THE ICC T20 Men’s World Cup has seen a massive boilover in Perth, with Zimbabwe claiming a thrilling one-run win over the powerhouse Pakistan on Thursday night.
It was a result that few predicted, with the Pakistanis now in danger of an early exit after sustaining a second consecutive loss, after Sunday night’s heartbreaker against India.
Zimbabwe looked dead and buried for all accounts after managing such a small total in the first innings of the match. However, their bowlers produced one of the most memorable performances of the tournament so far, suffocating Pakistan into falling short of the total by an agonising margin.
The win sees Zimbabwe sit in third spot of Group 2, and will be looking to move past South Africa, as only the top two make the semi-finals.
Pakistan (8/129) def. by Zimbabwe (8/130)
Zimbabwe won the toss and opted to bat first, and their openers got off to a reasonable start, with Wesley Madhevere and Craig Ervine both reaching 15 runs in no time as they looked to conquer a tricky Perth pitch. However, the partnership was broken soon after, as both were dismissed for less than 20. Sean Williams came in at four and gave the batting order some life with a 31-run knock, while Brad Evans came in and delivered 19 runs at the tail end.
Apart from those two, no Zimbabwe batter was able to register more than 10 runs as the lineup collapsed, with Mohammad Wasim tearing through with four wickets for the opposition. They managed to scrape to 130 runs, which seemed far from defendable against a talented and experienced Pakistan side.
The recent form woes continued for Pakistan opener Babar Azam, who was dismissed cheaply again, managing just four runs from nine balls. However, Shan Masood came in at three and steadied the ship in a big way, compiling 44 runs from 39 balls.
While the Pakistan batsmen were able to put some runs on the board, they did not come at a winning rate, with the Zimbabwe bowling attack forcing them to defend and producing plenty of dot balls. While they may have looked comfortable earlier in the innings, Pakistan was running out of time to get the required run total. It came down to the final over, but the Pakistanis were unable to conjure the runs and fell. They are now sitting in fifth spot and will find it tough to make the finals given their current losing streak.
Heat defy odds to come away with desired result
THE BRISBANE Heat have pulled off an unlikely win, defending a low total to beat the Sydney Sixers by 12 runs in yesterday’s Women’s Big Bash League action. Brisbane only made 9/139, but it proved to be enough as the Sixers could only make 8/127. The Heat actually got off to a really good start, […]
Batters delight sees huge Hurricane tally
RUNS are not hard to find for the Hobart Hurricanes at the moment, who again compiled a massive to this time defeat the Adelaide Strikers by 28 runs. After Hobart posted 2/191 from its 20 overs, Adelaide gave it a real crack to reach the target, but could only muster 3/163. Things did not get […]
Perth scorches Thunder to jump to second
THE WOMEN’S Big Bash (WBBL) season continues to throw up plenty of surprises, this time thanks to the Perth Scorchers, who moved up to second place with a big win over the ladder-leading Sydney Thunder. After Perth posted 7/171 from its 20 overs, the visitors then ripped through the Thunder’s batting lineup, bowling them out […]
Renegades reel in record chase to break Striker hearts
THE MELBOURNE Renegades pulled off the highest successful run chase in WBBL history last night, defeating the Adelaide Strikers by nine wickets in the process. Adelaide made a whopping 8/185, before the Renegades reached the target with 17 balls to spare. Smriti Mandhana and Katie Mack helped get the Strikers off to a really good […]
Sixers thwart Stars and rain to claim victory
AS MUCH as the rain tried to thwart the fun out at Junction Oval yesterday, the match was still able to be completed and the Sydney Sixers emerged victorious over Melbourne Stars. The Stars originally made 7/122 from their 18 overs, but the Sixers’ target was revised to 125 thanks to the Duckworth Lewis Method. […]
Sixers score crucial win as inconsistency bites ‘Canes
THE SYDNEY Sixers picked up a crucial second WBBL10 win after narrowly defeating the Hobart Hurricanes last night. Sydney made 7/155 from its 20 overs, before restricting the Hurricanes to 9/149 off theirs. The Sixers had an ok start to their innings but kept losing wickets, and fell to 3/51 off the first seven overs. […]
Perth Scorchers the Heat to record another win
PERTH Scorchers have picked up their second victory of the WBBL10 season after a big win over the Brisbane Heat. Perth made 8/142 from its 20 overs, before bowling the Heat out for just 114. The competitive tally that the Scorchers were able to put together was off the back of a 40-run opening partnership […]
History does not repeat as Thunder flips result
DESPITE meeting again only a matter of days after their last WBBL10 last meeting, history did not repeat between the Sydney Thunder and Hobart Hurricanes as this time the Thunder defeated the Hurricanes by 33 runs. After a rain delay reduced the game to 17 overs per side, the Thunder made 5/146 from their 17 […]
Heat too strong again, remain undefeated to begin campaign
THE BRISBANE Heat have made it two wins from as many matches to kick off their WBBL10 campaign after defeating the Melbourne Renegades by 28 runs. Brisbane made 8/169 from its 20 overs, before restricting the Renegades to 9/141 from their 20 overs. Things did not go to plan early for the Heat, with the […]
