Match No – 25th Match, 1st Semi Final – Sri Lanka v Pakistan
Day and Date – Thursday Oct 4, 2012
Match Time – 13:30 GMT | 19:00 local (7.00 pm)
Venue – R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Toss – Sri Lanka elected to bat
Result – Sri Lanka won by 16 runs
Man of the match – M Jayawardene

In a thrilling match today, Sri Lankan bowlers held on to the nerves and defeated Pakistan by 16 runs to enter in to T20 World Cup final.

The stars for this win were the spinners of Sri Lanka, Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath took three wickets for 25 runs while Ajantha Mendis took two for 27 and thus defended the modest 140 run target.

Earlier Sri Lanka elected to bat first after winning the toss. M Jayawardene and T Dilshan scored 63 for the first wicket stand but the run rate was much less than they had hoped. Every Sri Lankan batsmen got to start but could not accelerate the run rate to required level, thanks to the pitch which was not conducive for batting. Eventually Sri Lanka could manage just 139/4 in 20 overs.

Chasing 140 to win, Pakistan also got off to a slow start as they could score just 55/2 in 9.1 overs. But the match still looked in their favor. But superb bowling by Sri Lankan bowlers asserted the pressure on Pakistani batsmen who then crumbled like pack of cards and were reduced to 91/6 in 14.2. Umar Akmal then raised hopes for Pakistan as he took the team closer to victory. Pakistan needed 32 runs off last three overs and the game was poised for an interesting finish. But Mendis, Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara gave only five, four and seven runs respectively in the 18th, 19th and 20th over and thus Pakistan were sent packing after being beaten by 16 runs.

Match Highlights
Sri Lanka innings
Sri Lanka: 50 runs in 8.4 overs (52 balls), Extras 3
Sri Lanka: 100 runs in 14.6 overs (90 balls), Extras 5
Innings Break: Sri Lanka – 139/4 in 20.0 overs

Pakistan innings
Pakistan: 50 runs in 8.2 overs (50 balls), Extras 9
Pakistan: 100 runs in 15.5 overs (95 balls), Extras 9

1st Semi-Final T20 World Cup 2012 – Sri Lanka vs Pakistan Scorecard