Game One Bangladesh 140/8 v 100/2 Australia Australia WIN
Two of the Bangladesh team got to the 40 mark and with such starts you could expect other batters to pitch in and produce a score near 180. Only two others reached double figures, and neither of them as much as twenty. Six batters out in single figures and two of them for ducks is why the score was only 140.
In amongst the wickets was Pat Cummins who took 3 for 29 in his 4 overs. Those three were a broken hat-trick. That is they were taken with consecutive balls, but two of them were balls 5 and 6 of the eighteenth over, and ball 1 of the twentieth over. Hat-tricks are rare events in all forms of cricket, and this is only the second to happen in a T20 World Cup game. In one of those quirks of synchronicity the other one was by Bret Lee, also Australian, against Bangladesh.
With a low target to achieve, but a threat of rain to interrupt the match, Australia got after the required runs with some alacrity. By the time rain did arrive in the twelfth over the score was 100/2 with David warner on a fine 54 from 35.
Unfortunately the rain persisted and no more play was possible. This meant the Duckworth-Lewis-Stearn calculation was made to find a par score for Australia to be on. They were 28 runs ahead of what they required on the DLS, and won the match.
Game Two South Africa 163/6 v 156/6 England South Africa WIN
When South Africa were 63/0 at the end of the power play they must have felt the game was well in hand. Even when the first wicket fell towards the end of the tenth over at 86/1 it must have felt like the basis for a total which would be all but insurmountable.
With De Kock being second man out in the 13th over, after scoring 65 from 38 balls, it possibly brought some nerves out. That along with some tight England bowling calmed things down. Topley and Rashid bowled 8 overs for 43 runs. ANd when Archer took two wickets in the final over England will have considered the target well within their scope.
But England could never quite get in the groove. Even when, in the seventeenth over, they climbed above the required run rate, there was a lack of fluency about their batting which resulted a need to push a little too hard. With 14 needed off the last over Nortje took a wicket and restricted the current champions to only 5 runs.
With USA to come England will still be confident of progressing, but South Africa face the West Indies with the upper hand.
| Teams | 4's | 6's | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh v Australia | 19 | 9 | 28 |
| South Africa v England | 26 | 9 | 35 |
| Tournament | 629 | 339 | 968 |
Tomorrow it's USA v West Indies and India v Bangladesh. The results should be guessable, but that doesn't mean the games will be any less intriguing to follow.
Check back for reviews & updated boundary totals.
text by stuartcturnbull. graphic by Mir Rammez Raja & edited by stuartcturnbull via postermywall