Record breaking McCullum destroys Tigers
Group C
21/9/12- New
Zealand 191-3 20 overs (McCullum 123) beat Bangladesh 132-8 20 overs (Hossain
50, Southee 3-16) by 59 runs @ Pallekele
In the first game between current test playing nations at
the tournament, New Zealand have beaten Bangladesh thanks to a record breaking
innings from Brendon McCullum. Bangladesh fielded first but soon regretted that
decision badly. They had Guptill out early, but from there on in, it was all
about McCullum. He bludgeoned the Bangladeshi attack all around the Pallekele
Stadium, and they had no answer to it. From the moment he reached his half
century, it seemed just minutes later that he was raising his bat yet again,
bringing up his second international T20 hundred: the first ever man to
complete that feat. He ended up on 123, getting out to the final ball, which
was the highest score in a Twenty20 international, with New Zealand setting
Bangladesh a formidable 192 for victory.
The Tigers lost 3 quick wickets inside the powerplay, and
they never looked like getting anywhere near New Zealand’s total. They
continued to lose wickets at a regular pace as the required run rate shot to
over 15 relatively quickly. There was one shining light for Bangladesh, with youngster
Nasir Hossain scoring a rapid half century, but Bangladesh finished on 132-8,
falling 59 runs short.
So a good start to the tournament for New Zealand, and if
McCullum can keep up that form, then they will have a good chance of going far
in the competition. Bangladesh now must win their final game against Pakistan
on Tuesday, if they want to qualify for the Super 8’s.
Man of the Match: Brendon McCullum for his
wonderful innings of 123. It included 11 fours and 7 massive sixes, and on his
day, he is one of the greatest T20 batsman in the world.
Wright sends Afghanistan packing
Group A
Group A
21/9/12- England 196-5
20 overs (Wright 99*) beat Afghanistan 80 all out 17.2 overs (Naib 44, Broad
2-10) by 116 runs @ Colombo
England are through to the Super 8 stage of the ICC World
Twenty20 after beating Afghanistan by 116 runs in Colombo, with Luke Wright
scoring a superb unbeaten 99. Afghanistan stuck England in, but like
Bangladesh, they soon regretted that. England started slowly with Kieswetter out
for 0 in the first over, as we could only reach 15 from the opening 4 overs.
However, from there onwards England, and especially Wright, took apart the
Afghan bowling. There were contributions from Hales, Morgan and Buttler, but it
was all about Luke Wright whose innings contained 8 fours and 6 sixes. England
reaching a commanding 196-5 from their 20 overs.
Afghanistan never got going in their innings, losing 2
wickets in their first two overs, with Finn and Surrey’s own Jade Dernbach
picking up one each. The skipper then held onto a great catch off his own
bowling, played a part in running out Sadiq, and had Stanikzai wonderfully
caught at third man by Bairstow, as Afghanistan fell to 22-5 inside 6 overs. It
didn’t get any better either, as Swann and Patel got in on the act to reduce
them to 26-8. Even though the game was up, they still tried to enjoy
themselves, as Naib and Shadran put on by far the best partnership of the
innings with 44 (next best 12), before they were finally out for 80, with Jade picking up his second.
A very good and ruthless performance from England then,
and they look very good for the rest of the tournament. They were fantastic in
all 3 facets today, with every player putting in a good shift. But the opposition
was obviously very weak, and India will be a much tougher test on Sunday.
Afghanistan bowled well, but once again they fielded dreadfully and their
batting was obviously very below par, so they still have a long way to go to
become a competitive team.
Man of the Match: Luke Wright for his fantastic
99. An innings from a man who is now hopefully going to fulfil his potential in
International cricket, after years of consistently performing for Sussex.
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