australia: Australia survive Rashid scare to keep slim semifinal hopes alive

Defending champions Australia survived Rashid Khan’s attack and kept their semi-final hopes alive after beating Afghanistan by four runs in the T20 World Cup here on Friday.

Based on the win, Australia moved up to second place in Group 1 with seven points from five matches, similar to New Zealand, who became the first team to qualify for the semi-finals due to a better net run rate.

Australia, however, failed to surpass England’s net run rate as the hosts needed to restrict Afghanistan to 106 after posting 168 for eight.

This means that if England beat Sri Lanka in their final match in Sydney on Saturday, they too will finish with seven points and join New Zealand in the semi-finals from Group 1 with a better net run rate.

Glenn Maxwell was the top scorer for Australia as he hit a quick half-century but Afghanistan pulled things back nicely in the last five overs to restrict the defending champions to a decent total.

Maxwell scored 54 off 32 balls, including six boundaries and two boundaries, when Afghanistan invited Australia to bat.

In reply, Afghanistan rode on the pyrotechnics of Rashid (48 not out off 23 balls) to register a sensational victory, but ultimately lost.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz started Afghanistan well with 30 off 17 balls during which he hit two fours and as many sixes but Australia bounced back, removing both the openers.

Gulbadin Naib (39) and Ibrahim Zadran (26), however, were in no mood to give up without a fight as they added 59 off 46 balls for the second wicket.

Naib and Zadran both made good impact of an inside shot on the infield and kept the Afghans in the hunt.

Maxwell had to do a great job from the outfield to break the stand. Maxwell hit a straight from deep mid-wicket to shorten Naib’s innings and then off the very next ball, Zadran patted Adam Zampa to Marsh.

Zampa hit another missed time shot to dismiss Najibullah Zadran as Afghanistan lost the plot in the 14th over.

In the end, Rashid struck some quick strikes and combined with Darvesh Rasuli to put up a quick partnership of 45 runs off 28 balls to reduce the equation to 22 of the final over.

Rashid managed to hit Marcus Stonis for two fours and a six in the final over but it was not enough.

Earlier, Australia lost Cameron Green early on but David Warner (25 off 18) and Mitchell Marsh (45 off 30) kept the run rate up with their quick strokeplay.

But two quick wickets in the sixth over in the form of Warner and Steve Smith reduced the hosts to 52 for 3 in the powerplay.

While Warner was bowled by a Naveen-ul-Haq off-cutter as the batsman went for an exceptional switch hit, Smith was declared lbw three balls later.

Marsh then put Mujeeb ur Rahman (1/42) on top for a slog sweep and Gurbaz took a good high to pack the batsman in as Australia were reduced to 86 for 4 in the 11th over.

Maxwell and Stoinis (25 off 21) again joined hands and shared a 53-run stand for the fifth wicket off just 29 balls.

While Maxwell looked ominous as the Afghan bowlers cut, dragged and bounced over the boundary, Stoinis struggled with his timing.

Stoinis hit just two sixes in his 21-ball knock before being handed a simple catch to Usman Ghani at backward point off Rashid.

Stand-in captain Matthew Wade also did not bother the scorer much as he was clean bowled by a toe-crushing yorker from Fazlhaq Farooqui.

At 133 for 4 in 15 overs, Australia lost wickets to lose momentum as Maxwell found boundaries coming after a promising start.

Maxwell reached his half-century in 29 balls off Farooqui in the final over and again fenced off the last ball to end the innings on a high.

Originally published at Pen 18

australia: Cricket: New Zealand reach T20 World Cup semis, Australia win and wait

New Zealand became the first team to reach the semi-finals of the Twenty20 World Cup with a win over Ireland on Friday but Australia will have to wait to see if they stay in the tournament despite a massive win over Afghanistan.

Kane Williamson’s half-century and spin-bowling attack led the Black Caps to a 35-run victory at the Adelaide Oval, sealing one of the top two spots in Group 1 and making it to the last four.

Glenn Maxwell scored an unbeaten half-century and spinner Adam Zampa played a crucial 2-22 innings as defending champions Australia later joined New Zealand on seven points after a just four-run win over the Afghans at the same venue.

However, it was not enough to raise the net run rate of England, who now need to beat Sri Lanka in their final Super 12 match in Sydney on Saturday to take another semi-final berth from the group.

“Afghanistan played really well but luckily we managed to catch them back,” Maxwell said.

“We have put ourselves in this position but hopefully the Sri Lankans can work for us.”

At one stage in Afghanistan’s response to Australia’s 168-8, it looked like the home team might not even get the win they needed to survive their tournament.

Three wickets in Zampa’s fourth over – Maxwell’s first run out from a straight hit – broke the 59-run partnership between Gulbadin Naib (39) and Ibrahim Zadran (26) and helped the Afghans go from 99-2 to 99-5.

Rashid Khan revived his team’s chase with four sixes in his 48-run stand, but he came short in the final over as Afghanistan finished 164-7 and did not win the tournament.

Australia first came to bat with a lot of intent after Aaron Finch and Tim David were out with hamstring strains, a much changed team and a stand-in captain in Matt Wade.

Cameron Green and Steve Smith came into the squad, but neither of them lasted long and David Warner (25), Mitchell Marsh (45) and Maxwell (54) needed Australia to try to score big runs. was abandoned.

Earlier, New Zealand’s batsmen scored 185 for six after Ireland opted to field, before Black Caps bowlers restricted the Irish to 150 for nine.

Ireland are out of the World Cup but returned home with pride after a solid tournament with a brilliant hat-trick from pacer Josh Little.

Left-hander Little caught skipper Williamson for 61, then got both James Neesham and Mitchell Santner out lbw for no scores in the 19th over to score Ireland’s second hat-trick in T20 Internationals.

However, the damage was already done by Williamson and middle-order batsman Daryl Mitchell (31 not out).

Paul Stirling and Andy Balbirnie gave Ireland a fighting chance but left-arm spinner Santner broke the 68-run partnership when he cut Balbirnie to his stumps.

“It’s good because we have a few days now and people will be able to relax,” Williamson said. “Look at what’s going on in the other matches tomorrow and see how it goes.”

Originally published at Pen 18

new zealand: Irish win toss, send New Zealand into bat at T20 World Cup

Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie won the toss and elected to field against New Zealand in a Group 1 encounter that could be crucial for a playoff spot in the Twenty20 World Cup.

This is the last Super 12 match for both the teams. New Zealand are in a position to qualify for the semi-finals with five points from four matches and a positive net run rate of 2.233.

A win against Ireland would confirm New Zealand as the first semi-finalists in the tournament, but a defeat could open the way for England and Australia.

Ireland are out of contention with three points from four matches in the second round, including a major upset against England.

Australia were playing Afghanistan later on Friday, and Group 1 was to conclude with England on Saturday against Sri Lanka.

Australia, currently ranked third in the group, need a win and a big boost to their net run rate to secure one of the top two spots that will earn progress to the semi-finals.

England and Australia have five points each from four matches, but England is ahead of Australia in terms of net run rate.

The pitch at the Adelaide Oval is conducive to batting and one of the two square squares is particularly short, which should make it a target for batsmen.

Lineup:

New Zealand: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson (c), Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult.

Ireland: Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie (c), Lorcan Tucker, Harry Tector, Curtis Camper, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Fionn Hand, Barry McCarthy, Joshua Little.

Originally published at Pen 18

‘Fake fielding’ by Kohli?: Controversy for the sake of it

The incident happened in the seventh over of Bangladesh’s innings, just before rain stopped play, when their opener Liton Das played the ball towards deep point and scored two runs. As Arshdeep Singh threw the ball back, Kohli, standing on point, performed a throw while the ball was still in the air and in the path of the wicketkeeper.

Originally published at Pen 18

kohli: Bangladesh accuse Kohli of ‘fake fielding’

Bangladesh has blamed “fake fielding” by India’s Virat Kohli for the Twenty20 World Cup loss and will take it up with cricket’s governing body, an official told AFP on Thursday. India registered a five-run win in a rain-hit Adelaide match on Wednesday that went down to the last ball but destroyed Bangladesh’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals for the first time.

Later, vice-captain N Urul Hasan alleged that the on-field umpire had missed a “fake throw” by Kohli that could have tied the match. “We all saw it was a wet field,” Nurul said. “After all, when we talk about these things, there was also a fake throw. It could have been a five-run penalty. That too could have gone in our favor, but unfortunately that too could not happen.”

The incident happened in the seventh over of Bangladesh’s innings, moments before the rain stopped, when Liton Das played a delivery from Axar Patel towards the deep off-side field. As Arshdeep Singh threw the ball back, Kohli – standing on point – performed a throw as the ball whistled past him. A Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) official told AFP that the umpires did not act despite signals from Liton and non-strike batsman Najmul Hossain.

BCB’s head of cricket operations Jalal Younis told AFP that the International Cricket Council is scheduled to hold a board meeting in Melbourne next week during the tournament and Bangladesh will take up the matter. “Wherever we get a chance to discuss, we will discuss the issues,” he said. “It’s not a protest because there’s no use doing it now.”

Younis also said that Bangladesh’s chances in the match were curtailed by a slippery pitch after the resumption, which stalled the pace of the openers after Liton’s 21-ball half-century. The game resumed after a gap of 45 minutes and Bangladesh were given a revised target of 151 runs in 16 overs. After the stoppage, Liton slipped to score a second run on the second ball and then was run out for 60 runs off 27 balls. Bangladesh fell to 145/6 to admit a narrow defeat.

Originally published at Pen 18

SC approves timeline for IOA executive committee poll to be held on December 10

Originally published at Pen 18

dls: T20 World Cup: Pakistan beat South Africa by 33 runs under DLS method

Pakistan kept their semi-final hopes alive after beating South Africa by 33 runs in the DLS method in the T20 World Cup played in Sydney on Thursday. Chasing the revised target of 142 runs in 14 overs, South Africa could manage only 108 runs for nine wickets.

For South Africa, captain and opener Temba Bavuma scored 36 runs in 19 balls while Aiden Markram scored 20 runs.

Shaheen Shah Afridi was Pakistan’s most successful bowler with figures of 3/14 while Shadab Khan took two wickets.

Earlier, Pakistan scored 43 for four and scored 185 for nine.

Shadab Khan (52 off 22) and Iftikhar Ahmed (51 off 35) scored captivating half-centuries to help the team post challenging scores.

Brief Scores:

Pakistan 185/9 in 20 overs (Shadab Khan 52, Iftikhar Ahmed 51; Enrique Nortje 4/41).

South Africa: 108 for 9 in 14 overs (D/L method) (Temba Bavuma 36; Shaheen Shah Afridi 3/14).

Originally published at Pen 18