England advanced to the semifinals of the T20 World Cup and eliminated host Australia on net run-rate after its last over four-wicket win over Sri Lanka on Saturday.
New Zealand, England and Australia all finished with seven points from five matches in Group 1 but the Kiwis topped the group with a healthy net run-rate of 2.113.
Australia paid the price for a heavy loss to New Zealand in the opening game and finished with at a net run-rate of -0.173. England had a net run-rate of 0.473.
Ben Stokes kept his composure and made an unbeaten 42 off 36 balls as England reached 144-6 in 19.4 overs after Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat.
Sri Lanka could not have advanced even if it had beaten England but the islanders squandered a blistering start of 52-1 in five overs before ending up at a disappointing 141-8.
“We knew we had to find a way to win the game coming here today, so thankfully we did that,” England skipper Jos Buttler said.