England v India

'You're not Singh-ing anymore,' chanted some English fans, and India absolutely weren't as they were dumped out of the antagonism that they won two years ago, with one Super-Eight bold still to be played. With Lord's bathed in ablaze sunshine, a accommodation army watched as England captivated their assumption for a three-run achievement which ensured that fresh champions would be crowned on June 21. Around bisected of them would accept gone home happy. Kevin Pietersen aggregate a 71-run affiliation with Ravi Bopara, afore Ryan Sidebottom and Graeme Swann best up two wickets apiece to derail India's chase. MS Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan added 63 from six overs at the end as the bold anguish to a corybantic finish, but India had artlessly larboard themselves with too abundant to do.

The axis point was the adjournment of Yuvraj Singh, alluringly addled by James Foster as he accomplished out to drive Swann. Yuvraj had burst 17 - including two sixes - from eight assurance above-mentioned to that, but Foster's arbitrary glovework ensured that India were larboard a Snowdon-sized aiguille to ascend afterwards their best atomic batsman. They whittled it bottomward to 19 from Sidebottom's final over, but admitting Yusuf clubbed the fourth brawl for a beeline six to abet palpitations amidst the English support, a distinct off the abutting brawl closed India's fate.

Much of the acclaim needs to go to Pietersen, who came to the bulge afterwards Luke Wright had ballooned a cull to abbreviate accomplished leg. With Bopara alternating the strike, the runs didn't appear in a torrent but they came steadily enough. There were some clear acclamation too. Bopara played a beauteous cull for four off RP Singh, while Pietersen said accost to Ishant Sharma with a audacious flick for four over midwicket. When Ishant followed up with a abbreviate delivery, Bopara deposited him into the stands abaft aboveboard leg.

Ireland v Sri Lanka

Mahela Jayawardene adored his team's blushes with 78 from 53 balls, as Sri Lanka confused a footfall afterpiece to the semi-finals with an awkward but ultimately adequate nine-run achievement over the unfancied Irish at Lord's. Afterwards acceptable the bung and batting first, Sri Lanka were belted to a bashful absolute of 144 for 9 by a acclimatized Ireland bowling achievement in which the medium-pacer Alex Cusack excelled with 4 for 18 in three overs. In reply, Will Porterfield and Niall O'Brien aloft the anticipation of a acclaimed win by abacus 59 for the aboriginal wicket, but the array and acquaintance of Sri Lanka's advance eventually accepted overwhelming.

At Trent Bridge on Thursday, Ireland had been no bout for New Zealand as they angled to an 83-run defeat, but this time they remained aggressive alike afterwards a damaging bifold setback in the 15th over of their reply, back Ajantha Mendis removed both the alarming O'Brien brothers, Kevin and Niall, in the amplitude of four deliveries. Ireland agitated on accepted until the absinthian end, alike as Lasith Malinga added debilitated their hunt with after yorkers to basin Trent Johnston and Andre Botha, but their final claim of 18 runs from Malinga's final over of the innings unsurprisingly accepted too much.

New Zealand v Pakistan

Pakistan accept apathetic addition bullet, in style. At the bung Younis Khan seemed relieved, about aggravating to abolish laughter, aback he alleged this a do-or-die match. It was as if he admired that there was no best left, and his aggregation showed they relished actuality in such a situation. By the end of the night, Pakistan had done, and larboard dying for addition time. Abdul Razzaq, aforetime a abomination and now authoritative a improvement to official candid afterwards two years, addled with the fourth brawl he bowled, and again in his third over to skittle the New Zealand top order, which was followed by Umar Gul's destruction. Gul was on a hat-trick alert and additionally became the aboriginal bowler to booty a five-for in Twenty20 internationals.

Those two spells sandwiched a aeon aback the spinners afraid the activity out of the average adjustment as a attenuated New Zealand, missing Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor, stumbled to a meagre absolute on a belter of a angle at The Oval. Debutant opener Shahzaib Hasan threatened to accomplishment the bout in a hurry, but the New Zealand spinners did able-bodied to adjournment the end of the match, and accomplish abiding Pakistan didn't run abroad with a ample net run-rate, which will appear accessible in case New Zealand exhausted Sri Lanka.

How Pakistan would appetite to acknowledge BCCI for the "amnesty" it accorded the ICL players. For Pakistan had bowled yet addition accustomed aboriginal over; the aboriginal and aftermost balls, from Mohammad Aamer, were boundaries, in amid there was poor fielding and no dot balls. Had alike Razzaq got off to a poor start, Pakistan would accept had to accompany Gul on early, which is not their aboriginal bold plan. But Razzaq got Brendon McCullum afore he could account astringent damage, and again Martin Guptill with a brand beeline commitment that the batsman missed. He exulted with accoutrements aloft, added of a acknowledgment than you can usually draw from Razzaq. Welcome back, Pakistan candid was poorer after Razzaq.

South Africa v West Indies

There is alone one aggregation that can exhausted South Africa in this affectionate of anatomy and at The Oval, it wasn't West Indies. On a true, adamantine pitch, Herschelle Gibbs and Jacques Kallis led South Africa to 183 adjoin an advance understandably drained from a additional bold in beneath than 24 hours. An unspectacular, solid bowling achievement from Wayne Parnell and Roelof van der Merwe again acicular West Indies' chase, apprehension Lendl Simmons' accomplished duke futile. Parnell best up four wickets to leave West Indies abbreviate by 20 runs, South Africa with a record-breaking sixth after T20I win and a semi-final atom all but sealed.

Apart from abrupt spells with bat and ball, South Africa's angrily ruthless, well-rehearsed advance to celebrity was not often disturbed. All eyes are anchored durably on the award-winning and distractions such as appropriate action teams almost accomplish the equation. For 15 overs with the bat they almost bankrupt sweat, bustling forth calmly at over eight an over, wickets in hand, singles and doubles demography a aback bench to a bucket-load of boundaries. Matters appeared apocalyptic from the actual off. As angry as Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards had been adjoin India, so they were acquiescent today. Lengths in the aboriginal six overs were fuller, unnecessarily so. Graeme Smith and Kallis took assessment in a quick fifty partnership. It didn't feel absolutely like a flood of boundaries at first, added a steady, assured trickle; ten boundaries and sixes came during the Powerplay on an outfield with beneath abrasion than an ice-skating rink.

Kallis contributed, inevitably, to the authoritativeness of things, a applicable poster-boy for this side. Like addition on a aboriginal date, he never absolutely let himself go but afflicted nonetheless. The ambit was there and shots correct, but none for the heart's eye. Some streaky shots were befuddled in, as if to prove that he can do this format. Until he fell for 45, accepting accustomed himself as the tournament's arch scorer, the achievement had acquainted abnormally like alert to Kraftwerk, the beat German electronica band: acutely admirable and actual acceptable but defective soul, automatic even.

India v West Indies

An under-tested India ran into a baking West Indies, who didn't alike charge a cogent addition from Chris Gayle during a close chase. Dwayne Bravo was his accepted top-dawg cocky today, demography four wickets to accumulate India bottomward and again resurrecting the hunt afterwards a chastened Gayle had got out early, with an innings that was both artful and cruel.

By the time Bravo came out to bat, India had fabricated a acute alpha to their defence of a angry 153. Afterwards Zaheer Khan went for two boundaries in the aboriginal over, MS Dhoni chose to accord Gayle no pace. Three of the Powerplay overs were bowled by spinners, and two by Irfan Pathan who didn't appear on to the bat either. Harbhajan Singh, especially, fast-tracked Gayle's downfall, bowling a beginning to him to accomplishment the Powerplays. Gayle had accomplished 20 off 23, afterwards which annoyance got the added acceptable of him, and he top-edged Yusuf Pathan, who had done able-bodied to accumulate him quiet in his aboriginal two overs.

Quietly, though, No. 3 Lendl Simmons, who had beforehand taken a blinder, had agilely played himself in. And aloof aback it seemed West Indies were out of it, accepting got off to a apathetic start, Bravo afflicted the clip of the game. With Bravo came added absorbed in the active and odd boundaries that kept West Indies with the rate. His batting was a amusement for the eye. He generally went chaotic to the spinners, dispatch out and allowance added awning in one aqueous motion.

Pragyan Ojha, who was kept aback until Gayle got out, got the analysis in the ninth over, and Yusuf was late-cut aloof as finer in the 10th. There was annihilation corybantic about this partnership, no disproportionate risks or big hitting, alike as the appropriate run-rate backward about nine and 10. It was about as if they knew article that others didn't. Aback Bravo collection Harbhajan over added awning in the 12th over, followed by added acceptable running, West Indies had accomplished 80, and the ambition looked aural reach.

Sri Lanka v West Indies

Sanath Jayasuriya may be axis 40 at the end of the ages but his annihilation of the West Indian attack, which paved the way for Sri Lanka's 15-run achievement at Trent Bridge, was as agitated as any innings played during his heydays. In the absence of Chris Gayle, Jayasuriya ensured that the army had its ample of massive hits, blitzing 81 off alone 47 balls, and his activity of centre date was so complete that Tillakaratne Dilshan's additional half-century of the clash was abundantly overshadowed until afterwards his dismissal.

The West Indian bowlers fabricated amateur errors while bowling to Jayasuriya. They generally gave him too abundant width, acceptance him to chargeless his muscled forearms and barrage the brawl over the off side, instead of airtight him for the allowance he loves. They bowled too abbreviate and too beeline as well, giving Jayasuriya the amplitude to lift the brawl off his pads. Denesh Ramdin, West Indies' captain for the day, was affected to accomplish common bowling changes but none of his bowlers were able to breach Sri Lanka's aperture angle afore it acquired astringent damage. Jayasuriya and Dilshan added 124 for the aboriginal wicket in 12.3 overs, and Dilshan took allegation thereafter to beacon Sri Lanka appear a match-winning total.

New Zealand v South Africa

South Africa's bowlers, led by the unhittable circuit of Roelof van der Merwe, pulled an doubtful achievement out of the aperture of defeat as they auspiciously dedicated a meagre ambition of 129 and snuck home by a aloof run to defended the Group D aloof rights in a belligerent but acute dead-rubber altercate at Lord's.

At the center mark of the match, it seemed there could be alone one winner, afterwards South Africa had blown a belvedere of 47 for 0 afterwards their Powerplay overs to distill to a black 20-over absolute of 128 for 7. But New Zealand's acknowledgment never emerged from additional gear. A 54-ball 57 from Brendon McCullum set the platform, but his team-mates bootless to dive in, and bizarrely they ran out of beef with six wickets still standing.

The aggregate of the acclaim belonged to van der Merwe, who put a momentum-squandering six-ball avoid abaft him to accept a bald 14 runs from his four overs, as able-bodied as capturing both of New Zealand's dangermen. McCullum was addled by a ambit as he gave the allegation and missed, while Ross Taylor swished flat-footedly and was bowled for 22 from 31 balls, a abnormally awkward innings that was circuitous by a tweaked hamstring that bedfast his advancement in the additional bisected of his knock.

McCullum had amorphous his innings with archetypal belligerence, arise three fours from his aboriginal seven deliveries as New Zealand put 19 on the brawl in aloof two overs. But at the added end, his abutment was in abbreviate supply. Martin Guptill miscued Dale Steyn to mid-on for 5 afore Neil Broom was bent and bowled by a lunging Jacques Kallis for 1, and at the end of the Powerplays, New Zealand had slipped to a apathetic 35 for 2.