Revision as of 20:58, 10 December 2020

S. Asia's progress in the tournament

Pakistan lost to the West Indies

Gaurav Gupta, June 1, 2019: The Times of India

Pakistan's lowest world cup totals, 1992-2019
From: Gaurav Gupta, June 1, 2019: The Times of India

Scoreboard- Pakistan vs. West Indies, World Cup- 2019
From: Gaurav Gupta, June 1, 2019: The Times of India

A WINDIES OF OLD, AND FAMILIAR PAK

Holder’s Men Make Intent Clear With Thumping Win; Boost NRR By Chasing Down 106 In Just 13.4 Overs

Nottingham:

Immy and Shameem had woken up at 4.30 am to catch the 6.30 am train from London to Nottingham. Outside the Trent Bridge, many other Pakistan fans joined them, having travelled on buses run by the ‘Shahid Afridi Foundation’. It was Pakistan’s opening match – against the West Indies – and the green brigade was buzzing with excitement.

The carnival atmosphere, which gave you a feel of being in Lahore or Karachi, didn’t last long though. At around 2 pm, when Nicholas Pooran smashed a monstrous hit off Wahab Riaz deep into the stands behind midwicket to finish the rout, hundreds of Pakistani supporters had already trooped out to catch the train to London.

On a rare fast bowling paradise, Pakistan’s bastmen had been outgunned by the rampaging West Indies pacers. A combination of terrible batting and some good oldfashioned fast bowling by the West Indians, saw Sarfaraz Ahmed & Co shot out for 105 in 21.4 overs. The whole innings lasted little more than a T20 innings.

Kicking off his ODI ‘farewell party’ in style, Chris Gayle (50) then ensured that the Caribbean charmers raced to the target in just 13.4 overs for a seven-wicket romp that gave a massive boost their net run rate too. The victory, though, came at a cost for the West Indies. Fielding at third man, Andre Russell, troubled by a bad knee since the IPL, collapsed on the boundary and had to be helped off the field. Worse, Gayle was hobbling around, struggling to even run singles due to a back condition which looked really bad. Both the superstars have a week to recover, before West Indies play their next game — against the Aussies.

The Pakistani fans had something to cheer as Mohammad Aamir, returning to the team after a bout of chickenpox, bagged all the three wickets to fall for them. Having suffered their sixth defeat in a row, Pakistan have plenty of soul-searching to do before they take on England.

Displaying horrendous technique against the short ball directed at their bodies after being put in by West Indies captain Jason Holder, batsman after batsman succumbed to the pace and bounce generated by Oshane Thomas (4 for 27), Jason Holder (3 for 42) and Andre Russell (two for four). None of the Pakistani batsmen showed the technique or the will to stay at the wicket and fight it out.

Unleashing a five-man pace attack, which reminded one of their simple, but devastating strategy during their golden era in the 1970s and 80s, West Indies came into the game with a clear gameplan — intimidate batsmen with consistent ‘chin music’. Perhaps, it was inspired by the success Jofra Archer got while bowling bouncers at the South African batsmen.

In fact, at 83 for nine, Pakistan looked in danger of embarrassingly being bowled out below 100, before a few lusty blows by tail-ender Wahab Riaz took them to the second lowest ODI total at this ground. The only consolation for Pakistan, in what has been a disastrous start to their campaign, is that during their triumphant march to the 1992 World Cup too, they lost their first game to the West Indies!

Having played a few magical knocks with the bat in recent times, Russell showed his prowess with the ball here. Generating speed in the high 140s, he began the West Indies’ assault by consuming the wickets of Fakhar Zaman, who was late while trying to hook a bouncer, as the ball hit the grille of his helmet before rolling on to the stumps. Harris Sohail ended up edging a quick delivery behind the stumps.

Like Zaman, Babar Azam played a poor stroke, nicking one off Thomas while fishing outside the stump at a time when Pakistan needed their best batsman to ride them out of the crisis.

Sri Lanka lost to New Zealand by 10 wickets

Gaurav Gupta, June 2, 2019: The Times of India

Scoreboard- Sri Lanka vs. New Zealand, World Cup- 2019
From: Gaurav Gupta, June 2, 2019: The Times of India

They came to cheer from all parts of the UK at the Sophia Gardens, but after their team slid to a humiliating 10-wicket defeat to New Zealand, Sri Lanka’s supporters made sure they booed their heroes out of the ground. All batsmen from south Asia, in fact, are in danger of being dismissed cheaply unless they improve drastically on the seamerfriendly tracks on offer.

Pakistan fell like a pack of cards, managing just 106 in 21.4 overs against the West Indies on a bouncy pitch in Nottingham on Friday. Sri Lanka fared slightly better on a grassy surface on Saturday, lasting for 29.2 overs before folding for 136.

It was then the turn of Kiwi openers Martin Guptill (73*; 51b, 6x4, 2x6) and Colin Munro (58*; 47b, 5x4, 1x6) to make merry and knock off the puny target in T20 style. It took the ultraaggressive openers just 16.1 overs to complete Lanka’s annihilation. If Pakistan lost the game by as many as 218 balls, the Lankans took only 14 deliveries less before it was time for the post-match press conference! Incidentally, the first three games in the World Cup have been heavily one-sided, which isn’t a good advertisement for the One-day game.

New Zealand enjoyed a flying start to their World Cup campaign, putting in a thoroughly clinical display with both bat and the ball. Winning a crucial toss on a green top, the Kiwi pacers ran riot right away. The charge was led by seamer Matt Henry, who picked up the first three wickets. Ironically, the seamer had experienced the other side of the spectrum only a few days ago at Bristol, just 40 miles from this venue, being hammered for 107 runs in nine overs by the belligerent West Indies batsmen in the Kiwis’ final warm-up game.

He struck off the second ball of the match as Lahiru Thirummane was trapped LBW playing across, with NZ skipper Kane Williamson successfully reviewing the call. Even as opener and skipper Dimuth Karunarathne fought the conditions and the Kiwi pace attack valiantly, carrying his bat through the innings with an unbeaten 52 (84b; 4x4), the others kept falling like nine pins, showing absolutely no application to play the moving ball in what was an extremely poor batting performance.

Kushal Perera counter-attacked for a while before an over-adventurous stroke off Henry saw him getting caught at mid on. Off the next ball, he had Jeev Mendis caught superbly by Martin Guptill, diving to his left from second slip. Dhananjay de Silva struck a four to deny Henry a hattrick, but then it was the turn of Lockie Ferguson to come to the party with three wickets.

Former skipper Angelo Mathews scratched around for nine balls and fell for a duck. Perhaps, they’d been better off picking the technically-equipped Dinesh Chandimal, and ’keeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella. Before launching into their first game, the Kiwis received a setback in the form of injuries to Tim Southee and Henry Nicholls. In a rare case, their pace ace Trent Bout had an off-day.

In comparison, Lanka’s leading pacer, Lasith Malinga, was smashed around for 46 runs in just five overs by Guptill and Munro, who raced away to this edition’s first hundred-run opening partnership. The Lankans must now somehow recover from this mauling before they play their next game against Afghanistan on June 7.

Australia beat Afghanistan

June 2, 2019: The Times of India

Scoreboard, Australia vs. Afghanistan, World Cup 2019
From: June 2, 2019: The Times of India

Warner gets Aussies off to winning start

Opener Hits Unbeaten 89 As Defending Champs Beat Afghans By 7 Wkts

Bristol:

Defending champions Australia were off to a winning start to their World Cup campaign with a seven-wicket win over less-fancied Afghanistan, but not before moments of frustration with the ball. Batting first, Afghanistan recovered from a disastrous start to post a brave total of 207 in Bristol.

During the chase, Australia enjoyed the perfect start, with David Warner, fresh off a succesful stint in the IPL and itching to prove a point on the big stage after his year-long ban, anchoring the innings with an unbeaten 114-ball 89. His partner Aaron Finch blazed his way to a 49-ball 66, with six fours and four sixes as the Aussies put on 96 for the first wicket, before eventually chasing down the target with 15.1 overs to spare. Steve Smith too got a feel of the conditions with an 18 as the Aussies ticked most of the boxes.

Earlier, Gulbadin Naib, captain of the rank outsiders, took the bold decision to bat in warm conditions in the southwest of England, hoping to amass a score his spin bowlers could defend on the small ground. But the decision backfired badly, with both openers departing for ducks as Afghanistan slipped to 5/2 in the second over and looked on course for a humiliation. Mohammad Shahzad was bowled by Mitchell Starc in the opening over of the match and Hazratullah Zazai quickly followed, caught behind by wicketkeeper Alex Carey off Pat Cummins.

With their team in deep trouble, Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi led a fightback for the minnows, playing in only their second World Cup, putting on a gritty 51 for the third wicket. Steve Smith denied Shah a World Cup fifty, taking a catch at short cover off the bowling of Zampa to send him back to the pavilion for 43 off 60 balls. In the next over, former skipper Smith dived to his left to stop a drive from Mohammad Nabi, returning the ball smartly to Carey, who whipped off the bails with the batsman stranded, leaving Afghanistan struggling at 77-5.

But Najibullah Zadran — ably assisted by his skipper — took the fight to his illustrious opponents, smashing 20 runs in four balls off Zampa, including successive sixes. The big hits brought the knots of Afghan supporters to their feet and a line of flag-waving fans ran along the front of one of the stands. Zadran brought up his 50 off 46 balls with an edge over the slips off a sharp Starc bouncer. But their momentum was slowed the next ball when Naib top-edged a short delivery form Marcus Stoinis and Carey completed the catch.

Just four balls later another Stoinis short ball dismissed Zadran, with Carey again taking the catch to reduce Afghanistan to 162-7. Rashid Khan smashed 20 in a Stoinis over to lift the spirits of the Afghan fans and another driven six off Zampa brought up the 200. But he was lbw to the next ball and the innings ended after 38.2 overs. AGENCIES

Bangladesh beat South Africa by 21-runs

Gaurav Gupta, June 3, 2019: The Times of India

Scoreboard, Bangladesh vs. South Africa, World Cup- 2019
From: Gaurav Gupta, June 3, 2019: The Times of India

The roar of the Bangla Tiger reverberated through The Oval on Sunday. Cheering their numerous fans here, Bangladesh downed an injury-hit South Africa by 21 runs in their opening match of the World Cup. While Bangladesh enjoyed a perfect start to their campaign, the Proteas, who lost their second match in a row, have plenty to sweat about ahead of their next match against India at Southampton on June 5.

To add to South Africa’s worries, their casualty ward had a new member. Fast bowler Lungi Ngidi. After bowling just four overs, he left the field due to a pulled hamstring and is ruled out of the clash against India on June 5. Veteran fast bowler Dale Steyn continued to stay out due to a shoulder injury.

Becoming the first Asian team to conquer the short ball with a superb counter-attack, Bangladesh came out all guns blazing to put up 330 for six — their highest World Cup score ever. After Soumya Sarkar provided the initial momentum with a strokefilled 42-run cameo (30b, 9x4), halfcenturies by Shakib Al Hassan (75, 84b, 8x4, 1x6) and Mushfiqur Rahim (78, 80b, 8x4), and a late flourish by Mahmudullah (46 not out, 33b, 3x4, 1x6) and Mosaddek Hossain (26, 20b, 4x4) helped Bangladesh to their sixth 300-plus total since the 2015 World Cup.

Chasing the biggest total ever to win a World Cup game, the Proteas, without the experience of Hashim Amla, who sat out after being hurt by a Jofra Archer bouncer in their first match, gave it a decent fight, but finished at 309 for eight. As many as five South Africa batsmen — skipper Faf du Plessis (62, 53b, 5x4, 1x6), Aiden Markram (45, 56b, 4x4), Rassie van der Dussen (41, 38b, 2x4, 1x6), David Miller (38, 43b, 2x4), who was picked for this game to replace Amla, and JP Duminy (45, 37b, 4x4) threatened for a while, but failed to capitalise on their starts.

A tragic run out of opener Quinton de Cock (23), who was involved in a bad mix up with Markram reflected the chaos in the South African ranks. The credit for that must also go to keeper Rahim, who, after dropping a chance that De Kock offered, recovered well to hit the stumps after rushing quickly towards the ball.

Bangladesh’s ace in the bowling pack — left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman took three wickets, while talented speedster Mohammad Saifuddin chipped in with two. Bangladesh’s spinners, Shakib and Mehidy Hasan Miraz were both economical and provided the crucial breakthroughs. With the required run rate mounting, Du Plessis went down track, but was foxed by the off spin of Miraz. Markram became Shakib’ 250th ODI victim as he lost his stumps while playing off the backfoot.

Earlier, after they were put in by South Africa in what didn’t seem like a wise decision in flat conditions, Sarkar inspired Bangladesh with a series of pulls and beautiful drives through cover and straight down the ground. The attacking left-hander added 60 for the first wicket in 50 balls with the unusually sedate Tamim Iqbal, who hung his bat outside his off stump, before edging behind to Andile Phehlukwayo.

After Sarkar was caught superbly by a diving Quinton de Kock top-edging a slow bouncer from Morris, Shakib and Mushfiqur took over, adding 142 at run-a-ball for the third wicket to raise hopes of a massive total. Ever since he moved to the No 3 position, Shakib is averaging around 50 — which tells you how much he loves batting there. The all-rounder cut and swept the spinners with aplomb.

Pakistan beat favourites England by 14 runs

Gaurav Gupta, June 4, 2019: The Times of India

Scoreboard, Pakistan vs. England, World Cup- 2019
From: Gaurav Gupta, June 4, 2019: The Times of India

Joe Root and Jos Buttler both scored centuries, and then towards the end Chris Woakes gave them a mighty scare. But nothing could deny a resurgent Pakistan, who turned the formbook upside down in a welldeserved, exciting 14-run victory over tournament favourites England at the Trent Bridge.

The scores of Pakistani fans in the stands here had every reason to be overjoyed. The hardfought victory ended Pakistan’s 12-game winless streak in ODIs. This was their first win in this World Cup.

Putting behind their horrific display against the West Indies at the same ground, Pakistan, living up to their reputation of being the most unpredictable team, pulverized England’s bowlers to score 348/8. With the cushion of a big score behind them, they then fought hard to restrict the fancied hosts to 334/9.

Pakistan, who had just been thrashed 4-0 by England in the ODI just before the World Cup, bonced back like only they can. They will now take on Sri Lanka.

Slamming brilliant hundreds, Root and Buttler rescued their team from a precarious 118/4 with a 130-run fifth-wicket alliance off just 105 balls. As long as the duo was around, Pakistan couldn’t breathe easy.

However, just as the final corner of England’s mammoth chase arrived, both were dismissed in identical fashion, cutting to short third man. It meant Pakistan, who had let off Root when he was on just nine —didn’t regret the drop. Earlier, it was amazing to see the same Pakistani batsmen who surrendered so meekly to a barrage of short-pitched deliveries on Friday, looking unstoppable.

With four 300-plus totals in this World Cup in two days, one can finally say that the bat is finally beginning to dominate the ball Pakistan’s left-handed opening pair of Imam-ul-Haq (44; 58b, 3x4, 1x6) and Fakhar Zaman (36, 40b, 6x4) got them off to a rollicking 82-run start in 85 balls. Babar Azam, Hafeez and skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed (55, 44b, 5x4) too delivered the goods.

The hosts had looked clinical while thrashing South Africa in the first game, but dished out perhaps their worst fielding display in a long, long time to make things tough for their bowlers on a flat wicket.

Their fielding woes started in the first over itself, with skipper Eoin Morgan allowing a ball to go through him at cover. Morgan later wasted a run-out opportunity by throwing down the stumps at the wrong end, but the comedy of errors reached its peak when Jason Roy, normally a tiger in the field, dropped the simplest of chances at long off, reprieving Mohammad Hafeez, who was batting on 14 then, in the 25th over, with Adil Rashid being the unlucky bowler.

Hafeez went on to smash what could be a game-defining 84 (62b, 8x4, 2x6). On another occasion, Joe Root’s wild throw resulted in the ball speeding to the boundary. It looked like the Englishmen had dipped their fingers in butter during breakfast!

Sri Lanka beat Afghans by 34 runs

Gaurav Gupta, June 5, 2019: The Times of India

Scoreboard, Sri Lanka vs. Afghanistan, World Cup- 2019
From: Gaurav Gupta, June 5, 2019: The Times of India

Fired by a career-best effort by seamer Nuwan Pradeep (4-31) and a potent effort by Lasith Malinga (3-39), Sri Lanka rallied superbly with the ball after putting up another horrible display with the bat to pip Afghanistan by 34 runs in an exciting, low-scoring game at the Sophia Gardens on Tuesday.

Defending a revised target of 187 in 41 overs after rain stopped play for close to three hours, the Lankans, bowling with fire and purpose, reduced Afghanistan to 57 for five, before they fought back through a 64-run stand for the sixth wicket in 67 balls between Najibullah Zadran (43, 56b, 6x4) and skipper Gulbadin Naib (23, 32b, 2x4). However, once Naib was trapped lbw by Pradeep in a marginal call , the Afghans suffered another collapse, losing their last five wickets for 31 runs to fold for 152 in just 32.4 overs. A couple of superb fielding efforts — opener Hazratullah Zazai (30, 25b, 3x4, 1x6) was caught brilliantly at fine leg by Thissara Perera off Pradeep, while Najibullah was run out after a direct hit by skipper Dimuth Karunaratne, also helped the Lankans to record their first win in the tournament, and bounce back from the ten-wicket mauling against New Zealand at the same venue a few days back.

Meanwhile, it was Afghanistan’s second loss on the trot.

Earlier, Lanka were tottering at 182/8 in just 33 overs against the ever-improving Afghanistan when the rains came to their rescue. However, after a long break, the weather relented, reducing the match to 41 overs a side. A few days back, in their first game against New Zealand at the same venue, it had taken the Lankans just 29.2 overs to be bowled out for 136, before they were trounced by 10 wickets. Clearly, their steep decline, following the retirement of some great players — and combining with some ugly off-field problems with curators and former players being charged with corruption — is on full display here in England. On the other hand, extremely wayward initially, Afghanistan were buoyed by the off-spin of Nabi, whose triple-wicket over triggered the Lankan collapse.

On another gloomy day here, things actually started off on a bright note for the Lankans. After Afghanistan put them in, Kusal Perera (78; 81b, 8x4), one of the very few talented players their supply line is producing now, thrashed the bowlers to all parts of the ground, adding 92 for the first wicket in 79 balls with skipper Dimuth Karunaratne (30; 45b, 3x4).

Till that point, Afghanistan were bowling all over the place. In fact, with their pacers, particularly Hamid Hassan, struggling to control the swing and the line, they bowled as many as 22 wides, besides three no- balls, which resulted in the extras emerging as the next highest run-scorer with 35.

Then, with Lanka coasting at 144 for one in the 22nd over, Mohammad Nabi happened. Bowling with a lovely loop and getting his deliveries to spin just a bit, the off-spinner took three sticks in in one over to completely change the course of the game.

Thankfully, for Lanka, their bowlers too delivered.

India beat South Africa

Shashank Shekhar, June 6, 2019: The Times of India

Scoreboard, India vs. South Africa, World Cup- 2019
From: Shashank Shekhar, June 6, 2019: The Times of India

The legend of Rohit Sharma has largely been built on big hundreds, and the three double tons he has conjured up in ODIs. Most of these daddy knocks have come in the first innings. It’s easy to forget Sharma has an impressive second innings record too — 4448 runs in 119 innings at 46.33 with 10 tons (before Wednesday’s game).

Sharma answered the call of duty with an innings subdued by his standards but worth its weight in gold, giving India a winning start, by five wickets, in the 2019 World Cup at the Hampshire Bowl. The target set by South Africa was 228 only but it was still tricky in overcast conditions where strokeplay was fraught with danger. Sharma weathered the early storm when Kagiso Rabada tested every Indian batsman he bowled to with pace and fire, before opening up and playing some delectable shots. In between, he also adeptly dealt with the other dangerman — Imran Tahir.

A stroke of luck came his way when he was at 107 — David Miller spilled the simplest of chances off the unlucky Rabada. Sharma’s wicket would have given South Africa a whiff of a chance as India still needed 35 at this juncture. But with the drop went their hopes.

South Africa needed to win this game to stay alive in the competition and after a shoddy batting show, tried valiantly to make up with disciplined bowling and spirited fielding. But the target was too small and with Sharma dropping anchor, their fate was sealed.

Sharma finished at an unbeaten 122 (144 balls, 13x4, 2x6) as India chased down the target in 47.3 overs. The crucial third-wcket stand of 85 runs between Sharma and K L Rahul kept India in the chase after the fall of skipper Kohli. Then, the fourthwicket stand between Sharma and MS Dhoni, worth 74, almost took them home. Dhoni could hardly time the ball during his 46-ball stay but ensured there were no hiccups.

Earlier, Indian bowlers ticked most boxes as they restricted South Africa to 227 for nine. After South Africa made a somewhat surprising decision of batting first after winning the toss in overcast conditions, the innings moved in fits and starts. In the prevailing conditions, one expected the pacers to call the shots but it was leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal who took the bowling honours with figures of 10-0-51-4. After Jasprit Bumrah had given the team a headstart by removing the two openers, Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock, Chahal got into the act and made sure there was no mid-innings resurgence by wrecking the middle order.

Introduced in the 18th over, Chahal struck two crucial blows in his second over. His first scalp broke a promising stand between captain Faf du Plessis and van der Dussen when the latter tried an ambitious sweep, played all over the ball which drifted away from him and spun in to hit the stumps. In the same over, du Plessis played outside the line of a slider and lost his middle stump.

At 80 for four in 20 overs, South Africa, who desperately needed to win to stay alive, were in a spot. Soon, they lost JP Duminy too and it seemed a catastrophe was round the corner. Thankfully, a late rally by Andile Phehlukwayo (34), Chris Morris (42) and Kagiso Rabada (31 not out) took them beyond 200.

While Chahal topped the bowling charts with the second-best haul by an Indian bowler on World Cup debut, it was Bumrah who had the audience in thrall and the batsmen in trouble with a menacing opening spell of 5-0-13-2. A wicked delivery took the edge of Amla’s bat and flew to Rohit at second slip. Bumrah then got rid of his Mumbai Indians teammate de Kock who, having been put under intense pressure by Bumrah, tried an airy-fairy cover drive but only managed to send it Virat Kohli’s way at third slip.

New Zealand beat Bangladesh

June 5, 2019: BBC

New Zealand secured their second World Cup win in a row with a nervy two-wicket win over a spirited Bangladesh in a thriller at The Oval.

During a shaky start as they chased 245 to win, Kiwi captain Kane Williamson should have been run out for eight, but wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim broke the stumps before gathering the ball.

Williamson (40) and Ross Taylor took advantage to guide their side to 160-2, only to slip to 191-5 once Taylor departed for 82.

Bangladesh were buzzing in front of their fervent fans and struck twice in quick succession to remove Jimmy Neesham and Colin de Grandhomme and leave New Zealand 218-7, needing 27 from 39 balls.

Matt Henry was bowled by Mohammad Saifuddin with seven required but Lockie Ferguson edged for four and Mitchell Santner (17 not out) drove to the boundary to guide his side home with 17 balls to spare.

Earlier, the Black Caps' superb bowling attack, led by Henry (4-47), took regular wickets to dismiss Bangladesh for 244 in 49.2 overs despite Shakib Al Hasan hitting 64 and several other batsmen making starts.

Had the New Zealand bowlers not done such a fine restricting job, Bangladesh would likely have completed a superb fightback. Victory takes New Zealand to the top of the table as the only team so far to win both their matches. They face Afghanistan at Taunton, when Bangladesh take on England at Cardiff.

Tigers can't capitalise on Kiwi nerves

New Zealand had two distinctly jittery spells during their chase but ultimately fine margins and a few errors denied Bangladesh.

After openers Martin Guptill and Colin Munro were caught off Shakib, Williamson and Taylor - despite all their experience - were poor running between the wickets and should have left their side in deeper trouble.

A mix-up saw Williamson caught well short of his ground as Tamim Iqbal threw to the keeper's end but Mushfiqur dislodged the bails with his elbow while trying to gather, despite the ball being on course to hit the stumps.

With Williamson accumulating steadily and Taylor reaching 50 off 40 balls, Bangladesh's chance looked to have gone.

But Williamson chipped a rare attacking shot to mid-wicket before wicketkeeper Tom Latham fell for a duck, dropping his head even before Mehedi Hasan took a fine diving catch at deep mid-wicket. Bangladesh dried up Taylor's runs before he edged Mosaddek Hossain down the leg side to Mushfiqur and stayed alert even when De Grandhomme and Neesham, who survived a close run-out call, started to find the fence.

De Grandhomme's ramp shot was brilliantly caught one-handed above his head by Mushfiqur and Neesham chipped straight to long-on.

But a few edges that evaded fielders, two wides from Saifuddin after he bowled Henry and Santner's sublime winning cover drive were enough for New Zealand to squeak home.

New Zealand bowlers continue to impress

After dismantling Sri Lanka in their opening game, New Zealand's bowlers again showed why they will test every team in this tournament by putting Bangladesh under near-constant pressure on a good pitch for batting. Bangladesh scored 69 runs between overs 20 and 30 - despite seeing key man Mushfiqur run out after a mix-up with Shakib - but added only 37 for the loss of two wickets between the 30th and 40th over to stall the innings.

Slow left-armer Santner was pivotal, conceding only 41 runs off 10 overs and also removing the dangerous Mahmudullah, who miscued to extra cover.

Henry exploited the pressure with four wickets, taking his tournament tally to seven, including two in as many balls as he had Mashrafe Mortaza caught at third man and bowled Saifuddin to end the innings.

Ferguson (1-40) reached 90mph with a testing mix of yorkers and short balls, Trent Boult (2-42) returned superbly at the death to dismiss Mosaddek and Mehedi and De Grandhomme's accuracy saw Shakib caught behind.

New Zealand were again excellent in the field and still have opening bowler Tim Southee to return from injury, suggesting it will be tough for sides to post big targets if batting first against the Black Caps.

== NZ beat Afghanistan==
 Neesham, Kane shine as NZ beat Afghanistan

England beat Bangladesh

England beat Bangladesh by 106 runs

India beat Australia by 36 runs

Shashank Shekhar, June 10, 2019: The Times of India

Scoreboard, India vs Australia, World Cup- 2019
From: Shashank Shekhar, June 10, 2019: The Times of India

See graphic:

India beat Australia by 36 runs: highlights

HIGH AND MIGHTY AT OVAL

Dhawan Century Sets Tone For Convincing India Win Over Old Rivals Oz

London:

The Indian batting machine roared in unison to put the Australian attack under the cosh and assemble a mammoth total at the Oval. Egged on by a very Indian full house on Sunday, and led by a polished century by Shikhar Dhawan, India paced the 50 overs perfectly to finish at 352 for five after electing to bat first on what was, for a change in this part of the world, a sunny morning.

Australia tried a valiant chase but fell short by 36 runs, being bowled out for 316 in 50 overs.

India, who have now won two out of two, and with New Zealand, is the only unbeaten teams in the World Cup so far. It was an immaculate team batting performance on a friendly track where the openers building the foundation of a big total, one of them going on to score an impactful hundred, the captain controlling the middle overs as he does for his bread and butter and finally, the power hitters getting into the act with some lusty hitting towards the end.

Openers Dhawan and Rohit Sharma gave respect to the two classy pacers – Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins – in the initial overs. But with their eyes set and the bowling becoming friendlier with the introduction of Nathan Coulter-Nile and Marcus Stoinis, the Indians upped the ante and began finding the gaps and the boundaries.

The critical moment of the innings came in Starc’s first over itself when Sharma, on two, flicked him in the air but Coulter-Nile failed to latch on to a difficult chance at square leg. An early wicket would probably have changed the course of the innings.

India were professional to make good the reprieve, slowly taking control of the innings. The initiative was taken by Dhawan who showed his intent by giving the change to Coulter-Nile and muscling him for a straight four. Two gorgeous cuts in the same over by Dhawan meant Coulter-Nile had given away 14 in his first over.

Despite dismissing Sharma (57) who was caught behind off Coulter-Nile, there was no respite for the Aussies as captain Virat Kohli joined Dhawan in another profitable partnership worth 93 off 89 balls. The good thing about this stand was that while the boundaries kept coming, singles and twos were never ignored.

After Dhawan’s departure for 117, India sprang a surprise by sending in Hardik Pandya at No. 4. Pandya enjoyed an immediate stroke of luck when on the first ball he faced, wicketkeeper Alex Carey dropped him off Coulter-Nile. Pandya made the Aussies pay with a belligerent 48 off just 27 balls even as Kohli continued to accumulate runs at the other end at his own pace. It was the Virat-Hardik tango – 81 off 55 balls -- which completely deflated the opponents. After Hardik, it was MS Dhoni’s turn to contribute 27 quick runs to the kitty.

Virat (82), who enjoyed the mayhem his colleagues were wreaking on the Australian attacks from the other end, stayed till the very end, getting dismissed in the final over.

At the 25-over mark, India were 136 for one. They added a whopping 216 in the next 25.

The Aussies reply was bogged down initially by David Warner’s diffidence which put extra pressure on captain Aaron Finch. Later, Steve Smith (69) and Usman Khawaja (42) threatened to make a match of it. But with the asking rate mounting, Khawaja tried to paddle Jasprit Bumrah around but instead got bowled.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar then virtually settled the issue in his seventh over, 40th of the innings, by dismissing both Smith and Marcus Stoinis. Big-hitter Maxwell perished to Yuzvendra Chahal to further push back Australia. Carey (55 off 35) conjured up some late fight but too much was being asked of him at that juncture of the innings.

Australia beat Pakistan

Australia beat Pakistan by 41 runs

India, NZ share points after washout

India’s third World Cup game—against New Zealand—was called off without a ball being bowled 


South Africa beat Afghanistan

South Africa beat Afghanistan by 9 wickets

Australia beat Sri Lanka

June 16, 2019: The Times of India

Sri Lanka vs Australia, ICC World Cup: Finch's 153 sets up Australia's 87-run win over Sri Lanka

LONDON: Skipper Aaron Finch stroked his way to a majestic century as defending champions Australia inched closer to the semifinal berth with a crushing 87-run win over Sri Lanka in their World Cup fixture.

Finch forged two crucial partnerships -- 80 with his opening partner David Warner (26) and 173 with Steve Smith (73 off 59) for the third wicket -- in his 132-ball 153 knock. It was his 14th ODI hundred which was laced with 15 fours and five sixes, two of them gigantic.

Glenn Maxwell then provided the late charge with an unbeaten 25-ball 46 as Australia posted a challenging 334 for 7.

Chasing the total, Sri Lanka were 115 for no loss at one stage but they squandered the superb start to be eventually dismissed for 247 in 45.5 overs.

Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne (97) was the top-scorer for Sri Lanka, while his opening partner Kusal Perera (52) also scored a fifty.

Mitchell Starc took four wickets, while Kane Richardson claimed three and Pat Cummins scalped two.

This is Australia's fourth win in five matches, having beaten Afghanistan, the West Indies and Pakistan while losing to India in the 10-team tournament.

Sri Lanka, who came into the match with one win from four games after their previous two matches were washed out, are however running out of time after suffering their second defeat.

Sri Lanka were off to a flying start to their run chase with Karunaratne and Perera helping the team post 87 for zero in 10 overs, the highest total in the powerplay in the tournament so far.

The Island nation scored 100 in 12.4 overs before Mitchell Starc produced a breakthrough, cleaning up Perera in the 16th over.

Lahiru Thirimanne (16), who survived a couple of run-out chances, brought up the team’s 150 with a square drive but he was caught behind in the next ball by Jason Behrendorff as Sri Lanka slipped to 153 for 2.

Runs dried up after that as Australia tightened the screws. With pressure mounting, Karunaratne ended up giving a straight catch to Maxwell at gully, just three runs short of his hundred.

Two quick wickets next saw Sri Lanka further slump to 209 for five and they never recovered after that.

Earlier, Finch played some exquisite shots to keep the runs flowing even as his opening partner Warner found the going tough.

Nuwan Pradeep was first in the firing line as he was hit for two fours by Finch.

The Australia skipper then blasted Lasith Malinga for a couple of fours in the seventh over before welcoming Thisara Perera with successive boundaries as Australia scored 53 in the first powerplay.

In the 17th over, Dhananjaya de Silva cleaned up Warner when he tried to make room for himself to play a cut shot.

Finch and Usman Khawaja (10) took Australia to hundred in 23rd over but the left-handed batsman perished soon after his sweep shot was caught by Isuru Udana at deep midwicket.

Smith then joined hands with Finch, who exploded in the 29th over, smashing de Silva out of the park twice besides a boundary to amass 20 runs off the over.

Smith too dealt in boundaries as the duo brought up the 200 in 35.3 overs.

The former skipper completed his fifty in 46 balls, while Finch smashed Perera over deep square for his fifth six of the innings.

Finch and Smith carted Perera for 18 runs in the 41st over with each smashing a couple of fours. Smith then deposited Malinga over deep mid-wicket in the next over.

Udana finally broke the partnership when he had Finch caught at cover by Karunaratne off a slower delivery as Australia slipped to 273 for 3 in 42.4 overs.

Malinga then dismissed Smith with a cracking yorker in the next over, while Udana showed great athleticism to run out Alex Carey and Pat Cummins to stem the run flow.

India beat Pakistan

India beat Pakistan by 89 runs
From: June 17, 2019: The Times of India

See graphic, ' India beat Pakistan by 89 runs '

Shashank Shekhar, June 17, 2019: The Times of India

Scoreboard, India vs. Pakistan, World Cup- 2019
From: Shashank Shekhar, June 17, 2019: The Times of India

ANOTHER WORLD CUP, SAME OLD STORY

India Make It 7-0 Against A Mediocre Pakistan Who Falter Chasing A Daunting Target Set Up By Rohit Ton

Manchester:

7-0! The latest one came with an emphatic statement, inside a stadium rocking with delirious Indian fans here on Sunday. Rohit Sharma’s masterclass shone through the rain-interrupted clash as India outplayed Pakistan yet again in a World Cup game, storming to a 89-run win (DLS method) to keep their fine run in the World Cup going. Pakistan’s search of their maiden World Cup victory over their arch-rivals continues.

After India put up a mammoth 336/5 batting first, Pakistan’s reply was stymied by a lack of intent and a disciplined, unyielding performance in the field by the Men in Blue. After a limp start – Pakistan’s score of 38/0 after 10 overs is the lowest powerplay total in this World Cup so far — Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam looked like taking the fight to India in a stand worth 104. But a slump where the team lost four wickets for 12 runs made it a no contest.

A light drizzle at around 6 pm stopped play for a while. When it resumed about 40 minutes later, Pakistan needed an impossible 136 off 30 balls by the D/L equation.

On the day, India were the superior team, by a mile, in every department of the game. While batting, India did not let Shikhar Dhawan’s absence deter them with KL Rahul filling up more than adequately. Then, they made light of Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s sudden departure from the field after bowling only 2.4. Kumar seemed to have pulled his hamstring and took no further part in the game. It was difficult to say who shone the brightest at the Old Trofford on Sunday – the sun which made a much-needed and welcome appearance or Rohit Sharma’s strokeplay which enlivened this historic venue with its silken grace. Answering fervent prayers of millions of fans, weather improved magically to let cricket and a result happen. Sharma complemented the altruism of the weather gods with an innings of sparkling brilliance to give India wings in the high-pressure game.

India had to guard against losing early wickets and opener Sharma and Rahul were equal to the task. They were helped by the fact that there was little movement for the seamers to exploit despite the overcast conditions.

Mohammad Amir, expected to lead Pakistan’s attack, failed to make any dent in his first spell of 4-1-8-0. He bowled too short and wide to be effective. Hasan Ali was treated harshly by Sharma as he gave away 26 in his first three overs. Soon, the sun was out and with that came out Sharma’s strokes.

The opener, who now has two hundreds in this World Cup, gloriously pulled Ali for his first six in the sixth over of the innings to set the tone for what followed.

He did survive two run out chances. The first reprieve came when he was on 32 as Fakhar Zaman threw at the wrong end with the batsman halfway down the track while attempting a second run. In the next over, Shadab Khan’s poor throw allowed him to make his ground at the striker’s end. Sharma made Pakistan pay heavily, reaching his 50 off 34 balls and his century off 85.

Rohit revived the memory of Sachin Tendulkar’s slashed six off Shoaib Akhtar in the 2003 World Cup by cutting Ali over point boundary in similar fashion.

The opening partnership of 136, India’s best against Pakistan in the World Cup, gave the team a solid foundation. Skipper Kohli, a bit scrappy to begin with, soon got his legendary prowess going and his 77 (65 balls, 4x7) made sure that there was no let-up in the pressure Indian batsmen exercised over Pakistan.