Australia through despite Pakistan loss
2/10/12- Pakistan
149-6 20 overs (Jamshed 55, Starc 3-20) beat Australia 117-7 20 overs (Hussey
54*, Ajmal 3-17) by 32 runs @ Colombo
Australia are through to the Semi Final stage of the ICC
World Twenty 20, despite losing by 32 runs to Pakistan in Colombo.
George Bailey won the toss and stuck Pakistan into bat
first. The Aussies started well as they removed the oppositions skipper and
Imran Nazir in the powerplay, as runs were hard to come by. Nasir Jamshed
,however, once again reinforced his reputation in this form of the game, as he
led the Pakistan recovery with Kamran Akmal, scoring a 36 ball half century. A
quickfire 22 from former Surrey all rounder Abdul Razzaq took Pakistan to
149-6, which was below what they should have got thanks to 3 wickets from
Mitchell Starc.
Australia knew that if they reached 112 in their reply,
they would be through to the Semi Final. However, they lost the man of the
moment Shane Watson early, along with David Warner, as the middle order was
being tested for the first time in the tournament. They struggled badly against
the Pakistan spin, with 18 of the 20 overs being bowled by the spinners, and
even though they went past the 112 needed for qualification, thanks to an
unbeaten 50 from Mike Hussey, Australia lost by 32 runs.
Australia will be annoyed that they have lost, as
momentum in Twenty 20 is so important, but I personally believe that today was
just a blip and they will come back better in the Semi. But if Warner and
Watson don’t fire, it will be interesting to see how the middle order gets on.
Pakistan have done what they had to do today, and they will be hoping that
South Africa, who are now coincidently out of the competition, beat India, or
if India do win, hope that their net run rate is higher than their fierce
rivals.
Man of the Match: Raza Hasan for his 2-14. A very
good young spinner, and his spell at the beginning of the Aussie innings set
the tone for the rest of the game.
India crash out of World T20
2/10/12- India 152-6 20 overs (Raina 45) beat South Africa 151 all out
19.5 overs (du Plessis 65, Zaheer 3-22) by 1 run @ Colombo
India are out of the ICC World
T20, even though they beat South Africa in Colombo this evening.
India had to win and hope that
their net run rate would be better than Pakistan. Dhoni wanted to bowl first,
and know what target he would have to chase, but he lost the toss and was
inserted. They lost Gambhir early, and he was quickly joined back in the dugout
by Sehwag and Kohli as India struggled. Rohit Sharma and Yuvraj Singh supported
Suresh Raina who top scored with 45, as India posted 152-6 off their 20 overs.
India had to restrict South
Africa to less than 122 if they were to overtake Pakistan on net run rate. They
got off to a great start as they had Amla and Kallis early, but after that it
was all downhill for India. with Faf Du Plessis scored a superb 65, as South
Africa eased past 122, and were closing in on victory. Both sides were out of
the competition by the final over, but you would never have guessed it. 14 were
required off the last over, but they could only get 12, as India won by 1 run.
So India will be extremely disappointed that they are out
at this stage of the competition, and will feel even worse that their bitter
rivals Pakistan have gone through instead of them. South Africa were already
out before this match started but they were still as professional as you would
expect from any South African team, falling so close to victory in the end.
So the Super 8’s have finished and the Semi Finals are
now drawn, with Sri Lanka against Pakistan on Thursday, followed by the West
Indies against Australia on Friday. Whatever happens, it will be an exciting
end to the tournament.
Man of the Match: Yuvraj Singh for his 21 and 2
wickets. Not an outstanding match for Yuvraj, but it is just great to see him
back from his cancer scare earlier this year.
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