England stay alive in T20 World Cup as Afghanistan exit

PATRICK HAMILTON/ AFP

England survived Glenn Phillips's late onslaught to beat group leaders New Zealand by 20 runs in a crucial Super 12 match of the T20 World Cup to keep alive their semi-final hopes.

Jos Buttler smashed 73 off 47 balls and Alex Hales made 52 to power England to 179-6 after electing to bat in the Super 12 contest in Brisbane.

Phillips threatened to pull off an audacious chase bashing 62 off 36 balls but had little support from anyone barring skipper Kane Williamson (40).

New Zealand are still top of Group 1 on superior net run rate, followed by England and Australia though all three are level on five points.

It was a must-win match for England following their defeat to Ireland and the abandonment of last week's encounter with champions Australia.

Hales accelerated after relatively quiet four overs, hitting Tim Southee for a six and two boundaries in a rematch of last year's semi-finals which New Zealand had won.

At the other end, Buttler was on eight when he began to walk off after Williamson appeared to have taken a diving catch at cover.

Replays, however, confirmed the ball had burst through the fielder's hands and hit the turf before a tumbling Williamson clutched it against his chest.

Hales fell immediately after completing his fifty and Buttler got another reprieve at 40 when Daryl Mitchell dropped him at deep mid-wicket.

Buttler smashed two sixes and seven fours and became England's most prolific batsman in T20 Internationals before being run out in the penultimate over of the innings.

New Zealand were 66-2 at the halfway stage in their reply, though it could have been worse but Moeen Ali dropped Phillips when the batter was on 15.

Phillips, who smashed a century against Sri Lanka on Saturday, gleefully capitalised on the reprieve to reach his fifty in 25 balls.

Ben Stokes broke the 91-run stand when he ended Williamson's run-a-ball knock and England were effectively assured of victory when Phillips holed out in the deep in the 18th over.

Earlier, former champions Sri Lanka knocked out Afghanistan with a six-wicket victory at the Gabba.

Spinner Wanindu Hasaranga (3-13) led Sri Lanka's disciplined bowling as the Asia champions restricted Afghanistan to a modest 144-8 in the Group 1 contest at Gabba.

Dhananjaya de Silva smashed an unbeaten 64 to help the 2014 champions prevail with nine balls to spare and revive their campaign after back-to-back defeats by Australia and New Zealand.

Sri Lanka now have four points from as many matches, while Afghanistan stay rooted at the bottom with two.

More from Sports News

  • Manchester City striker Haaland suffers ankle injury

    Manchester City's Erling Haaland sustained an ankle injury in their FA Cup quarter-final at Bournemouth over the weekend, the Premier League club said on Monday, with the striker requiring further tests to determine the full extent of the injury.

  • Rory McIlroy battling injury with Masters approaching

    Rory McIlroy acknowledged he is dealing with an elbow injury as he prepares to head to Augusta for next week's Masters. The World No. 2 made a spirited run up the leaderboard at the Texas Children's Houston Open on Sunday, carding a 4-under 31 on the front nine that included an eagle.

  • Caitlin Clark sports card sets record after selling at auction

    WNBA star Caitlin Clark's 2024 Panini Prizm WNBA Signatures Gold Vinyl Prizm card, numbered 1-of-1, has set a record sale for a female sports card after going under the hammer for $366,000 (AED 1.3 million) at auction.

  • Saka ready to return, says Arsenal manager Arteta

    Arsenal's Bukayo Saka could make his long-awaited return against Fulham in the Premier League on Tuesday after recovering from a hamstring injury, his manager Mikel Arteta said.

  • Teenager Mensik denies Djokovic 100th title in Miami Open upset

    Nineteen-year-old Czech Jakub Mensik beat his childhood idol Novak Djokovic 7-6(4) 7-6(4) in an upset for the ages on Sunday, claiming his first ATP title at the Miami Open as he denied the former number one his bid for a milestone 100th.