Game One Afghanistan 148/6 v 127 all out Australia Afghanistan WIN
Without doubt this is the upset of the tournament. Getting into the Super Eight stage was the big accomplishment for Associate member Afghanistan but now the Test nations are in their stride, hitting their length, and this group was ALL about Australia and India.
And, to be fair, with Afghanistan restricted to under 150 despite the 111 the opening pair scored between them, it looked like things were going to plan. The other two batters to get double figures were out for 10 & 13. A run rate of 7.4 is a gentle stroll in the park, probably 16 or 17 overs work, right?
Then it was time to bat and Afghanistan's 40 for 0 in the power play looks much better than Australia's 3 for 33. But no worries because the Baggy Greens have the nous and power to overcome a setback. And for the next 9 overs they did. Sure after 15 overs Afghanistan still hadn't lost a wicket, and Australia were 6 down, but it's only ten an over and, well, it's Australia.
In overs 16, 17, and 18, both sides lost wickets. But Afghanistan's run rate was higher and, while neither sides lost a wicket in the 19th over, Afghanistan sccored 15 runs to Australia's 9.
Only two runs and a wicket in the final over sealed Australia's ignominy and Afghanistan's jubilation.
Australia now have to hope they can beat India, and that Afghanistan are so overwhelmed by their victory that they struggle to replicate their heroics against Bangladesh. If results go the other way, Australia are out.
Game Two USA 115 all out v 117/0 England England WIN
For a third time England have put an Association team to the sword. USA built a decent innings but regular wickets meant it never really gained momentum and an inability to press on against spinners again hampered USA.
Corey Anderson looked like he might finally be about to add some of the fireworks expected from him but, on 29 from 28 balls, Chris Jordan had him caught off the 1st ball of the 19th over. What followed was extraordinary and will be talked about long after the tournament is over. Well, maybe not the dot ball which came next, but certainly bowling Khan for zero, getting Kenjige to miss a straight one and fall lbw, and ripping Netravalkar's middle stump out with ball 5 of the over.
Four wickets in five balls, and England's first T20 hat-trick - only the third in the T20 world cup's history, though the second of this tournament. In 17 balls Chris Jordan conceded 10 runs and took 4 wickets. a devastating three overs.
Of course, one miracle had already happened with the defence of a small total. Could another?
No, it couldn't. Jos Buttler powered 13 balls to the boundary, seven of them for six, and scored 83 runs in 38 balls. Phil Salt wasn't quite a spectator, he added 25, and the other 9 came from careless bowling. With no wickets lost England reached the target in under ten overs and put themselves back atop the group and through to the semi finals. They may still be first or second, but they cant be dislodged.
| Game | 4's | 6's | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan v Australia | 22 | 8 | 30 |
| USA v England | 11 | 12 | 23 |
| Tournament | 830 | 455 | 1095 |
That leaves three games to play and I'm going to round them all up together on Tuesday, so check back then for reviews & updated boundary totals.
text by stuartcturnbull. graphic by Mir Rammez Raja & edited by stuartcturnbull via postermywall