Moments of The Day: Same Story, Different Opposition
This match was similar to the India-Scotland match. Spinners choked the Associate nation, while Rohit-Rahul finished the rest.
Stephan Baard & Michael van Lingen started positively, scoring 33 in just 4.3 overs. However Bumrah and Jadeja soon reduced Namibia to 39/3. Jadeja was good, but the pick of the bowlers was Ashwin for me – The bowled off Green and couple of edges to slips were proper Test match off spin.
Wiese’s 26, along with Frylinck & Trumpelmann’s finishing helped Namibia to a competitive total. Altogether, David Wiese ended up as the fourth highest run-scorer at the end of the Super 12s with 227 runs, best of 66*, average of 45.40 & 127.50 SR. Not bad for someone representing Namibia for the first time.
Since the Afghanistan game, 4 players have had standout performances for Team India:
Jadeja: 1/19, 3/16, 3/15
Ashwin: 2/14, 1/29, 3/20
Sharma: 74, 30, 56
Rahul: 69, 50, 54*
While Rahul & Sharma almost killed the chase with a beautiful highlight package, Suryakumar Yadav was promoted ahead of Virat Kohli. A classic 25* (19) followed including an inside out shot and a pull. When asked later about the move, Kohli responded with, “Surya didn’t get much game time,…, and it’s a nice [World Cup] memory of him to take back.“
Broken Cricket Dream of the Day: The Ravi Shastri Era Ends
Even though India did not win an ICC trophy during his tenure, India made large strides, especially in Test cricket. R Sridhar improved fielding standards all around and Bharat Arun is credited for the rise of India’s fast bowling attack around the globe. Ravi Shastri instilled the confidence which was evident in the home/away England series & the 2 series victories overseas against Australia, especially Gabba 2021 (rising from 36 All Out). An almost 2.0 W/L ratio across formats is unprecedented for an Indian coach.
He also mentioned that not having enough rest between the IPL and the World T20 attributed to not being switched on during crunch situations and pressure matches early on.
In any case, I will leave you with his own quote from today, “Sometimes in life, it’s not about all you accomplish, it’s about what you overcome.” Beautiful.
Have a great journey ahead coach! Whether that is coaching in the IPL or back to the commentary! Would also love to see a more free Virat Kohli.
T20 World Cup Points Table, Most Runs, Wickets, Catches, Dismissals
No need to go elsewhere for thePoints Table, Highest Run Scorer, Highest Wicket Taker, Most Catches, and Most Dismissals. We will keep updating it in every article!
Image Courtesy: Graphic (original work), Kyle Coetzer – Photo by Francois Nel-ICC/ICC via Getty Images, Mahmudullah – Photo by Mike Hewitt-ICC/ICC via Getty Images
Toss: Pakistan won the toss and chose to field first.
Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah, UAE
Umpires: Rod Tucker & Paul Wilson
What Actually Happened
Winner: New Zealand won by 72 runs
Scores: Pakistan189/4Scotland 117/6
Player of the Match:Shoaib Malik 54* (18)
Best Figures
Hamza Tahir (4-0-24-1)
Shadab Khan (4-0-14-2)
Most Runs
Babar Azam 66 (47)
Richie Berrington 54* (37)
Moments of The Day: Babar-Malik-Shadab Demolish Scotland
Pakistan now have had 5 different Player of the Match awards—Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Asif Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, and now Shoaib Malik. Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam so far? 68*, 9, 51, 70, & 66. Highest run-scorer of the tournament, 4 fifties, and has not been their most important player yet. Wow.
Shoaib Malik has been playing international cricket for 22 years, about the age of several Pakistani players in this young side. Today, he showed the world why he is one of the best players against spin. Six sixes and one four as Pakistan scored 77 in the last 5.
Richie Berrington had made a 50 in the qualifying stages but an unbeaten fifty today ensured Scotland do not suffer a repeat of the Afghanistan game (Afghanistan had scored around 190 and routed Scotland for 60). Good knock.
Pakistan’s spinners were ultra impressive. Imad Wasim scored 4-0-17-0 and Shadab Khan with 4-0-14-2. Miserly spells. Tied down George Munsey for 17 (31). Strike rate of 54.83. The reason of this slowdown was brilliant captaincy. See the graphic below.
George Munsey – sweep shot percentage, #T20WorldCup
v #BNG 40% v #PNG 60% v #OMA 16% v #AFG 50% v #NZ 14% v #IND 41% v #PAK 5% <— #PAK deployed four men on the sweep at times during that Munsey innings. They choked his favourite shot & he was dismissed for 17 (31).
Kyle Coetzer has been synonymous with Scotland Cricket for more than a decade now. One of the stars of the mammoth ODI victory against England.
Lot was expected of the captain but scores of 0, 6,41, 10, 17, 1, & 9 do not inspire much confidence. 84 runs at an average of 12, from which 41 runs came in one match. For a top order batter, that is way too low.
In any case, hope Scotland bounces better in the 2022 T20 World Cup, which they have already qualified for since they made it to the Super 1ws this time.
T20 World Cup Points Table, Most Runs, Wickets, Catches, Dismissals
No need to go elsewhere for thePoints Table, Highest Run Scorer, Highest Wicket Taker, Most Catches, and Most Dismissals. We will keep updating it in every article!
Image Courtesy: Graphic (original work), Kyle Coetzer – Photo by Francois Nel-ICC/ICC via Getty Images, Mahmudullah – Photo by Mike Hewitt-ICC/ICC via Getty Images
Toss: Afghanistan won the toss and chose to field first.
Venue: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena & Langton Rusere
What Actually Happened
Winner: New Zealand won by 8 wickets
Scores: Afghanistan 124/8 New Zealand125/2
Player of the Match:Trent Boult 3/17
Best Figures
Trent Boult (4-0-17-3)
Rashid Khan (4-0-27-1)
Most Runs
Najibullah Zadran 73 (48)
Kane Williamson 40* (42)
Moments of The Day: Fielders, Bowlers, Williamson-Conway Brush Aside Afghanistan
Fast bowlers all chipped in to break Afghanistan’s hopes. Impressive Milne nicked out Shahzad, Boult got Zazai, and Southee dismissed Gurbaz. Afghanistan 19/3 in 5.1 overs and never recovered.
Najibullah Zadran was the lone star for Afghanistan. Scoring his best T20I score of 73 out of Afghanistan’s 125 shows you the impact he had. Such a clean striker of he ball. He now averages 33.29 at a SR of 141.28 in T20Is.
Afghanistan missed a trick by waiting to bring Rashid Khan till after the Powerplay, but he delivered. Runs dried up with NZ at 63/2 in 11 overs, still needing 62 in the remaining 9. With Williamson steady, Devon Conway finally played an innings of note. Reverse sweeps and sweeps eased the pressure as NZ won with 11 balls to spare.
Broken Cricket Dream of the Day: Afghanistan, India Crash Out
Broken Dream #1 is the obvious one – Afghanistan was expected to defeat one of the three big guns – Pakistan, India, or NZ.
Till Afghanistan reached Asif Ali, everything was well & good. 130 run victory against Scotland, brushing aside Namibia, NRR touching the roof. Post Asif Ali’s assault, Afghanistan’s body language dropped, Asghar Afghan retired midway, & Afghanistan did not give a fight to India or NZ. Semi-finals in friendly conditions was within reach, and they let it slip.
Broken Dream #2 – Indian fans tuned into this match for an Afghanistan upset. Not only did Afghanistan lose, they took out India with them. A dead rubber scheduled for tomorrow.
T20 World Cup Points Table, Most Runs, Wickets, Catches, Dismissals
No need to go elsewhere for thePoints Table, Highest Run Scorer, Highest Wicket Taker, Most Catches, and Most Dismissals. We will keep updating it in every article!
Image Courtesy: Graphic (original work), Kyle Coetzer – Photo by Francois Nel-ICC/ICC via Getty Images, Mahmudullah – Photo by Mike Hewitt-ICC/ICC via Getty Images
South Africa Vs England Quick Review – South Africa outclass tournament favorite’s England.
The last game of Group 1, South Africa knew exactly what they needed to do. After posting 189, the equations were as follows:
If England were restricted:
England < 87: England crash out & both SA/Aus go through
87 < England < 131: Both Eng/SA go through; Australia out
England > 87: South Africa crash out & Eng/Aus qualify
As it turns out, the third situation happened. South Africa won handsomely against the #1 team, won 4 out of the 5, and did not qualify for the semi-finals.
Moments of The Day: Van der Dussen-Markam, Rabada’s Hat-Trick In a Close Game
South Africa batted intelligently. They adjusted to the pitch beautifully. Quinton de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen brought out their sweeps and reverse sweeps to negate Adil Rashid. While most people thought that South Africa are playing too conservatively, they were only trying to conserve their wickets.
After de Kock got out, in came Aiden Markram with Dussen set. Then, came the acceleration. Markram’s 54* (25) with four sixes and Rassie’s 94*, highest score for a South African in a T20I WC, meant that South Africa scored 119 runs in the last 10. Chris Woakes and Mark Wood got hammered.
Although South Africa could not keep England down to 131 with Buttler-Roy starting in aggressive fashion, Shamsi slowed them down. Wickets started to tumble, pressure started to build. Then, came in the out-of-form Liam Livingstone and smacked Kagiso Rabada for 3 humongous consecutive sixes. At the end, with 14 needed off the last over, Rabada claimed a T20 WC hat-trick, all batters caught in the deep, to deliver South Africa a thrilling victory.
Broken Cricket Dream of the Day: Jason Roy
Jason Roy was injured midway in the 2019 CWC campaign, and again, he hobbled when England were 38/0. It was so bad that he needed a couple of people on the side to help him walk. At the end of the game, he was seen in crutches. It might be the end of the road for Jason Roy.
England have now lost Tymal Mills, Jason Roy along with Ben Stokes & Jofra Archer before the world cup had begun.
Jason Roy may have played his last game of the #T20WorldCup
T20 World Cup Points Table, Most Runs, Wickets, Catches, Dismissals
No need to go elsewhere for thePoints Table, Highest Run Scorer, Highest Wicket Taker, Most Catches, and Most Dismissals. We will keep updating it in every article!
Image Courtesy: Graphic (original work), Kyle Coetzer – Photo by Francois Nel-ICC/ICC via Getty Images, Mahmudullah – Photo by Mike Hewitt-ICC/ICC via Getty Images
Toss: Australia won the toss and chose to field first.
Venue: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Umpires: Langston Rusere & Richard Illingworth
What Actually Happened
Winner: Australia won by 8 wickets
Scores: West Indies 157/7 Australia 161/2
Player of the Match:David Warner 89* (56)
Best Figures
Josh Hazlewood (4-0-39-4)
Akeal Hosein (4-0-29-1), Chris Gayle (1-0-7-1)
Most Runs
Kieron Pollard 44 (31)
David Warner 89* (56)
Moments of The Day: Erratic Batting, Warner Special, Retirements Mark Good Cricketing Day
Final match for the West Indies, and they started all guns blazing. Few fours for Evin Lewis, 2 sixes for Chris Gayle, West Indies 30/0 in 2 overs. Hazlewood’s first over went for 20.
Then came Pat Cummins and took the danger men Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran in over. Hazlewood would himself comeback and take 4 wickets. A few hits by Pollard & Russell ensured WI have a score to defend.
Questions on David Warner’s form will now be squashed. A fifty earlier in the tournament and now a commanding 89* (56) with 4 sixes steamrolled the West Indies. Beware of Mitchell Marsh at #3, . He has played some great nocks during this year and 53* (32) with 5 fours and 2 sixes means he is also coming back to form as Australia approach the semis..
Honorable Mention: Andre Russell’s 111 meter six; Dwayne Bravo hits a six in his final innings;
Broken Cricket Dream of the Day: Legends Retire
It is unclear if Chris Gayle has retired or not. He wants to play his final game in front of a Jamaica crowd, so there might be still some gas left in him.
Dwayne Bravo, however, has called it a day on his international career, which began way back in 2004. Test debut, 2004 Champions Trophy victory, 2 World T20s, and holds the record for most T20 championships around the world (Pollard second). He will continue to play in T2- leagues ’till his body holds.’
During the game, the atmosphere was beautiful. Chris Gayle signing gloves and giving them to the spectators. Cameras around Gayle and Bravo showed a positive mood. Hugs from teammates and oppositions, and Chris Gayle taking a last wicket of his final ball and hugging Mitchell Marsh (Watch the video below).
Bravo & Gayle In Pictures
Combined international numbers of Dwayne Bravo and Chris Gayle 👇
T20 World Cup Points Table, Most Runs, Wickets, Catches, Dismissals
No need to go elsewhere for thePoints Table, Highest Run Scorer, Highest Wicket Taker, Most Catches, and Most Dismissals. We will keep updating it in every article!
Image Courtesy: Graphic (original work), Kyle Coetzer – Photo by Francois Nel-ICC/ICC via Getty Images, Mahmudullah – Photo by Mike Hewitt-ICC/ICC via Getty Images
Toss: India won the toss and chose to field first.
Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, UAE
Umpires: Marais Erasmus & Rod Tucker
What Actually Happened
Winner: India won by 8 wickets
Scores: Scotland 85/10India 89/2
Player of the Match:Ravindra Jadeja 3/15
Best Figures
Ravindra Jadeja (4-0-15-3)
Mark Watt (2-0-20-1)
Most Runs
George Munsey 24 (19)
KL Rahul 50 (19)
Moments of The Day: Collective Bowling Performance, Rahul-Rohit Show Key To Strong Indian Victory
Bumrah started by bowling Kyle Coetzer and Scotland never recovered. The pacers, Bumrah & Shami, had combined figures of 6.4-1-25-5.
Ravindra Jadeja in the middle broke the back of the Scottish batting. Bowled straight and quick and choked the batting. LBW, B, LWB. Classic Jadeja.
The rest was done by India’s opening pair. In order to get ahead of Afghanistan & NZ’s NRR, India needed to chase 89 runs within 43 ball (7.1 overs). As it turns out, India finished it in 39 balls (6.3 overs), thanks to KL Rahul’s 18-ball 50.
Broken Cricket Dream of the Day: Scotland Keep On Drowning
After winning 3 in 3 in the qualifying stage, Scotland has looked a class below in the Super 12s. Now the fourth loss in a row, they will want to finish on a high…Except heir last game is against group toppers Pakistan.
T20 World Cup Points Table, Most Runs, Wickets, Catches, Dismissals
No need to go elsewhere for thePoints Table, Highest Run Scorer, Highest Wicket Taker, Most Catches, and Most Dismissals. We will keep updating it in every article!
Image Courtesy: Graphic (original work), Kyle Coetzer – Photo by Francois Nel-ICC/ICC via Getty Images, Mahmudullah – Photo by Mike Hewitt-ICC/ICC via Getty Images