ICC T20 World Cup 2022: England skipper Jos Buttler lauds Ben Stokes after win over Sri Lanka

As the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 nears its conclusion, England captain Jos Buttler is happy to see that Ben Stokes has returned to form. The all-rounder, he says, can play numerous roles in the team thanks to his talent.

With a four-wicket victory over Sri Lanka on Saturday in Sydney, Stokes led England into the semifinals after a disappointing tournament thus far despite a middle-order collapse.

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After a strong start from Buttler and Alex Hales, England's batters fell apart with half the team in the dugout. This was largely because of the mysterious spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, before Stokes brought the former champions home.

"These kind of situations is what he's made for and I'm delighted for him. While he's at the crease, that gives you a sense of calm," Butller said a the post-match presentation. 

"He can play a lot of roles. He effects the game in all three facets. He's a proper competitor. Getting to this stage of the competition is where you just see him grow and grow," Buttler added.

Pathum Nissanka's scorching fifty got Sri Lanka off to a fast start before England's bowlers fought back to keep the Asia Cup champions below 150.

"They got off to a really good start, and we felt the wicket would play that way since it was a used wicket. But the way Adil Rashid got us back was wonderful. Lot of people look at the end product with him, he doesn't have the wickets but he has been bowling well," the England captain said.

Young Sam Curran has been sensational at the death for England throughout the tournament, and the skipper was fulsome in his praise for the pacer and opener Hales. 

"Sam keeps growing and growing, he's a key member of this team and he likes to be in these tough moments. I think Alex (Hales) in that one over really took the game out of Sri Lanka," Buttler added. 

England, who finished second in Group 1, will play their semifinal in Adelaide against winners of the second group. 

"Excited to go there, we just needed to find a way to win today. Now it is time to go there and think about the semifinals," he said. 

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Dasun Shanaka, the captain of Sri Lanka, believed that many injuries to key players had jeopardised his team's prospects of winning the championship.

"I think we played good cricket in patches, but we had a few injuries which cost us the tournament. If not, we could have done better. However, the skipper said there are a couple of areas that needed improvement," he said.

"When we go home, we'll have to polish up the areas where we didn't do well. (Wanindu) Hasaranga and (Maheesh) Theekshana have bowled well throughout, but the other bowlers have struggled, today they bowled well but that is an area we have to improve. Catching has been a problem in this tournament, we need to go back and improve," Shanaka added. 

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Leg spinner Adil Rashid was adjudged the player of the match for his brilliant 1/16, which included the all-important wicket of Pathun Nissanka, who was going hammer and tongs at the English bowlers.

"I think all the bowlers bowled well, Stokes, Wood, everyone. We got some assistance (spin and seam) from this wicket, you don't get such assistance on Australian wickets. I felt quite good, even before the tournament I was feeling good. I did my job, was focused on it, rest is history. The pitch might spin, seam, you need to assess the conditions accordingly," he said.

(With inputs from PTI)