ICC Twenty20 World Cup News

Pakistan beat Ireland by 39 runs at the Oval to increase their chances of reaching the semi-finals.

Ireland's target of 160 always seemed out-of-reach for the Irish against an ever-improving bowling attack, with Saeed Ajmal (4-19) and Umar Gul (2-19) to the fore on this occasion.

Niall O'Brien (7) top-edged an attempted pull straight back to Mohammad Aamer, who took a steepling catch off his own bowling.

Ireland reached 37-1 at the end of their Powerplay, with just three boundaries, as they struggled to make the most of the period before spin entered the equation.

Predictably, Shahid Afridi then struck with his fifth delivery when Paul Stirling, making his first appearance of the tournament, missed a sweep and was bowled for 17.

At the midway stage, Ireland had reached 66-2, leaving an unlikely 94 to get off the last 10 overs.

Gul, the five-wicket hero against New Zealand, came into the attack in the 12th over with the run-rate continuing to mount up for the Irish.

Defending champion India were on Sunday knocked out of the World Twenty20 title race after a heart-breaking three-run defeat at the hands of an inspired England in a nerve-wracking Super Eight match here.

Chasing a modest victory target of 154, India's famed batting order crumbled when it mattered most and the defending champions could manage 150 for five to see their title defence lay in tatters.

The sizeable Indian crowd at the historic Lord's were in a state of disbelief as Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men failed to reach the target in the must-win game.

For India, Gautam Gambhir (26) and Ravindra Jadeja (25) got the starts but could not convert it and Yusuf Pathan (33 off 17 balls) and Dhoni (30 off 20 balls) made a last ditch effort but it was not enough in the end.

Put into bat, England earlier rode on cameos from Kevin Pietersen (46), Ravi Bopara (37) and Dimitri Mascarenhas (25 not out) to reach a modest 153 for seven and India owed it to Harbhajan Singh (3/30) and Ravindra Jadeja (2/26) for keeping the hosts in a leash.

Defending the total, the England pacers peppered India with short-pitch stuff that made life difficult for the defending champions.

Their title defence over, India play their next Super Eight match against South Africa in Nottingham on Tuesday.

Mahela Jayawardene saved his team's blushes with 78 from 53 balls, as Sri Lanka moved a step closer to the semi-finals with an awkward but ultimately comfortable nine-run victory over the unfancied Irish at Lord's. After winning the toss and batting first, Sri Lanka were restricted to a modest total of 144 for 9 by a disciplined Ireland bowling performance in which the medium-pacer Alex Cusack excelled with 4 for 18 in three overs. In reply, Will Porterfield and Niall O'Brien raised the prospect of a famous win by adding 59 for the first wicket, but the variety and experience of Sri Lanka's attack eventually proved overwhelming.

At Trent Bridge on Thursday, Ireland had been no match for New Zealand as they slumped to an 83-run defeat, but this time they remained competitive even after a damaging double setback in the 15th over of their reply, when Ajantha Mendis removed both the dangerous O'Brien brothers, Kevin and Niall, in the space of four deliveries. Ireland carried on swinging until the bitter end, even as Lasith Malinga further undermined their chase with consecutive yorkers to bowl Trent Johnston and Andre Botha, but their final requirement of 18 runs from Malinga's final over of the innings unsurprisingly proved too much.

For Sri Lanka, Ireland's challenge came as an unpleasant but timely jolt after their impressive progress in the tournament to date. Their aspirations of a 200-plus total were knocked as early as the second ball of the match, as Tillakaratne Dilshan - their batsman of the tournament so far - top-edged the recalled Boyd Rankin into the safe gloves of Niall O'Brien, running round to square leg.

Umar Gul bulldozed New Zealand with a sensational five-wicket haul as Pakistan defeated New Zealand by six wickets to keep their semi-finals hopes alive in the World Twenty20 here on Saturday.

Gul's incredible fast bowling spell resulted in Kiwi's complete demolition as they were all out for a paltry 99 in 18.3 overs after deciding to bat in this Super Eight match.

Gul, introduced as late as in the 13th over, wreaked havoc in his three-over spell and emerged as the first bowler to claim five wickets in T20 Internationals.

Abdul Razzaq (2/17), playing first match for his country after quitting ICL, celebrated his return by rocking the Kiwi top-order at the start.

Strong contenders South Africa inched closer to a semi-final berth in the Twenty20 World Cup after a convincing 20-run victory over giant-killers West Indies in a Super Eight match at the Kensington Oval on Saturday.

The South Africans, riding on a rollicking 55 from Herschelle Gibbs [Images], first compiled a competitive 183 for seven and then restricted the West Indies to 163 for nine.

Their sixth consecutive T20 victory, a record of sorts, not only brought an end to the West Indies' giant-killing run but almost assured the Proteas a berth in the semi-finals.

They play their last Group E Super Eight match against India on Tuesday.

An under-tested India ran into a red-hot West Indies, who didn't even need a significant contribution from Chris Gayle during a tense chase. Dwayne Bravo was his usual top-dawg self today, taking four wickets to keep India down and then resurrecting the chase after a subdued Gayle had got out early, with an innings that was both aesthetic and cruel.

By the time Bravo came out to bat, India had made a smart start to their defence of a fighting 151. After Zaheer Khan went for two boundaries in the first over, MS Dhoni chose to give Gayle no pace. Three of the Powerplay overs were bowled by spinners, and two by Irfan Pathan who didn't come on to the bat either. Harbhajan Singh, especially, fast-tracked Gayle's downfall, bowling a maiden to him to finish the Powerplays. Gayle had reached 20 off 23, after which frustration got the better of him, and he top-edged Yusuf Pathan, who had done well to keep him quiet in his first two overs.

Quietly, though, No. 3 Lendl Simmons, who had earlier taken a blinder, had quietly played himself in. And just when it seemed West Indies were out of it, having got off to a slow start, Bravo changed the pace of the game. With Bravo came more intent in the running and odd boundaries that kept West Indies with the rate. His batting was a treat for the eye. He often went inside-out to the spinners, stepping out and clearing extra cover in one fluid motion.