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West Indies aim to keep up rhythm as Italy look to end on a high
Regular skipper Wayne Madsen has missed the last two games due to an injury in the opening fixture and remains a doubtful starter for their last group game as well.
[Cricbuzz]
From their last completed game against Australia, Zimbabwe ought to bring Richard Ngarava back into the XI, with the left-arm seamer rested for that outing as a precautionary measure. Leggie Graeme Cremer could miss out, although the possibility of resting Blessing Muzarabani cannot be ruled out either, should Zimbabwe want an additional spinner.
[Cricbuzz]
Sahibzada Farhan settled his side’s nerves with a blazing unbeaten hundred, as Namibia were outgunned by 102 runs in Colombo to end any doubts about Pakistan’s progression to the T20 World Cup Super Eight. With 11 fours and four sixes, Farhan produced a perfect burst of acceleration against a toiling attack. His second fifty of his 57-ball century came from just 20 balls. And his eventual 100 not out from 58 balls would be more runs than Namibia managed (97) before being bowled out.
Needing a victory (or, at the very least, a washout) to keep the hopefuls of USA at bay, Pakistan produced the most comprehensive win of their campaign. It was sealed by their four-man spin cohort. Mohammad Nawaz led a mid-innings squeeze with 1 for 22 in his four overs, before Shadab Khan and Usman Tariq dovetailed for each of Namibia’s last seven wickets.
Shadab was the main character of their victory surge. He had earlier been pushed up to No. 5, ahead of Babar Azam, to help Farhan thrash 78 runs from the final six overs of their innings. He then followed up with 3 for 19, the last of them coming via a superb diving catch at square leg from Saim Ayub, off Zane Green, which spoke of Pakistan’s mounting confidence.
Shadab himself was also in the act with a smart catch at midwicket, to claim the first breakthrough of Tariq’s late entrance. Though he didn’t bowl until the 12th over, Tariq’s extraordinary repertoire of carrom balls and delayed-release leggies proved unfathomable to Namibia’s lower-order. Ruben Trumpelmann and Bernard Scholtz were both bowled through the gate by perfect googlies, before Willem Myburgh snicked off to a legbreak, to cap Tariq’s career-best figures of 4 for 16.
It wasn’t the perfect performance from Pakistan. In particular, their batting powerplay was a microcosm of their campaign: rarely convincing, yet still doing the needful in spite of some ugly moments. Ayub’s 14 from 12 balls comprised two leading edges and a flying nick for four past the keeper; Farhan’s first boundary came via a misfield in the covers, and his second to a similarly wild hack through deep third off Jack Brassell, moments after he had flung his bat through square leg while mistiming a cut through point.
But, by degrees, Pakistan settled into their work, emboldened by every over in which their under-performing middle-order was spared early exposure. Namibia rang in the changes, rotating through six options in their first eight overs. But it was their two bowlers serving up back-to-back overs who inadvertently released the mounting pressure.
Farhan found his range with back-to-back fours off Ruben Trumpelmann, including an unrepentant slog through midwicket, then took his new-found poise out on Willem Myburgh. The legspinner’s first over had gone for just five; his second realized three vast sixes, with Farhan contributing back-to-back slog-sweeps. Though he ended the same over in a heap, after jarring his knee during a drive, the shackles were officially off.
Farhan nudged the first ball of the 12th over through midwicket to bring up a 37-ball half-century. Twenty balls later, he did likewise to Gerhard Erasmus, to cavort through to his maiden T20I hundred. His was also the third of this year’s tournament, a new record.
In between whiles, his acceleration was violent and unrelenting, though it did not begin in earnest until the 15th over, when Trumpelmann’s slower balls were collared for back-to-back fours down the ground. That sounded the bugle charge. JJ Smit’s left-arm spin was then smoked for 17 runs, including two more fours and a baseball slug for six; and Brassell’s last was sent for 20, with Farhan marching into the 90s as he hoisted a slower ball over fine leg for his fourth six.
Salman Agha played a vital part in Pakistan’s uptick. His 38 from 23 balls included three fours and two sixes, as he helped propel his team to 107 for 1 after 12. He was livid with himself when he holed out to mid-off with his job far from done, and Khawaja Nafay’s five-ball stay meant Pakistan were soon in familiar danger at 118 for 3 in the 14th. But in came Shadab, with licence to swing his bat. He was only too eager to deliver.
Namibia needed ten an over from the outset, and they did give it a go in the powerplay. Faheem Ashraf was an unlikely candidate bowling the first over, with Shaheen Afridi paying the price for some leaky displays so far in the tournament – and consequently dropped. Ashraf’s introduction looked doubly sketchy when Louren Steenkamp picked his third-ball slower ball to pump him over the sightscreen.
Pakistan’s frailties were all too apparent in the same over. Nawaz dropped a sitter at deep midwicket off Jan Frylinck. Soon, at 32 for 0 after four, Namibia were putting up a decent challenge.Salman Mirza, however, switched ends to bowl Frylinck through the gate for 9, and when Jan Loftie-Eaton ruined his strong start by attempting a non-existent run to Agha at mid-off, the downturn was swift and decisive. Nawaz made amends for his catching by luring Steenkamp into a top-edged swipe for 23, and four balls later, Shadab snicked off the captain, Erasmus, with a big legbreak in his first over. The end would follow swiftly.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 199 for 3 in 20 overs (Sahibzadz Farhan 100*, Saim Ayub 14, Salman Agha 38, Shadab Khan 36*; Gerhard Erasmus 1-25, Jack Brassell 2-38) beat Namibia 97 in 17.3 overs (Louren Steenkamp 23, Alexander Busing Volschenk 20; Salman Mirza 1-11,Mohammad Nawaz 1-22, Usman Tariq 4-16, Shadab Khan 3-19) by 102 runs
[Cricinfo]
South Africa go to the Super Eight of the T20 World Cup undefeated after brushing UAE aside in Delhi by six wickets with 40 balls to spare. Corbin Bosch’s three-for and George Linde’s 1 for 17 stood out with the ball as South Africa rested Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj and Lungi Ngidi. Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton and Dewald Brevis all got fast starts in a chase that required just that ahead of potentially tougher tests.
UAE could not make a dent in their final game of the tournament. Alishan Sharafu top-scored with 45 in an innings where six of the eight batters on show scored 13 or fewer. Four of their bowlers took a wicket each but none threatened South Africa in a modest chase.
Muhammad Waseem’s intent was clear from the start when he drove Kwena Mapakha for four down the ground. He hit three boundaries off Kagiso Rabada to start the third over, making room and going down the ground twice and then helping one down to fine leg.
But when Waseem looked to take down spin in similar fashion, he missed a sweep off Linde and was pinned in front.
Sharafu couldn’t get going for large parts of his 38-ball 45. He was hit on the helmet twice and was dropped twice. He started well with an inside-out drive off Linde and carved Anrich Nortje over deep third, but he then went 17 balls without a boundary. He got three fours in his last ten balls before edging a cramped pull to midwicket.
On a tacky surface in Delhi, South Africa’s pacers worked out their lengths early and stuck to them well. According to ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball data, they bowled 46 balls on a short or short-of-good-length spot and conceded just 41 runs and took four wickets with those.
The death overs also had a lot of short balls, with some cutters thrown in, and UAE made just 20 runs and lost two wickets in that period.
Bosch bowled across all phases, took a three-for, and was the most economical bowler. He had Aryansh Sharma and Muhammad Arfan pull to midwicket, and got rising bounce to get Sohaib Khan nicking to the keeper.
Nortje conceded 18 in his first two overs but came back sharply with the wickets of Syed Haider and Sharafu in his back two, both of them with into-the-pitch balls that were pulled to fielders.
Linde had a great day in Maharaj’s absence too. He got Waseem, kept it slow, and often hit the length length to concede just one boundary in his four-over spell.
South Africa dropped four catches in UAE’s innings, it was a major blemish in an otherwise clinical performance for them.
It started with a regulation chance to Quinton de Kock off an Aryansh Sharma miscue. De Kock ran back but couldn’t get underneath the swirling ball and a late turn to the side didn’t help as the ball popped out.
Then there were three drops between the 15th and 17th overs. Nortje tried to relay a catch to Jason Smith, who couldn’t collect it. Sharafu survived again next over as Nortje ran in from deep third but couldn’t hold on to a low chance in front of him. Bosch dropped a regulation chance off Muhammad Arfan, running in from mid-off, and juggling a high catch to the ground.
A rain break between innings did not matter to South Africa’s top-order batters, who approached the chase with free-flowing batting that resulted in 11 fours and a six in a 56-run powerplay.
Markram hit five fours and a six in 11 balls. He was severe on Junaid Siddique, who bowled too straight, and Haider Ali, whom he hit both sides of the ground before missing a slog and losing his stumps.
Rickelton and de Kock kept South Africa rolling by punishing Siddique and Muhammad Jawadullah as they bowled short and wide. It did work as de Kock fell cutting to deep-backward point but by then the required rate was under five.
With the game in the bag, Brevis flayed and pulled Jawadullah before slapping Haider over extra cover for boundaries. Rickelton looked to finish in a hurry as he whacked two sixes off Muhammad Farooq before pulling to the fielder on the deep-midwicket boundary. Tristan Stubbs then belted a six and then top-edged a pull to mid-off with the game effectively over. It got over soon after.
Brief scores:
South Africa 123 for 4 in 13.2 overs (Aiden Markram 28, Quinton de Kock 14, Ryan Rickelton 30, Dewald Brevis 36; Haider Ali 1-33, Muhammad Jawadullah 1-20, Muhammad Arfan 1-16, Muhammad Farooq 1-19) beat UAE 122 for 6 in 20 overs (Aryansh Sharma 13, Muhammad Waseem 22, Alishan Sharafu 45, Muhammad Arfan 11; Corbin Bosch 3-12, Anrich Nortje 2-28, George Linde 1-17) by six wickets
[Cricinfo]
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