Sri Lanka, S Africa favorites to advance

LONDON: In keeping with a captivating tournament where sustained excellence has been consistently rewarded, the Twenty20 World Cup semifinalists have been the best teams in the competition.

South Africa meet Pakistan in Nottingham on Thursday (1630) followed by Sri Lanka against West Indies at the Oval on Friday (1630). The final will be staged at Lord's on Sunday (1300).

A Sri Lanka-Pakistan final would provide an emotional climax to the tournament following the armed attack on the Sri Lanka team in Lahore in March. Captain Kumar Sangakkara was one of six Sri Lanka players wounded by a small group of heavily armed men who killed six Pakistani policemen and the driver of the bus carrying the match officials.