ICC World Twenty 20: Day 13 Round Up

Kiwis knocked out  via Super over

1/10/12- West Indies 139 all out 19.2 overs (Southee 3-21) beat New Zealand 139-7 20 overs (Taylor 62*, Narine 3-20) via a Super Over @ Pallakele

New Zealand have been knocked out of the ICC World Twenty 20, after West Indies beat them in a super over.

Ross Taylor won the toss for New Zealand and stuck West Indies in to bat. It looked to be an inspired decision on a usually good Pallakele batting pitch, as Charles and Russell were dismissed early, and Gayle was stopped mid flow for a 14 ball 30. Samuels and Pollard added some impetus to the innings, but 3 wickets apiece for Bracewell and Southee helped bowl West Indies out for 139 in the final over.

New Zealand knew that to have a chance of qualifying for the Semi Finals, they would have to reach the 140 target in 19.4 overs or fewer. However, they lost 3 early wickets including Brendon McCullum, to put them on the back foot. The skipper and James Franklin led the recovery for the Kiwis, and even though Franklin and Oram were dismissed in quick fashion, Taylor was at his fluent best. His half century came up off just 33 balls, and he was taking his side to victory. But a tight penultimate over from Narine meant New Zealand needed 14 off the final over. They could only get 13, which meant a super over was to come.

Thanks to Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum, New Zealand scored 17 off their solitary over, but Tim Southee bowled a dreadful over, as West Indies won with 1 ball remaining.

A dramatic game and yet another Super over loss for New Zealand, who are now out of the competition. The West Indies would have to rely on Sri Lanka beating England to qualify for the Semi Finals.

Man of the Match: Sunil Narine for his 3-20. Enhancing his reputation with every game he plays, and his last over ultimately kept his side in the game.

Malinga sends England home

1/10/12- Sri Lanka 169-6 20 overs (Jaywardene 42, Broad 3-32) beat England 147 all out overs (Patel 67, Malinga 5-31) by 19 runs @ Pallakele

Sri Lanka have beaten England by 19 runs in Pallakele, and therefore knocking the champions out of the tournament.

Stuart Broad won the toss and he chose to field first. Steven Finn managed to get the dangerous Dilshan before he could really get going, but Sri Lanka looked to post a good total. The experienced pair of Jayawardene and Sangakarra did well, before Swann had them both out in consecutive deliveries. Broad also had two in two, but thanks to some late big hitting from Perera, they posted an over par 168-6 off their 20 overs.

England needed a victory to progress, but had the worst possible start, when they lost Wright, Hales and Bairstow in the space of 4 deliveries from Lasith Malinga. Samit Patel, recalled to the side, played without doubt the best innings he has played in an international T20, as he was playing the spin of Mendis quite comfortably. However, the game was all but up when Morgan was out, followed by the woefully out of form Ravi Bopara. Patel did reach his half century off 37 balls and he and Graeme Swann put on a 50 partnership for the 8^th wicket, but when Patel went for 67, the game was up, and Sri Lanka won by 19 runs.

A very disappointing performance from England all round. Finn and Broad bowled well, but there will be question marks over whether Broad made the correct call at the toss, and even bigger question marks over the batsman’s inconsistent contributions to the side. Sri Lanka look good for the trophy, and will be joined in the Semi Finals by the West Indies.

Man of the Match: Lasith Malinga for his 5-32. England just couldn’t cope with his variations today, and taking 3 wickets in an over is nearly always going to win your side the game when defending a score.