These are two teams who, before the World T20 began, weren’t exactly the bookmakers’ favourites to make the last-four grade. But Sri Lanka and the West Indies have proved to be worthy challengers for the trophy. While the Lankans have been unbeaten right through the tournament, the West Indies have produced performances that won’t be forgotten easily.

Sri Lanka’s campaign began on a high. They eliminated the Ashes-obsessed Australians and beat their semifinal rivals, the West Indies in the group stage. Then they set up a SuperEights clean-sweep. Sri Lanka’s performance in this tournament has been spotless, barring the slip-up against Ireland. Knowing Sangakkara, that low-margin win would only have acted as a wake-up call for the Lankans.

The thrust at the top, led by Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sanath Jayasuriya, has been the driving force behind Sri Lanka’s success. Add Sangakkara’s form and Mahela Jayawardene’s unconventional stroke-play and the threat level goes up a few notches.

If anything, the lower middle-order with Chamara Silva and Jehan Mubarak seems untested. One of the most varied attacks on view, Sri Lanka’s bowling seems to be firing every single time. Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan have struck form at the right time, adding to the already on-song Lasith Malinga, Isuru Udana and Angelo Mathews.

The West Indies, on the other hand, have had a rough English summer. To cap off a difficult summer with a tournament win would be desirable for Chris Gayle’s men. Every single West Indies batsman has contributed in the wins.

Their bowling has been aggressive, with Jerome Taylor leading the charge. Dwayne Bravo has been the hero, shining with both bat and ball, and he could make the difference come Friday. Fidel Edwards could be ruled out due to injury.

If ever the West Indies hoped for a perfect end to a horror summer, this is it. Friday’s match could well send them into the final lap. The Oval braces up for another exciting classic between two teams that play only one brand of cricket — aggressive and exciting.

It was one of those days for Shahid Afridi. A day where everything he tried, worked. He first regained his touch with the bat and then, continued his fine run with ball. It was Afridi’s 51 off 34 balls that set up Pakistan’s total of 149/4 in the first semifinal of the World T20 and his two wickets in four balls that put the brakes on South Africa’s reply.

Pakistan won the game by seven runs to make their second successive World T20 final. South Africa ended their 20 overs on 142/5. However, while Afridi might have played an all-round hand in stopping the South Africans, the age-old theory of the Proteas choking on the big stage seemed to play a role too.

Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis started off in a vein much similar to Kamran Akmal and Shahid Afridi, adding 40 in the six powerplay overs. Pakistan had made 47 in the same period.

Before Mohammad Aamer held a skier off his own bowling to remove Smith, the SA chase was well on track.

However, once Smith fell for 10, the wheels began coming off the innings. Herschelle Gibbs lost his wicket playing for the turn off a straight, fast Afridi delivery, and then the big fish of the line up, AB de Villiers, dragged Afridi on to his stumps. 40/0 had deteriorated to 50/3 in a matter of 16 deliveries, and the South Africans seemed to be choking again.

Younis Khan’s ploy of holding back Umar Gul till the 13th over of the innings made the task even tougher for South Africa.

Gul, arguably one of the best death bowlers in the world, bowled three overs for just 19 runs, giving hardly a bad ball away.

There was a 61-run stand between Kallis and JP Duminy off 53 balls, which, albeit briefly, threatened to take the game away from Pakistan, but it wasn’t enough. Kallis fell for 64 while attempting the much-needed sixes, while Duminy, now joined by Albie Morkel, continued the chase, though it was all in vain.

Pakistan: Akmal c Morkel b Steyn 23, Hasan c van der Merwe b Parnell 0, Afridi c de Villiers b Duminy 51, Malik c Botha b van der Merwe 34, Younis not out 24, Razzaq not out 12;

Extras: (lb-2, w-3) 5; Total: (for 4 wkts) 149;

FoW: 1-8, 2-28, 3-95, 4-124; Bowling: Steyn 4-0-28-1, Parnell 4-0-26-1, Kallis 2-0-14-0, Morkel 2-0-13-0, Merwe 4-0-29-1, Duminy 2-0-14-1, Botha 2-0-23-0;

South Africa: Kallis c Malik b Ajmal 64, Smith c & b Aamer 10, Gibbs b Afridi  5, de Villiers b Afridi 1, Duminy not out 44, Morkel run out 2, Boucher not out 0;

Extras (b-4, l b-11, w-1) 16;

Total (for 5 wkts) 142; FoW: 1-40, 2-46, 3-50, 4-111, 5-134; Bowling: Razzaq 3-0-19-0, Aamer 4-0-30-1, Afridi 4-0-16-2, Ajmal 4-0-23-1, Malik 1-0-5-0, Gul 3-0-19-0, Alam 1-0-15-0.

Four teams, four intriguing tales, and one charge to the top. The battle to the top of the T20 planet starts at Trent Bridge on Thursday, when South Africa take on Pakistan in the first semifinal, with Sri Lanka try to get past the West Indies at the Oval a day later.

For the players, these semifinals provide an opportunity to bring a smile to their countrymen’s faces, an opportunity to be almost part of their country’s folklore. Cricket in Pakistan, post Lahore, has been reduced to a distant dream. The country has become the pariah in the international game, with no team keen on touring. While it is not hard to see why teams have adopted this hands-off strategy with Pakistan, the players have been bearing its brunt.

For a country where violence is becoming a part of everyday life, a win in the final at Lord’s on June 21 will provide the country with a sense of joy that will go much beyond the realms of cricket.

Lahore, in many ways, is what will also push the Sri Lankans to glory. This tournament, by the players’ own admission, means a lot to the people of Sri Lanka. It is a chance to forget the insane violence that has ravaged their country and enjoy a triumph of not just the players, but, the entire country.

South Africa have always come in to major tournaments as hot favourites, often billed as a team that possesses everything. And yet, somehow, it just doesn’t happen for the Proteas. ‘Chokers’ is a term that has been used liberally with them. It is undoubtedly a mental block, and a win in England would help this bunch, and possibly even the future, to get over it.

The West Indies’ tale has a very different take to it. Led by the cool and carefree Chris Gayle, the players have often taken on the WICB over a sponsorship row, even threatening to sit out international games. Not one to be overly bothered after a defeat, after all they happen so regularly, the title of world champions could be the start of another strong period of Caribbean teams. But, then again, that’s a long shot.

Once the first ball is bowled at Trent Bridge, however, the players will have to forget about larger picture. For then, it will, once again, be all about the cricket.

Road to semifinal

South Africa

Beat Scotland by 130 runs at the Oval

Beat New Zealand by 1 run at the Lord’s

Beat England  by 7 wickets (with 10 balls remaining) at Nottingham

Beat West Indies by 20 runs at the Oval

Beat India by 12 runs at Nottingham

Pakistan

Lost to England by 48 runs at the Oval.

Beat The Netherlands by 82 runs at the Lord’s

Lost to Sri Lanka by 19 runs at the Lord’s

Beat New Zealand by 6 wickets (with 41 balls remaining) at the Oval

Beat Ireland by 39 runs at the Oval

Ajantha Mendis hardly got a game in the IPL. Left out of most of John Buchanan’s plans, the Sri Lankan spinner was seen warming the Kolkata Knight Riders’ bench.

It, however, has been a different story in the World T20. He has had the opposition in all sorts of trouble with his unique variations. And he continued on Tuesday, picking up three Kiwi wickets in a 48-run win for Sri Lanka in their last SuperEights game.

With this win, Sangakkara’s side booked their place in the semis, with the West Indies being their likely opponents at the Oval on June 19.

Set a target of 159, New Zealand never looked like being in with a shout. Sri Lanka have one of the best attacks in the tournament, and it was the variety in their attack that stifled the Kiwi chase. New Zealand’s innings folded at 110 in the 17th over.

Riding on the back of this win against a team that was their biggest threat for a spot in the semis, Sri Lanka will be quietly confident of winning a World Cup for the first time since Lahore 2006.

Dilshan is another of the players who has reinvented himself since his IPL exploits with the Delhi Daredevils. He is steadily becoming one of the most effective and dangerous batsmen in this format, and got Lanka off to a flier here too.

Mahela Jayawardene, on the other hand, is not your quintessential T20 batsman. More in the classical mould, the former Lanka skipper is often underrated in the shortest version.

On Tuesday, though, he showed just how good players can adapt themselves to every situation, playing some of the most outrageous shots, including one of the back of his bat, in his 29-ball 41. Though Martin Guptill tried his best to get New Zealand to victory, his 43 wasn’t enough.

Scoreboard

Sri Lanka: Dilshan c Brendon McCullum b Vettori 48, Jayasuriya c Taylor b Nathan McCullum 0, Silva c Oram b Mills 13, Sangakkara c Styris b Vettori 35, Jayawardene not out 41 Mubarak lbw b Butler 8, Mathews 6no

Extras: (1nb, 4w, 1lb, 1w) 7

Total: (for five wkts in 20 ovrs) 158

Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-25, 3-87, 4-137, 5-147.

Bowling: N. McCullum 4-0-22-1, K. Mills 4-0-41-1, J. Oram 4-0-23-0, I. Butler 3-0-29-1, D. Vettori 4-0-32-2, S. Styris 1-0-9-0.

New Zealand: McCullum c Mubarak b Udana 10, Redmond c Silva b Malinga 23, Guptil c Mathews b Jayasuriya 43, Taylor st Sangakkara b Mendis 8, Styris b Mendis 2, Oram b Udana 7, McGlashan c Mubarak b Mendis 2, McCullum run out 2, Vettori c Malinga b Muralitharan 3, Mills run out 4, Butler 2no

Extras: (1lb, 3w) 4

Total (all out in 17 ovrs) 110

Fall of wickets: 1-30, 2-39, 3-64, 4-66, 5-93, 6-95, 7-98, 8-100, 9-102.

Bowling: I. Udana 3-0-17-2, S. Jayasuriya 3-0-28-1, M. Muralitharan 4-0-18-1, L. Malinga 3-0-26-1, A. Mendis 3-0-9-3, T. Dilshan 1-0-11-0

Paul Collingwood is unsure of his future as England’s captain in the shortest format after being knocked out of the ICC World Twenty20 by the West Indies, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Speaking after England lost to the West Indies by five wickets under the Duckworth-Lewis method in the Super Eights, Collingwood twice stopped short of saying that he wants to retain the job, The Times reported.

“I don’t know. I don’t even know when our next Twenty20 game is. I have not thought about it,” the England skipper said.

“We have shown fighting spirit all the way through the event,” Collingwood said, but added elimination by the D/L method was “a cruel way to go”.

“Hitting boundaries in the middle overs is obviously an area to look at for the future. We are catching up with our skills and our thought processes are there, but it is very important we play more 20-over cricket if we are realistic about winning this kind of competition,” he said.

England’s next Twenty20 tie is against Australia at the end of August, but the ICC World Twenty20 will be around as soon as April next year, when West Indies play host.

For the amount of cricket they’ve played against each other recently, it eventually came down to this one game between England and West Indies to decide a semi-finalist from Group E. Having won the toss at The Oval on Monday, England opted to bat, put on a decent 161/6 off 20 overs, in a rain-interrupted innings. Ravi Bopara (55 off 47) and Kevin Pietersen’s blitzkrieg (31 off 19) propped them up to the total.

In reply, West Indies chased down the 80-run target set for them under the Duckworth-Lewis method crossing it in just 8.2 overs, losing just five wickets  and proceeding to the semifinals.

The West Indies innings started in a poor fashion with three quick wickets down for very little.

However Dwayne Bravo struck a quickfire 18 to bring them into the match and then old hands Ramnaresh Sarwana and Shivnarine Chanderpaul saw them through with a 37-run partnership in just three overs.

England: 161 in 20 overs (R Bopara 55, K Pietersen 31)

West Indies: 80 for 5 in 8.2 overs (C. Gayle 15, D Bravo 18, R Sarwan 19 n.o.).

LONDON: MS Dhoni almost let the cat out of the bag after India’s agonising exit from the World T20. Having earlier contradicted TOI’s reports of
a rift between him and Virender Sehwag and paraded the entire team in a show of unity, the captain was again asked on Sunday if any dressing-room ‘turbulence’ prompted the early ouster.

Dhoni, while preaching the virtues of keeping dressing-room altercations secret, finally hinted that a difference of opinion had, indeed, taken place. “It’s not like I am holding a bottle… and saying this is drink and drink it. It’s really upsetting before a tournament like this. If you have senior players like Sehwag and Rahul Dravid, you can walk up to them and say this is what happened. They are clever enough to understand what has happened,” said Dhoni, going around in circles.

“Even if there was a fight between me and Sehwag, we two are in the best position to know what happened. We know what’s happening between us and that really does not bother the team environment. The dressing room atmosphere was really great even though we lost quite a few games in this format.”

Surely, discord between two senior players might affect the rest of the team? “If you take it too seriously, more often than not you will not play well. My teammates help in that regard. We joke about the incidents and the pressure gets released. Hopefully, it won’t happen in future and there will be less pressure.”

By all accounts, looking at India’s performance, it appears as if the team did take the controversy seriously.