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Sri Lanka 139 for 4 (Jayawardene 42, Dilshan 35) beat Pakistan 123 for 7 (Hafeez 42, Herath 3-25) by 16 runs

On a crumbling, turning, brute of a pitch by Twenty20 standards, Mahela Jayawardene responded with a T20-size classic. His 42 off 36, as delightful as it was delicate, proved to be the difference between the two sides in a tight semi-final. It was a bitterly disappointing night for his opposite number: Mohammad Hafeez outmanoeuvred a rampant Kumar Sangakkara in a crucial moment in the first innings, he came back from a horribly slow start to his own innings, but fell on 42 with some way to go for Pakistan.

It was Sangakkara who returned the favour with a superb stumping off a grubber to send Hafeez back with 48 to defend in 35 balls. Hafeez, who had just opened up with an extra-cover drive, a reverse-swept four and a punch through covers, was this close to making this his own night, but it was to be Sri Lanka's, who won their first Twenty20 international at R Premadasa Stadium, in the process successfully adjusting to a third venue in this tournament, the most for any team.

The powdery surface began to explode upon impact by the third over of the first innings. This was no place for average batsmen who stand there and swing from the hip. This would need a quality batsman. On turning tracks, they don't come better than Jayawardene. With the ball turning square at times, he stayed low, swept and reverse-swept often to play with the spinners' rhythm. Tillakaratne Dilshan, his opening partner, seemed to be batting on a different pitch.

It was not just that Jayawardene was sweeping and reversing, it was the range of that shot, able to beat the two square fielders on either side. He connected with four reverse-sweeps, scoring 12. Then there was the regulation sweep and the lap shot. Jayawardene's effort here was reminiscent of his hundred in the semi-final of the 50-over World Cup of 2007. Just when he was running away with this thing, he failed to connect well with a lap off Afridi, giving Pakistan their first wicket.

 That didn't bring them any relief, though. Sangakkara began with a four to midwicket first ball, and later displayed a lovely chip over extra cover. Hafeez was about to get into the game now. Watching Sangakkara move too much around the crease, Hafeez pulled out before a delivery. When he did bowl, he bowled it wide and out of reach of the moving Sangakkara, and prised out a catch in the deep.

Now, with Dilshan looking to break free, Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal bowled three big overs. Gul got the better of Dilshan, who was looking to break free after having been nine off 18 at one point. Ajmal, who conceded 20 off his first two overs, came back with a six-run 19th over. Gul missed his yorkers by the slightest of margins in the last over, Thisara Perera and Angelo Mathews took toll of it, and Sri Lanka came out confident of defending 139.

Pakistan never managed any flow to their reply. Imran Nazir swung from the hip. He hit some and missed some before playing on a quick delivery from Ajantha Mendis, making it 31 for 1 after six. Hafeez, having a horror time with the bat, had just begun to recover in company with Nasir Jamshed when an umpiring error turned the game around.

It was a slower offcutter from Mathews from over the stumps, hitting the middle stump of the left-handed Jamshed, but he was given out by Rod Tucker, despite the ball pitching outside the leg stump. In the same over, another offcutter sent Kamran Akmal back. The game had turned. Hafeez now began to swim against the tide. In what was now becoming a contest of the captains, Jayawardene prevailed.

He had brought in Rangana Herath, who is slower in the field than most, but Herath it was who bowled the decisive over. He needed help from Sangakkara, who reacted exceptionally to a shooter, and stumped Hafeez in a flash. Shahid Afridi fell for another golden duck, and those waiting for the Umars, Akmal and Gul, to do something special were willing the lightning to strike twice. It didn't.

Pakistan didn't know until late on Tuesday night whether they'd have to keep their hotel reservations in Colombo for a few more days. But when South Africa's Robin Peterson gloved a ball for a single to take the score to 122 against India, a roar went around the Premadasa. It sounded as though Sri Lanka were playing, but the noise was from a legion of Pakistan fans who were celebrating their team's progress to the semi-finals on net run rate, at India's expense. There wasn't much separating the two sides, but Pakistan were better placed because they got their tactics right and won big against Australia earlier in the evening.

Spin has been Pakistan's strength in this tournament and their captain Mohammad Hafeez used his resources astutely. If that meant giving a rookie spinner the new ball and making the most experienced fast bowler wait till the 18th over, then so be it. The plan was to suffocate the Australians with turn on a sluggish pitch and it worked to such an extent that even Shane Watson had a rare, bad outing. The fielders made Australia's qualifying target of 112 seem distant. As a result, Pakistan play their fourth World Twenty20 semi-final tomorrow, but unlike on Tuesday, they will not have the lion's share of the support.

Sri Lanka are familiar opponents for Pakistan. The hosts were the more dominant side when Pakistan visited in June-July. Sri Lanka looked a more settled side in the Super Eights, making heavy weather of the chase against New Zealand (which culminated in a Super Over victory) and trouncing West Indies and England. The return of Ajantha Mendis has given their spin attack more bite and the seamers, Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara don't offer respite.

It's ironic though that the semi-final is Sri Lanka's first game in Colombo during this World Twenty20. They love playing at the Premadasa and the pitch - not as quick as the ones Pakistan played on in June - should suit their spinners. Sri Lanka haven't had a world title since 1996. They are two games away from breaking the drought, at home.

Form guide
(completed matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka WWWLW
Pakistan WLWWW

Watch out for

Spin v spin: Opening with spin has become the norm for Pakistan. Will Hafeez adopt the same tactic against Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene, who are fluent players of slow bowling? Hafeez, Hasan and Saeed Ajmal conceded only 53 in 12 overs and took all seven wickets that fell against Australia. The two Mendises - Ajantha and Jeevan - have played vital roles for Sri Lanka as well, and they also possess a largely unknown quantity in Akila Dananjaya.

Something's got to give for Shahid Afridi. He has looked a shadow of his old self with the ball, while as a batsman he remains unreliable. His three wickets in the tournament are at odds with his reputation for running through line-ups. Afridi still gets the odd delivery to grip and beat the bat, but Pakistan need more from him. His star value may not have diminished, but his wicket-taking and match-winning ability has.

Team news

Mohammad Hafeez didn't drop any hints of team changes. Pakistan wouldn't want to disturb their winning combination.

Pakistan (probable): 1 Mohammad Hafeez (capt), 2 Imran Nazir, 3 Nasir Jamshed, 4 Kamran Akmal (wk), 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Abdul Razzaq, 8 Shahid Afridi, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Raza Hasan.

Mahela Jayawardene stopped short of saying he would captain again after Sri Lanka's smart play-safe approach against England. He didn't hint at team changes either.

Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Jeevan Mendis, 6 Lahiru Thirimanne, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Lasith Malinga, 10 Akila Dananjaya, 11 Ajantha Mendis

The Group 2 matches on Sunday had big billings, but turned out to be far from closely fought. Australia are now the team to beat, and India, with all their selection headaches ahead of the game against Pakistan, ultimately eased to victory. That success will give India's line-up some stability for their final game against South Africa. Their opponents, on the other hand, after a comprehensive defeat against Australia, desperately need to rebound, and rebound strongly, though even that may not be enough. The requirements for each team will be clearly laid out upon conclusion of the Australia-Pakistan game in the afternoon.

Should Pakistan beat Australia, South Africa will bow out and they'll be playing for pride against India. That would leave India needing to beat South Africa by a margin large enough to overtake either Pakistan or Australia's net run-rate, depending on which of those teams is second in the table. Should Australia beat Pakistan, a win over South Africa will see India through. A win for South Africa, in the same situation, will bring it down to net run-rates between three teams - India, South Africa and Pakistan.

India will be relieved, though concerns over Yuvraj Singh's fitness, despite his impressive show against Pakistan, will remain. Their fifth bowler - the combination of Yuvraj and Virat Kohli - picked up three wickets, though it remains to be seen if they bring in an extra spinner against South Africa.

South Africa's problems against Xavier Doherty will prompt questions over how their batting will cope against India's slow bowlers. Their fielding was off the mark and the pressure created by Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel in their early spells proved unsustainable, as the rest of the bowling didn't deliver. The concerns are multiple, as AB de Villiers has admitted, and the slide in form in the Super Eights has threatened to push them out of another ICC tournament. The right results and the right numbers, though, may yet rescue them.

Form guide
(completed matches, most recent first)
India: WLWWL
South Africa: LLWWL

Watch out for

Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel bowled with pace, hit the right lengths, beat the bat and tested Australia's opening pair in Colombo. Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir can counterattack with equal ferocity, but their approach will be interesting to watch.

Rohit Sharma, who's been under pressure, has had a good outing in Sri Lanka so far and has also had his captain's backing. He'll look back on a crucial half-century he scored against South Africa in the inaugural World Twenty20 in 2007, when an Indian win knocked the hosts out of the tournament.

Team news

Faf du Plessis was the South African to pad up and bat in the nets on the eve of the game, and he could well be picked in place of the struggling opener Richard Levi.

South Africa (possible): 1 Hashim Amla, 2 Faf du Plessis, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 JP Duminy, 5 AB de Villiers (capt & wk), 6 Farhaan Behardien, 7 Robin Peterson, 8 Wayne Parnell, 9 Johan Botha, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Morne Morkel.

South Africa have had issues against spin, and India could be tempted to play an extra specialist spinner. This could mean the impressive L Balaji may have to sit out.

India (possible): 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 Rohit Sharma, 7 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 R Ashwin, 11 Zaheer Khan.

Pitch and conditions

There was some early morning rain in Colombo on the eve of the match, but practice was unaffected. The forecast is for partly cloudy weather during the day, but clear skies at night.

Stats and trivia

    India have beaten South Africa in four of the six Twenty20 internationals between the teams, including twice in World Twenty20s.
    JP Duminy is 64 runs away from becoming the first South African to reach 1000 runs in T20 internationals.

Quotes

"The first match starts at 3:30 so we can watch on television if the ball is turning or not, since all teams have good spinners. That too has an impact on deciding the playing XI."
MS Dhoni on India's selection plans for the final Super Eights game

"We haven't played well enough in the key moments. We should have won the Pakistan game. It is disappointing that we have had opportunities to close out games and we haven't done it."
Gary Kirsten on one of South Africa's problems this World T20

Australia 141 for 1 (Watson 72, Warner 63*) beat India 140 for 7 (Pathan 31, Watson 3-34) by 9 wickets

Australia's captain George Bailey doesn't think his side is over-dependent on Shane Watson. Who'd be able to tell? Watson has hardly given any of his team-mates a chance so far in this tournament, and that continued in Australia's first Super Eights match as they crushed India by nine wickets in Colombo. To be fair, David Warner was also outstanding and Pat Cummins played a key role with the ball. But Watson was again the stand-out performer, as he has been in all of Australia's matches in the World Twenty20.

Chasing 141, the Australians reached their target with 31 balls to spare. India's decision to pick three spinners - Virender Sehwag was left out to accommodate a fifth bowler - did not work, although there was little distinction between the slow bowlers and the fast men. They were all monstered by Watson and Warner. Yuvraj Singh picked up the only wicket, when Watson drove to cover with eight runs still needed and it meant India narrowly avoided their first ten-wicket defeat in a T20.

Watson had made 72 from 42 deliveries with two fours and seven sixes. He cleared the boundary straight down the ground, over midwicket and over square leg. A pair of enormous consecutive sixes pulled over midwicket off Irfan Pathan showed Watson's power, but also highlighted India's poor bowling. Short balls on the leg side to Watson made about as much sense as dropping Sehwag.

In slightly slippery conditions the spinners also failed to have any impact and were routinely dispatched by both Watson and Warner, whose 133-run partnership was their second century stand in a T20 international this month, and the Australian record for any wicket. Warner muscled three sixes of his own, including two in a row off Harbhajan Singh, whose two overs cost 20 runs. Rare though it may be, Warner was the quiet partner.

He still managed 63 not out from 41 deliveries, striking seven fours and playing a key role in demoralising India early in the chase. They remained disheartened throughout the innings, and the comprehensive nature of the result will make it hard for them to drag themselves back into form for their next match. But they must do so to have any chance of progressing to the semi-finals. And to do that, they need not only to bowl much better, but to bat with more conviction as well.