T20 World Cup

They posted 189-4, with Babar Azam making 66 and Shoaib Malik an unbeaten 54 from 18 balls, the joint fastest half-century of this tournament.

Scotland limped to 117-6, with Richie Berrington hitting 54 not out.

England will face New Zealand, who beat Afghanistan earlier on Sunday to knock out India, in the other semi -final.

That game will be at 14:00 GMT on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, with Pakistan-Australia at the same time on Thursday in Dubai.

In a tournament where everything had gone England’s way, this time it all went against them: asked to bat first after losing the toss, labouring to work out how to pace their innings, bowling as dew drenched the outfield on a heavy, humid night, watching Tymal Mills limp off midway through his second over to shred their death bowling plans as Sri Lanka accelerated towards their target.

After a 10-wicket thrashing against rivals Pakistan in their opening game, Virat Kohli's side were woefully abject again - New Zealand chasing 111 with 33 balls to spare in Dubai.

England sealed a crushing eight-wicket win, with very few Aussies impressing on the night.

AARON FINCH — 7

44 off 49

Finch nearly batted out the entire innings in a 49-ball stay that was important given Australia’s struggles, but the captain failed to kick into a high gear. Only four of those 49 balls were sent to the boundary. Late explosive knocks from Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins showed it was possible late in the innings.

Scotland scored 165 in 20 overs, led by Richie Berrington's 70, Matthew Cross's 45 off 36 balls, which included two sixes and two fours, and George Munsey's 15.

An entertaining knock down the order by Norman Vanua gave PNG fans some late hope. He and Kiplin Doriga added 53 off just 29 balls but having been 35/5 at that point in chase of a target of 166, PNG had left it too much too late.

Kabua Morea, PNG's top bowler, got four wickets for 31 runs in four overs, Chad Soper took three wickets for 24 runs in four overs, and Simon Atai grabbed one wicket.

PNG appeared to have been overwhelmed by the occasion losing two of their batters at the top of the order without adding to their tallies.

Scotland are on a high, and a win today could take them a step closer to the Super 12s.

For PNG the realization can be disconcerting, but it's the reality of the format; only two teams from the pool can qualify into the next round.