofty heights. Sangakkara has got a couple of knocks away and we all know what he can do on his day. Dilshan appears to be returning to form unless his 33 is his peak. And lastly the unusual Malinga .

Key Matchups
Malinga vs Kevin Pietersen, Morgan: The battle of the key players, the winner should set their team up nicely for the rest of the match.

England opening bowlers vs Jayawardene: Whoever opens the bowling for England will need to find a way to get Jayawardene out. If he gets going and finds a partner in crime, Sri Lanka could be on their way to a big total.

Likely lineups
Kevin Pietersen will return for the match after flying back to England for the birth of his baby boy. The rest of lineup should remain the same.

England: 1. Craig Kieswetter (wk), 2. Michael Lumb, 3. Kevin Pietersen, 4. Paul Collingwood, 5. Eoin Morgan, 6. Luke Wright, 7. Michael Yardy, 8. Tim Bresnan, 9. Graeme Swann, 10. Stuart Broad, 11. Ryan Sidebottom

Jayasinghe did nothing in the match against India so I suspect Mendis will come in for him. Its a toss up between Kulasekara and Thushara, Kulasekara has been more economical but Thushara doubled his wicket tally in his only game.

Sri Lanka: 1. Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2. Mahela Jayawardene, 3. Kumar Sangakkara (c, wk), 4. Chamara Kapugedera, 5. Sanath Jayasuriya, 6. Angelo Mathews, 7. Thissara Perera, 8. Suraj Randiv, 9. Nuwan Kulasekara, 10. Lasith Malinga, 11. Ajantha Mendis
 

hacker

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it should be a good match. i hope SL can win it
 

ali_ed2001

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I like both teams, difficult to decide who I want to support.

England have been very good, but SL have peaked and have the experience of getting to the final last year which may come handy. Also, their spinners will also play a huge part.

Hoping for a great match.
 

BKB1991

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Very interesting match. England will be considered favorites, but the Lankans picked up things at the right time. Mathews came into form and Kapugedara who I thought is a pretty ordinary T20 batsmen, defied the odds with a brilliant knock. However they need their pacers to pick themselves up.
 

King Pietersen

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I see us losing tbh. I don't think we'll bat well against the spin of Mendis and Randiv, and see the batting being completely reliant on Pietersen and Morgan. If those 2 get out cheaply, we'll lose the game. Would be much happier if this game was being played in Barbados though. Would love to see us get through, but atm I'm just not seeing it.
 

aussie1st

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Mendis has been relatively ineffective, Randiv still an unknown quantity only performed against us. This match might be the one where Kieswetter stamps his mark on the International scene.
 

StinkyBoHoon

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england have to be considered favourites given their form, though they do not have the depth to bounce back like the aussies did against sri lanka.

I just think there are too many gaps in sri lanka's squad, englands support cast players are contributing whereas sri lanka's are not. Jayasinghe, perera, chandimal have done nothing but make up the numbers.
 

superfreddie

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Bit nervous about this one, england in great form, but Sri Lankans well capable of turning that upside down, love to get through to the final and have a go at the Aussies most likely.
 

Varun

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England should win this, but if we see the equation of earlier World Cups, Sri Lanka should win this. (India defeated Pakistan in 1st T20 World Cup and Pakistan then defeated Lanka in 2nd one. According to this, Lanka should be the champion team this year.)
 
P

pcfan123

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Well the bookies are backing England to pull this off. I have to say that I agree, however this entire tournament has been too good to be true.
 

MUFC1987

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I think we need to bowl really well. We can't afford to just try to out-gun the Sri Lankan batting lineup (because they're far too good), we need wickets, early and often to stand a chance.
 

King Pietersen

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I think we need to bowl really well. We can't afford to just try to out-gun the Sri Lankan batting lineup (because they're far too good), we need wickets, early and often to stand a chance.

Their batting is the least of our worries I think. Effectively been a 1 man show for the whole tournament. I think if we get Jayawardene early, we've got a great chance to bowl them out cheaply. My main worry is their bowling attack. Malinga, Mendis and Randiv could cause us some real problems I think. Hopefully we'll have enough to get through, but I'm not exactly confident.
 

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