T20 World Cup

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South Africa 190 for 4 (van der Dussen 101*, Bavuma 46, Wasim 2-19, Afridi 2-30) beat Pakistan 186 for 6 (Fakhar 52, Asif 32, Rabada 3-28) by six wickets

A visibly tired Rassie van der Dussen pushed his limits and pulled off a stunning last-over win for South Africa in their warm-up game against Pakistan. South Africa needed 19 to win in the last over, bowled by Hasan Ali, and van der Dussen started the over off with a six, before returning to strike and hitting the last two balls for four to seal a win as well as complete a 51-ball century. At the other end was David Miller, who also hit a six in the last over as Hasan conceded 22.

van der Dussen was in as early as the third over, when Imad Wasim dismissed both openers and the chase looked tall. But on a good batting surface, he kept South Africa's scoring rate healthy as he put together a 107-run stand for the third wicket with captain Temba Bavuma, who struggled for rhythm during a 42-ball 46. But that partnership came only off 12 overs, despite Pakistan managing to bowl plenty of dot balls in the middle overs. That was down to van der Dussen's ability to find and clear the boundaries at regular intervals - in all, he hit ten fours and four sixes - and that eventually left South Africa enough wickets to go big at the end. They needed 74 from the last six overs, and Heinrich Klaasen played a part with an eight-ball 14 from No. 5.

Pakistan had the upper hand, with South Africa needing 47 off the last three, but 18 and 22-run overs on either side of Shaheen Afridi's ten-run 19th over proved costly.

Earlier in the evening, after winning the toss, South Africa opened the bowling with Keshav Maharaj and Kagiso Rabada, who kept the scoring down in the powerplay. Rabada managed to get Babar Azam cheaply with a yorker, while Anrich Nortje closed the powerplay off with Mohammad Rizwan's wicket.

But that was the only phase of the bowling innings that South Africa would manage to control, as Fakhar Zaman showed off the six-hitting ability that lifted him from the reserves into the main squad last week. Fakhar hit five sixes and two fours on his way to 52 off 28 balls before retiring out as Pakistan managed to score 120 off their last ten overs.

Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik batted at Nos. 4 and 5 respectively, with the former scrapping through a 14-ball 13, while the latter got deep in the innings before falling for 28 off 28 balls. It was Asif Ali, however, who turned the course at the end of the innings with a belligerent 32 off 18 from No. 6.

In all, Pakistan managed to hit 11 sixes as South Africa produced an average bowling display with the exception of Maharaj, Rabada and Lungi Ngidi. Tabraiz Shamsi bowled only four balls before sitting out the remainder of the match as a precaution due to a tight groin. South Africa's medical staff said he would be assessed overnight and steps will be taken as required.

 

[Trango Towers]

last over 19 run....

Hassan Ali needs a kicking . Every ball should have been an Umar Gull yorker

 

[Wood]

India seems to be good batting form in the practice game. The bowling was also okay except for Bhuvi.

But the game with Pakistan will depend on who has a better luck on D-Day!

 

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Rohit Sharma leads the charge as India finish T20 World Cup warm-ups with victory over Australia

Virat Kohli turned his arm over as India looked to explore bowling options

India 153 for 2 (Rohit 60, Rahul 39, Suryakumar 38*) beat Australia 152 for 5 (Smith 57, Maxwell 37, Stoinis 41*, Ashwin 2-8) by seven wickets

A rollicking fifty by Rohit Sharma led India to a comfortable nine-wicket win against Australia in both teams' second - and final - warm-up game ahead of their main T20 World Cup campaign. India's bowlers, led by R Ashwin's 2 for 8, had kept Australia to 152 for 5, and the batters then motored through the chase.

Rohit retired out after getting to 60 in 41 balls, leaving Suryakumar Yadav to apply the finishing touches to a chase that had been well set up by an opening stand of 68 between Rohit and KL Rahul.

Rohit had captained India in this game, with Virat Kohli sitting out of the batting innings, though he did play an active role in the first innings, being on the field and even bowling two overs.

India had Australia in early trouble after Aaron Finch had chosen to bat first, reducing them to 11 for 3 in the fourth over, striking with spin through Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. India had rested both Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami in this game, and turned to the spinners for half of the powerplay overs. Ashwin, sharing the new ball with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, made an immediate impact, having David Warner lbw for 1 and then Mitchell Marsh caught at slip next ball to rock Australia early.

An over later, Jadeja trapped Finch in front, and it was left to Steven Smith and Glenn Maxwell to rebuild. Maxwell was uninhibited despite the loss of wickets, playing his reverse hits whenever he saw an opportunity. The two had added 61 runs in 52 balls before Maxwell dragged on against Rahul Chahar.

Australia found a bit of a finishing kick via Marcus Stoinis, who stayed unbeaten on a 25-ball 41, while Smith also picked up his pace in the death overs, to drag the score beyond 150.

India used seven bowlers, but Hardik Pandya was not among them. However, with Kohli turning his arm over, it suggested India were looking at giving themselves bowling options.

India's chase was largely untroubled, Rahul reprising his attacking role and not reining himself in as he has done often in the IPL. He didn't always connect with his attempted big hits, but the intent was unmissable. He had three sixes, and was out trying to hit another to Adam Zampa for 39 off 31.

Rohit had started rapidly and then played anchor, but he sped up again once Rahul was out. He was on 28 off 25 when Rahul fell, and blasted 32 from his next 16 balls. He retired when 26 were needed in the last 30 balls, allowing Hardik to have a hit. Suryakumar stayed unbeaten on 38 off 27.

Ishan Kishan, the back-up opener, has also been in terrific form, but it seems likely he'll not be in the first XI. Suryakumar and Hardik getting time in the middle further pointed to them being part of the team's preferred starting XI.

Like India had done, Australia also used the warm-up game to allow overs under the belt for a variety of bowlers, using eight overall in 17.5 overs, though none of them posed any sustained threat. However, their key takeaway was Stoinis bowling two overs after recovering from an injury.

India had won their first warm-up match against England, while Australia had beaten New Zealand in their previous warm-up fixture.

Australia will open their T20 World Cup campaign against South Africa on October 23, while India will face Pakistan in their first game, on October 24.

 

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Hasaranga, Nissanka, Theekshana down Ireland to seal Sri Lanka's Super 12s spot

Ireland now face Namibia, and the winner will progress to the next round of the World Cup


Danyal Rasool

Sri Lanka march into the main draw with a very impressive victory

Sri Lanka 171 for 7 (Hasaranga 71, Nissanka 61, Little 4-23) beat Ireland 101 all out (Balbirnie 41, Theekshana 3-17) by 70 runs

For the second game in a row, Sri Lanka survived an early scare to record a commanding win. This time, Ireland were at the receiving end, Andrew Balbirnie's men thumped by 70 runs as Sri Lanka guaranteed safe passage to the Super 12s. A superb all-round performance by Wanindu Hasaranga, who smashed 71 off 40 balls and doubled with figures of 4-0-12-1, rescued his side from the perilous position of 8 for 3, first carrying them to 171 before helping skittle Ireland out for 101.

For Sri Lanka, this was a comprehensive performance, if not quite as complete as Mickey Arthur and the coaching staff will have wished for. The problems with the top order persist, though Hasaranga's knock - alongside a classy 47-ball 61 from Pathum Nissanka - will go some way towards alleviating concerns around the quality of Sri Lanka's batting. Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan fielding wasn't quite as clinical as a side at their level might demand, but against a lacklustre Ireland batting performance, it proved more than enough.

Ireland began to bleed wickets right from the outset of the chase, and the big innings they required from someone like Paul Stirling never materialised. Stirling and Kevin O'Brien both fell cheaply, and any resistance of not came from a 53-run fourth wicket partnership between skipper Balbirnie and Curtis Campher. However, with the asking rate rising, all they managed to do was rebuild, and once the stand was broken, Sri Lanka zipped through the last seven wickets for 16 runs.

Ireland will need to shake off the disappointment from a day that began so brightly for them, and turn their attention towards their final game this round, a knockout against the Namibia, with the victor joining Sri Lanka in the Super 12.

 

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FIRST ROUND GROUP A

TEAMS	M	W	L	N/R	PT	NRR	FOR	AGAINST
1 SL	2	2	0	0	4	3.165	271/33.3	197/40.0
2 IRE	2	1	1	0	2	-1.010	208/35.1	277/40.0
3 NAM	2	1	1	0	2	-1.163	262/39.0	264/33.3
4 NL	2	0	2	0	0	-1.240	270/40.0	273/34.1

FIRST ROUND GROUP B

TEAMS	M	W	L	N/R	PT	NRR	FOR	AGAINST
1 SCOT	2	2	0	0	4	0.575	305/40.0	282/40.0
2 OMAN	2	1	1	0	2	0.613	258/33.4	282/40.0
3 BAN	2	1	1	0	2	0.500	287/40.0	267/40.0
4 PNG	2	0	2	0	0	-1.867	277/40.0	296/33.4

 

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David Wiese smashes 66 against Netherlands to keep Namibia's Super 12 hopes alive

This was Namibia's highest-successful chase in T20Is and also their maiden win at a World Cup


Firdose Moonda


David Wiese - 'We would have never dreamed about playing, let alone winning a World Cup match'

Namibia 166 for 4 (Wiese 66*, Erasmus 32) beat Netherlands 164 for 4 (O'Dowd 70, Ackermann 35, Frylinck 2-36) by six wickets

Namibia completed their highest-successful chase in a T20I to keep their Super 12 hopes alive and put Netherlands on the brink of an early exit. The Dutch have now lost two group stage matches, have to beat Sri Lanka and hope Ireland win both their remaining games. Namibia, on the other hand, have their fate in their own hands after completing their maiden World Cup win in senior men's cricket.

After conceding 164 runs, a total which could have been lower after a fielding effort filled with fumbles, Namibia stumbled to 52 for 3 in the ninth over and were facing an uphill battle. But a 93-run fourth wicket stand between Namibian captain Gerhard Erasmus and David Wiese, which came in 8.3 overs, put Namibia on the brink of victory before Wiese and JJ Smit saw them home.

Wiese gets to his fifty with a six

South African of the match

There were several candidates to choose from in this fixture but this unique award has to go to Wiese. He turned Namibia's innings around with a vintage performance that involved clearing the rope five times, all in the 'V.' Wiese's first shot in anger came when he charged Roelof van der Merwe and hit the ball over his head for six, which put Namibia on 68 for 3 at the halfway stage, needing 97 runs off the last 10 overs. Namibia scored 52 runs off the next four overs, and Wiese was responsible for 37 of those. He brought up his first fifty for Namibia off 29 balls with a six over cover point and brought their required run-rate down to just over six runs an over in the last three overs, when they needed 19 runs. Wiese only faced one ball in the final over, and Smit hit the winning runs, but he set the victory up and finished on an unbeaten 66 off 40 balls. Wiese also took the Player of the Match award.

Bounced out, slowly

Pace off the ball is likely to become the phrase of the tournament, and if you need a visual, look no further than the first two wickets of the Dutch innings. Jan Frylinck delivered a slow-motion bouncer to Stephan Myburgh, who tried to upper-cut him over point, but was earlier on the stroke than he would have liked and lobbed it to Stephan Baard at point. Two overs later, Wiese bowled a short, wide, and slow delivery that van der Merwe tried to cut but ended up slashing high to Bernard Scholtz at third man.

Gerhard Erasmus and David Wiese shared a 93-run fourth-wicket partnership ICC via Getty

Max(imum) number of lives

Max O'Dowd brought up a second successive half-century at this tournament, this one laced with leg-side boundaries, but it was not without its fair share of luck. He survived four times against some sloppy Namibian fielding, which could have seen his innings end much earlier. O'Dowd could have been run out in the 11th, when he was on 38, and he pushed a Ruben Trumpelmann delivery to cover and set off for a single, but almost immediately realised it was the wrong decision. He gave up about three-quarters of the way down but the throw missed the stumps. Then, when he was on 46, he hit the ball to extra cover, took off and again realised he was too hasty. O'Dowd was ready to run back to the dug-out but the throw was inaccurate. He brought up his fifty six balls later with an inside-out drive over the covers.

O'Dowd entered the last five overs on 65 and sent an aerial shot in the direction of long-off, but the chance fell short. He added two more runs before he got a leading edge off JJ Smit. Baard ran in from the covers and got hands to it but could not hold on. O'Dowd had reached 70 by the last ball of the penultimate over and snuck two byes off a ball that struck him on the leg. He should have been run out at the wicket-keeper's end but the throw went to the bowler.

Eventually O'Dowd was run-out in the last over, chasing a second run but flagging in the heat. He became the first Dutch player to score back-to-back half-centuries at a World Cup.

 

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It's a virtual knockout - with calculators at the ready - as Scotland take on Oman in last league game

Oman, Bangladesh and Scotland are bunched so closely together on NRR that nothing is certain till all the games get over

Shashank Kishore

Two wins in two, but Scotland still need to make it three in three to be absolutely sure

Big picture

Imagine this: You beat a Full Member and fellow Associate in a four-team pool, and feel you have done enough. But then you are told you have to win the third game too. It's a reality Scotland are staring at. It could be frustrating for some, but Scotland are ready to embrace the pressures of a potential knockout.

They were looking good to carve out a big lead in terms of net run-rate when Papua New Guinea slumped to 35 for 5 in their chase of 166 on Tuesday. But in playing a blinder that gave Scotland the jitters, Norman Vanua also reduced PNG's margin of defeat to 17 runs, leaving Scotland, Oman and Bangladesh all bunched together.

Now, the only way Scotland can progress with two wins is if PNG upset Bangladesh, though that seems a task too steep, on the face of it. Oman, meanwhile, simply have to win by any margin to make it through.

Oman will ride on massive home support. Scotland will ride on form and familiarity of conditions, having trained and played in the country for close to six weeks now. There's also the added incentive for the winners: a direct entry into next year's T20 World Cup in Australia. Unfortunately for this tournament, only one of them might be left standing at the end of this. The good thing for the two teams, however, is that the Bangladesh vs PNG game will be over by the time they start.

Form guide

Scotland: WWLWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Oman: LWWLW

In the spotlight

Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer hasn't topped 17 in his last five innings, including the warm-ups. Against Bangladesh, he was out for a seven-ball duck, beaten on the outside edge. On Wednesday, PNG left-arm seamer Kabua Morea deceived him with an inswinger that beat his inside edge to crash into the stumps when he was on 6. But Scotland coach Shane Burger believes Coetzer is batting "unbelievably well" in the nets and it's just a matter of time before the tide turns.

Jatinder Singh is the main man when it comes to Oman's chances ICC via Getty

With scores of 73* and 40, Jatinder Singh has clearly towered over the rest of Oman's batting. Five years ago, Jatinder was part of Oman cricket history when they recorded their first-ever World Cup win, against Ireland. On Thursday, he can add another chapter to that history if he can help Oman get over the line and qualify for the Super 12s.

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

The warm up has some what exposed the obvious

> Pakistan can't hit 6's apart from 1 odd player
> Hafeez has failed 2 matches in row , scoring odd 4-10 runs also falling down the pecking order
> Pakistani Fast Bowlers are , Extinct no teeth

One point it was 40 runs needed in 17 balls or something like that , and they could not defend that with Dot Balls
The QUALITY is not there in Pakistani Fast Bowling


If Teams are allowed to replace player
> Kick out Hafeez bring in Iftikhar Ahmed he had a great T20 Domestic Tournament or Sharjeel in lower order

 

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PHOTO COURTESY: ICC


England all-rounder Liam Livingstone suffered a finger injury in Monday's warm-up match against India ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup, raising doubts over his availability for their opening game this weekend.

Livingstone left the field with the little finger on his left hand swollen after he dropped a catch at deep midwicket during England's seven-wicket defeat by India.

Livingstone was named in coach Chris Silverwood's squad for the World Cup as a replacement for Ben Stokes, who had taken an indefinite break from cricket to focus on his mental health while also recovering from a second operation on a broken finger.

England face New Zealand in their final warm-up match on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi before starting their World Cup campaign against defending champions West Indies in Dubai on Saturday.

 

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Fakhar Zaman top-scored with 52 runs

 

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Poll results:
Fans prefer Sharjeel, Amir in first-ever democratically selected Pakistan squad

Find out how the 15-man squad picked by fans differs from the one actually chosen by chief selector Mohammad Wasim.

Ahead of Pakistan's opening game of the T20 World Cup 2021, Dawn.com ran a series of polls asking its readers who they wanted picked in the 15-man squad led by Babar Azam.

The polls remained open for more than 48 hours as cricket fans scoured the national talent pool and picked the players of their choice across nine categories.

Keep in mind that Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Hafeez, Hasan Ali and Shaheen Shah Afridi were not up for selection, since they are automatic choices and would have made the squad no matter who drafted it.

Here is the democratically selected group of the remaining that the fans wanted in the squad:


Fakhar Zaman (opener 1)

Originally only picked among the reserves, the hard-hitting Fakhar Zaman was the overwhelming choice for the opening slot in Dawn.com's poll. He got 2,950 votes (86.71 per cent) and blew his competition — Imamul Haq, Shan Masood and Sahibzada Farhan (highest scorer in National T20 Cup) — out of water.

Sharjeel Khan (opener 2)

This here is another southpaw opener who is apparently a massive fan favourite, evident by him getting 2,337 votes (76.5pc) and dwarfing Ahmed Shahzad's haul of 383 votes (12.54pc). He makes this hypothetical squad but not the real one.

Haider Ali (middle-order batter)

Haider Ali has his consistency issues, but the fans still have his back — possibly due to the x-factor he brings to the table. For the middle-order slot, he got the most votes (1,929 or 66.75pc), while Asif Ali was a distant second (348 votes).
Surprisingly, Umar Akmal wasn't too far behind with 342 votes to his name. Also surprising was the fact that Khushdil Shah, who is still among the three reserves for the World Cup, got the least number of votes (115). Even Azam Khan ranked above him.

Sarfaraz Ahmed (second wicketkeeper)

Former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed also still has a massive fan following. He was the clear choice of the fans to serve as the understudy of Rizwan (automatic choice). The fans had no love for young gloveman Rohail Nazir, who got even fewer votes (218) than Kamran (424), who is 39 and last played for Pakistan in 2017.

Shoaib Malik (batting allrounder)

For the batting allrounder slot, Shoaib Malik (1,927) got some competition from National T20 Cup hero Iftikhar Ahmed (703) — but it wasn't enough; Malik got the public's nod.

Imad Wasim (bowling allrounder)

Between Imad Wasim and Shadab Khan, the fans preferred the former. Wasim got 1,112 votes compared to the 836 Shadab got. It is pertinent to mention here that both are already in the Pakistan squad and so is Mohammad Nawaz, who finished third in the polls with 836 votes.

Faheem Ashraf, whose stock has fallen significantly in recent months and who did not even make the reserves, is also not rated by the fans. He finished fourth with 300 votes. Surprisingly, though, the man who finished last in this poll — Mohammad Wasim Jr (just 186 votes) — is a member of the 15 picked by his namesake chief selector.

Usman Qadir (spin specialist)

If the fans had their way, Usman Qadir would be in contention for Sunday's Pakistan-India blockbuster. He's with the team but not expected to play as he's merely a reserve. But in the polls, he got 2,013 votes to Zahid Mahmood's 625 votes. To be honest, Mahmood's participation in this poll was purely academic. There was no way he was going to give Qadir any competition.

Shahnawaz Dahani (right-arm pacer)
Here is another surprise. Shahnawaz Dahani, who is only a reserve, got the fans' backing for the right-arm pacer slot. He got almost twice (1,307) as many votes as Haris Rauf (720) — a management favourite who leaked 33 runs in his uninspiring three overs in the defeat to South Africa on Wednesday in a warm-up game. Mohammad Hasnain finished third (242). Imran Khan, the recent National T20 Cup's highest wicket-taker, finished last, with just 126 folks voting for him.

Mohammad Amir (left-arm pacer)

Retired or not, Mohammad Amir still has his legion of fans intact. He got more than twice the number of votes (1,648) as Wahab Riaz's (727). Junaid Khan finished third with 218 votes and Sohail Tanvir fourth with a negligible tally.

This is what the Pakistan squad would have looked like, had fans been the selectors:

Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Sharjeel Khan, Haider Ali, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Usman Qadir, Hasan Ali, Shahnawaz Dahani, Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Shah Afridi


The actual Pakistan squad

Babar Azam, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Shoaib Malik, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf


Note: Shadab Khan finds a place in the fan-picked squad despite losing out to Imad Wasim by virtue of him getting the most number of votes among the losers.