Sri Lanka edge NZ to reach final

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 semi-final, Colombo: Sri Lanka 220-5 beat New Zealand 217 by five wickets
Match scorecard

Highlights - Sri Lanka through to final

Sri Lanka reached the World Cup final after holding their nerve to beat a spirited New Zealand by five wickets.

The Black Caps looked set for a competitive score in Colombo, but they collapsed from 192-4 to 217 all out.

Tillakaratne Dilshan (73) and Kumar Sangakkara (54) sent Sri Lanka charging towards victory before a flurry of wickets brought the match to life.

But Thilan Samaraweera and Angelo Mathews kept their cool to see the hosts home with 13 balls to spare.

Sri Lanka, the 1996 winners and 2007 finalists, will face the winner of Wednesday's showdown between India and Pakistan in Saturday's final in Mumbai.

And although they will be leaving the comfort of home soil, Sangakkara's men will go into the showpiece in confident mood, and all the better for having had their mettle tested by the ever-gutsy Kiwis.

When Chamara Silva was dismissed to leave the co-hosts 185-5 in the 43rd over, their score was almost identical to New Zealand's at the same point in their innings.

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Twin tons power Sri Lanka victory

Sri Lanka 231 for 0 (Dilshan 108*, Tharanga 102*) beat England 229 for 6 (Trott 86, Morgan 50) by ten wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Tillakaratne Dilshan starred with bat and ball to put Sri Lanka into the World Cup semi-finals © Getty Images Enlarge

Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga set an emphatic seal on Sri Lanka's place in their home semi-final against New Zealand next Tuesday, as England's chaotic World Cup campaign came to an abrupt and anticlimactic end under the floodlights at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Set a testing total of 230 at a venue where successful run-chases have been notoriously thin on the ground, Sri Lanka's openers set about proving that history is bunk as they sauntered to victory by 10 wickets and with a massive 63 balls to spare. After five months on the road for England's cricketers, and six consecutive nail-biters in the group stages of the tournament, they found they had nothing left to give as the first round of knock-out matches was concluded with an utter walloping.

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New Zealand stun South Africa at World Cup

South Africa's defeat in the third quarter-final clears the way for New Zealand to advance to the semis [EPA]

New Zealand have stunned South Africa in the quarter-finals of the Cricket World Cup to extend the Proteas' miserable losing run at the knockout stages of the competition.

The Kiwis pulled off a dramatic 49-run win over their highly rated opponents in Mirpur on Friday to reach the semi-finals for the sixth time.

South Africa have now lost all five of their knockout matches since first playing in the tournament in 1992.

The Black Caps, restricted to 221-8 after batting first, bundled out the Proteas for 172 in an exciting finish in front of 23,000 fans at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium.

Man-of-the-match Jacob Oram took two brilliant catches and captured four for 39 with his nagglingly accurate medium pace after the South Africans had appeared to be cruising to victory.

The South Africans had reached 108 for two shortly before the halfway point with their premier batsman Jacques Kallis well set on 47.

But Kallis was magnificently caught on the boundary by Oram off Tim Southee, JP Duminy was bowled for three and AB de Villiers run out two balls later for 35.

New Zealand, who had fielded tenaciously and bowled with spirit, piled on the pressure with Oram snapping up two more quick wickets.

Faf du Plessis, who was dropped by Oram on 29, hit the New Zealander for six off the next ball before holing out to Southee for 36. Morne Morkel (3) was the last man to fall as South Africa collapsed for 172 off 43.2 overs.

Jesse Ryder anchored the New Zealand innings with 83, his maiden World Cup half-century.

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori praised his team's spirit.

"Every single bowler stepped up today, and probably it was the fielding that got us through," said Vettori.

South Africa, often regarded as the best team never to have the World Cup, have now lost in three semi-finals, two quarter-finals and once in the first round....

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Sri Lanka & England prepare to do or die

Graeme Swann's expertise will be invaluable for England as they seek to stifle a talented Sri Lankan batting order © Getty Images Enlarge

Fifteen years ago this month, England and Sri Lanka met at the same quarter-final stage of the 1996 World Cup, only for an epoch-changing contest to pan out in front of an astounded crowd in Faisalabad. With his remarkable 82 from 44 balls, Sanath Jayasuriya not only ignited Sri Lanka's charge towards their maiden global title, he signalled the end of England as a force in one-day cricket, as they failed to reach the last four of the World Cup for the first time in the tournament's history.

Since that match, the fortunes and expectations associated with the two teams have been flipped on their head. Sri Lanka went on to crush Australia in the 1996 final in Lahore, and have since contested a semi-final in 2003 and another final four years later in Barbados. England, on the other hand, have found a range of ignominious means to bomb out at the earliest opportunity - a trait they came perilously close to emulating this time around as well, following their embarrassments at the hands of Ireland and Bangladesh.

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Australia's loss heralds the end of an era

Ricky Ponting's tenure as captain of the one-day side may be coming to a close © Getty Images Enlarge

Ricky Ponting doesn't think Australia bowing out of the World Cup marks the end of an era, but it's impossible to come to any other conclusion. For more than a decade, Australia have owned all sorts of silverware, Cricket Australia's headquarters in Melbourne more a trophy cabinet than an office. Now, the last of those major prizes is finding a new home after 12 years in Australian hands.

Over the past six months, Ponting's men have lost the Ashes and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, or to be more accurate, they have failed to regain them. Those crowns were already gone. They are clinging on to the Champions Trophy, but there's every chance the ICC will soon scrap that event entirely. In any case, it is a trinket compared to the World Cup.

Losing the World Cup for the first time since 1996 will hurt tremendously, but winning three in a row should be celebrated. No country has ever matched that feat in the FIFA World Cup. Since Steve Waugh's men began the dynasty in 1999, the football title has changed hands four times: from France to Brazil, then Italy and now Spain. Winning one world tournament is exceedingly difficult, let alone three in succession.

That is little consolation to this 2011 Australian squad, roughly half of whom didn't experience any of those earlier successes. Times change, and to be beaten by an India side that was better than Australia is no disgrace. Ponting's team entered the tournament with the No.1 ODI ranking - for now, they still hold that position - but were far from being the favourites.....

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