England will face India in the semi-finals of the Men’s T20 World Cup on Thursday as Rohit Sharma’s side secured top spot in Group Two with a bruising 71-run win over Zimbabwe.
They posted 186-5 with Suryakumar Yadav smashing a masterful 61 not out off 25 balls, to add to KL Rahul’s 51.
Zimbabwe were unable to get going after losing Weseley Madhevere first ball and were bowled out for 115 in Melbourne.
Pakistan will face New Zealand in the first semi-final on Wednesday.
India were going well, but they slipped from 87-1 to 101-4 and were in danger of posting a below-par score.
Rahul helped lay the platform, but for the second game in a row he was dismissed the ball after reaching his half-century.
However, Suryakumar stood up again, taking advantage of some questionable field settings from Zimbabwe to continually pepper the leg-side boundary with flicks and ramps as India took 79 runs from the final five overs.
The chase was tame, with the first-ball wicket rocking Zimbabwe, and their top order were never able to recover or score with any fluency against a high-quality India bowling attack.
Ryan Burl played nicely, hitting sweeps on both sides of the wicket, in his 35 off 22 balls, as did Sikandar Raza for his 34.
However, once Burl fell after 13.2 overs, Zimbabwe’s tail wilted quickly as they were bowled out in 17.2 overs to slide to a heavy defeat.
They finish bottom of Group Two which means they will have to qualify for the next T20 World Cup, which is due to take place in West Indies and the United States in 2025. (Courtesy BBC)
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