Stuart Broad put in a man-of-the-match performance as England cruised into the World Twenty20 final with a seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in St Lucia.
The fast bowler finished with figures of two for 21 – including the vital wicket of Mahela Jayawardene – as England restricted Sri Lanka to 128-6 from their 20 overs. Michael Lumb and Craig Kieswetter then put on a partnership of 68 for the first wicket before Kevin Pietersen finished things off with 42 from just 26 balls.
Having won the toss, Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara chose to bat first, a decision that quickly backfired. By the time Broad sent Jayawardene packing with his first ball of the match, Sangakarra’s men had already lost Sanath Jayasuriya and Tillakaratne Dilshan, and were rocking.
'My job is to come on and try and get the breakthrough in the first six. Siddy getting a wicket with his first ball was massive for us today' – Stuart Broad
After eight overs of solid spin from Graeme Swann and Michael Yardy that strangled Sri Lanka’s attempts to build a convincing total, Broad returned to the action and took the wicket of Chamara Kapugedara. The batsman driving straight to mid-off.
The Nottinghamshire man was the pick of England’s bowlers, conceding just 21 runs from his four overs which proved instrumental as his side were set a target of just 129 to reach the final.
An impressive display by England was completed as they knocked off the runs with 24 balls to spare. The hard work was done at the top of the order as Lumb and Kieswetter put on 68 in 8.1 overs before the latter was yorked by Lasith Malinga.
That brought new-dad Kevin Pietersen to the crease, and he was in no mood to hang around as he guided England home with an impressive 42, which included a four and six in consecutive balls to end the game.
After the match, a modest Broad paid tribute to his fellow bowlers. "I'm really happy with my role in the side, especially with Siddy [Ryan Sidebottom] and Bres [Tim Bresnan] getting wickets first up," he said. "My job is to come on and try and get the breakthrough in the first six. Siddy getting a wicket with his first ball was massive for us today."
England will play either Australia or Pakistan in Sunday’s final. Catch up with the latest news from the West Indies at the official tournament website or check out Stuart Broad and Freddie Flintoff going head-to-head in a team-mate challenge here.
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