Australia claimed a place in the 2003 World Cup final after a rain-affected win over Sri Lanka at St George's Park this afternoon.
Ricky Ponting's side's 16th consecutive victory - completed by a margin of 48 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis system - was confirmed when umpires David Shepherd and Rudi Koertzen called the match off with the deluge, which drove the players off with Sri Lanka on 123 for seven, persisting.
Sri Lanka, chasing 213 for victory, had been 76 for seven as Brett Lee tore into the top order once again - but some gritty resistance from Kumar Sangakkara and Chaminda Vaas extended the contest to 5pm and into the 39th over.
Lee, who took a hat-trick against Kenya on Saturday night, built up some fearsome speed on another slow deck.
Having had Marvan Atapattu put down at point by Brad Hogg in the fourth over of the innings, Lee followed up undeterred to knock out the off-stump with the next ball, timed at 99.48mph.
New-ball partner Glenn McGrath removed Sanath Jayasuriya, who flicked Lee into the stands at square leg, when the left-hander was cramped for room by a short ball which he guided to square leg.
Sri Lanka made an aggressive initial response to their chase with Atapattu, whose century against Zimbabwe at the weekend was instrumental in their last-four place, striking three boundaries.
But their reinforced middle-order - seamer Dilhara Fernando was left out at the expense of Mahela Jayawardene - was sliced through once their opening duo fell.
Hashan Tillekeratne and Avishka Gunawardene both prodded edges behind the wicket off Lee as Australia revelled in the sunshine, vastly different conditions to this morning when Ricky Ponting won the toss and chose to bat in the gloom.
Then a brilliant piece of fielding from Andy Bichel accounted for the dangerous Aravinda de Silva. He continued his delivery stride to gather Kumar Sangakkara's prod to the leg-side before turning and throwing down the stumps at the striker's end to run De Silva out by three feet.
Bichel was subsequently mobbed by his jubilant team-mates, who had more to celebrate in the 17th over as Jayawardene's dismal tournament tally reached 21 in seven innings.
An inside-edge, from an attempted sweep, looped off his front pad for Adam Gilchrist to claim a second catch of the innings.
Australia's 212 for seven, their highest score in three matches on this ground, was built around Andrew Symonds' unbeaten 91.
Arriving at the crease with the reigning champions once again tottering, on 51 for three, Symonds mastered the slow surface to continue his impressive form with the bat.
His 143 from another difficult position was critical in the opening-match win over Pakistan and today's contribution was just as crucial.
The Queensland and Kent batsman was reprieved on more than one occasion, however - surviving a big appeal for caught behind off Pulasthi Gunaratne, when on four, and a confident leg before shout in the same over.
A missed stumping by Sangakkara off Jayasuriya, on 33, provided another life and Symonds took advantage to reach pass 50 for the third time in this tournament from his 69th delivery.
That arrived from a fifth four, powerfully cut off Jayasuriya, during an impressive 93-run stand for the fourth wicket with Darren Lehmann (36).
He went on to nurture important lower-order runs, including a huge six over long-on from De Silva's off-spin, with Bichel - whose previous scores of 34 not out and 64 against England and New Zealand - finishing undefeated on 19.
However, the Sri Lankan spinners plugged the flow impressively in the middle of the innings, Muttiah Muralitharan's 10 overs costing a miserly 29.