India's one-run win not big enough to qualify

 

South Africa have had a few of their parties cruelly crashed by teams world over, but today they spoiled India's when it was only a small gathering. Having been knocked out of the World Twenty20 because Pakistan beat Australia, South Africa won the toss India wanted to win most, kept India down to 152, and passed 121, ensuring India would be eliminated from the tournament on net run rate.

India would have loved to chase and know what they needed to do with the bat to push their net run rate of -0.452 over Pakistan's 0.273, who are now through to the semi-final. However, batting first, all India could hope of doing was set up a huge total and try to win by a margin of around 30. South Africa's bowling, though, was too strong to clobber.

It was not all fun and games for South Africa either. Faf du Plessis laid bare the flaws in their strategy in the games leading up to their final inconsequential match. Watching du Plessis score a fluent 65 off 38, South Africa's think tank would have felt a surge of mixed emotions. After du Plessis got out, all but ensuring India's ouster, that think tank would have watched in horror as the last five wickets fell for 24 runs and South Africa lost by one run. Another heartbreaking loss ended arguably their worst campaign at a World Cup, across formats. It was Gary Kirsten's ninth defeat in nine matches as coach in World Twenty20 Super Eights.

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Australia qualify despite big defeat

 

Pakistan spun a web around Australia's batsmen and a few hours later could celebrate that doing so had secured qualification for the World Twenty20 semi-finals. Though sobered by defeat, the Australians managed to reach the 112 they required to make their qualification for the semis a certainty, while the result also ensured that South Africa were knocked out, regardless of what happened in their final Super Eights match against India.

The 32-run margin to Pakistan meant that India had to win by a wide margin against South Africa in order to elbow their way past Mohammad Hafeez's team into a semi-final spot. Such a scenario would have been undeserved by Raza Hasan and Saeed Ajmal in particular, who tied Australia in the kinds of knots previously unseen at this tournament.

Australia's first loss of the tournament reopened their former doubts when confronted by quality spin on a slow, turning pitch, and also demonstrated the chaos that can ensue if Shane Watson and David Warner do not give the innings a rapid start. Pakistan did not use a paceman until the 18th over of the innings, and other nations can be expected to use similar tactics against Australia for the remainder of the event. In the end it took a half century of considerable composure from Michael Hussey to ensure Australia's qualification.

Their inability to seriously challenge a middling tally will sound a note of warning for Australia's coaches, who also had the odd lapse in the field to ruminate on. Mitchell Starc had pinned Pakistan's captain Mohammad Hafeez lbw with his first ball to push the batsmen onto the defensive, and should also have dismissed Nasir Jamshed for a duck. But Glenn Maxwell dropped the catch at slip, allowing Jamshed to go on to an important 55.

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Spin exposes Australia middle order again

 

When Australia played Sri Lanka at the Premadasa during the 2011 World Cup, the visitors arrived with a very well aired reputation for being poor players of spin. The pitch that was prepared was so dry that Ricky Ponting called it "basically just rolled mud". Sri Lanka played three specialist spinners, but before Australia had a chance to bat the match was rained out. Nineteen months later, at the same venue, Pakistan banked on their phalanx of slow-bowlers and Australia faltered.

This time the pitch was no rolled mud. In fact Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins generated pace and were rewarded with good carry. Xavier Doherty and Brad Hogg managed some turn, but they were hardly unplayable. Still, Pakistan backed their spinners to the extent that if Shoaib Malik had not disappeared for 14 in the 15th over, the Premadasa might have witnessed the first full Twenty20 innings comprised entirely of spin.

Shane Watson and David Warner were forced to exert their own pace on the ball, and though Watson has had success against spin in the past, neither much enjoyed it. Oppositions had wondered what lay beyond the colossal top three, and Pakistan had figured a way to unhinge the vault. Both opener's dismissals hinted at frustration induced by a slower-than-usual scoring rates. At four runs an over Australia were hardly crawling, but the start was a sight more pedestrian than they had been used to in the tournament.

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Today Pakistan vs Australia

 

(i) PAK beat AUS & SA beat IND, Then PAK , AUS Qualifies.

(ii) PAK beat AUS & IND beat SA by 50 Runs, Then PAK , IND Qualify.

(iii) AUS beat PAK & SA beat IND by 60 Runs, Then AUS , SA Qualifies.

(iv) If AUS beat PAK & SA beat IND by 15 Runs, Then AUS , PAK Qualify

One poor showing, against India no less, has suddenly thrown Pakistan's World Twenty20 campaign onto far less certain ground than it had occupied solidly since day one of the tournament. Another loss to Australia, the competition's most assured and dominant team so far, and the Pakistanis will be highly unlikely to make the semi-finals. It is a harsh scenario, but a reflection of the competition's format, calling for consistent results. The hesitance and doubt evident against India must quickly be shed from the minds and limbs of Pakistan's cricketers, but the looming possibility of elimination may not aid the return of a state of focus.

By contrast, Australia know they do not even need to win to progress, for they will qualify for the semi-finals unless Pakistan can inflict the sort of thrashing George Bailey's men have commonly dealt out so for, and a similar margin unfolds in India's match against South Africa. So far led with exceptional poise and power by the irrepressible Shane Watson, the Australians have not had their depth of batting tested. Nevertheless, the likes of Michael Hussey and Cameron White have shown decent touch in their brief stays at the crease, and the confidence of all players has benefited from Watson's show of strength.

These two sides are very familiar with one another, having contested T20 and ODI series in the UAE as a prelude to this event. Australia began that T20 series floundering, and ended it with growing confidence. They have gone up another notch or three since, while Pakistan have been shaken by the India defeat. Mohammad Hafeez's team will hope to regain the confidence they showed in Dubai, or risk elimination from an event they looked in with a chance to win a few days ago.

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England's defence of their World Twenty20 title ended with a 19-run defeat

 

England's defence of their World Twenty20 title ended with a 19-run defeat against Sri Lanka, as the home side were cheered on amid a raucous atmosphere generated by a vibrant home crowd. Lasith Malinga ripped out the top order with three wickets in four balls, to immediately set back a tough chase of 170, then returned to finish with 5 for 31 just when Samit Patel offered England a glimmer.

Malinga had been relatively quiet in the tournament until today, taking three wickets in five matches, but doubled his tally in the blink of an eye when he was brought on for the third over. Luke Wright, promoted to open after Craig Kieswetter was dropped, unleashed a fierce square cut but sent it straight to backward point, Jonny Bairstow was done by a slower ball to end a difficult tournament and next ball Alex Hales was pinned by an inswinging yorker, although replays suggested it was sliding down leg.

There were low expectations from outside the England squad before the tournament and they have never looked like being capable of defending their crown. Patel, at least, could hold his head high with a powerful 67 off 48 balls to show he has been underused whereas others, like Jos Buttler, who gave Malinga his fourth when he hooked to long leg, often appeared out of their depth. Graeme Swann swung strongly, making the highest score by a No. 9 in T20s, and the fifty stand with Patel came from 26 balls but, as against West Indies - whose progression was secured by England's defeat - it always needed a miracle of Medinah proportions.

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New Zealand knocked out after Super Over

They took the New Zealand spirit, trampled on it, and handed over the broken pieces along with their boarding passes. The team that provided the most entertainment in the Super Eights, with two ties, lost both the Super Overs to end up with zero points. West Indies stayed alive, and were not leaving the ground anytime soon. They were done with their celebratory dances, and were now hoping for Sri Lanka to beat England and help them through to the semi-final.

There was no way New Zealand should have lost this, though. Not in regulation time, not in extra time. It was a day for heroes and villains, and they were often the same men. The same Tim Southee that foxed Chris Gayle and went for 3 for 21 in regulation time failed to defend 16 runs in the Super Over. The same Sunil Narine who bowled overs 17 and 19 for five runs and two wickets to keep the match alive fielded appallingly, most noticeably in the final over, allowing Ross Taylor to retain the strike, and force the tie.

What of Taylor, though? He didn't deserve to be on the losing side. He braved that inexplicable pressure his team-mates found themselves under, 127kmph darts from Marlon Samuels delivered from two steps, managed a six each in both the final over and the Super Over, posted his highest Twenty20 score as captain, and yet found himself at loss to explain what just happened to New Zealand.

Let's start with the early heroes then. Gayle was the first one, racing to 30 off 13, taking West Indies to 60 inside the Powerplay. Taylor then made his first good move, an admission that he had erred in the previous game. Doug Bracewell, who was bowled only after the match was practically lost against England, got the new ball, and got Johnson Charles and the promoted Andre Russell out in his first two overs.

For Southee, life was full of possibilities at this time. To the marauding Gayle he rolled his fingers on a short-of-a-length delivery, getting it to cut away, squaring Gayle up, taking the edge that kicked off wild celebrations, which have become the norm whenever teams dismiss Gayle before he has beaten them into submission.

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Watson carries Australia to victory again

Shane Watson has carried Australia in every match of this tournament and has now all but muscled them into the semi-finals with another outstanding all-round performance against South Africa. Watson picked up two wickets to help restrict South Africa and then crunched 70 from 47 balls to set up their successful chase of 147, as the Australians cruised to victory with 14 balls to spare.

The South Africans were lacklustre with the bat and sloppy in the field, and while the result has not yet knocked them out of the tournament, they will need other results to fall their way if they are to progress to the semi-finals. For that to happen, Pakistan would need to lose to both India and Australia, and South Africa would need to beat India and then hope their net run-rate was good enough to sneak them ahead of Pakistan and India.

By the same token, the win has not technically confirmed Australia's place in the semi-finals, but their very strong net run-rate meant that for them to miss out, not only would India need to beat both Pakistan and South Africa but Australia would also need a disaster in their last match against Pakistan. The way Watson is playing, such an outcome seems about as likely as Simon Taufel being drafted in to Australia's XI.

For the fourth time from Australia's four games in this World T20, Watson was Man of the Match. He ended the game on top of the tournament run tally and wicket list. It didn't all go the way of the Australians early in their innings this time around. David Warner was kept quiet and then on 5 had his middle stump knocked back by Morne Morkel when he backed away and tried to release the pressure. Australia were 10 for 1 in the fourth over, and South Africa had a sniff.

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India beat Pakistan by 8 wickets

India-Pakistan matches - never mind the tournament context - often tend to be a contest as much of nerves as of cricketing skills. Keeping in with recent times, where India have tended to come out the mentally stronger side, Pakistan's batsmen tried too hard and imploded to waste a dream start and post the lowest total of the Super Eights stage of this World Twenty20. Virat Kohli, who had scored 183 in his previous match against Pakistan, then steered the chase of 129 with his eighth fifty-plus score in his last 11 international innings.

This was a game where one of two jinxes would be broken. It was India, needing to win this to stay alive, who posted their first Super Eights win in World Twenty20s since 2007. Pakistan were still without a win over India in any World Cup match. Pakistan were every bit a team with a bogey attached to them. They tried flamboyance with the bat and failed, and didn't show heart to back up their talented bowling and attack. India, on the other hand, did the small things well after a nervous start, and were there to accept every opportunity that Pakistan presented.

Anxious more than enthusiastic, Pakistan began with 26 runs and five boundaries in the first two overs, but regressed in the coming overs. Some of their batsmen just froze, including captain Mohammad Hafeez who scored 15 off 28, and they took 6.5 overs to score the next 26. Pakistan played 53 dot balls against bowling that was steady at best. Add to that two balls they didn't even make India bowl.

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