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.
Aussies clean sweep tour with another big win
AUSTRALIA’s undefeated run has continued, this time defeating Bangladesh by 77 runs in the third T20 of their series to fully clean sweep their tour. The Australians batted first and made 6/155, before bowling their hosts out for just 78. Choosing to go back to a more traditional batting line up, the Australians made pretty […]
Experimental Aussies maintain winning momentum
AUSTRALIA remains undefeated in its tour of Bangladesh after another white ball victory, this time to the tune of 58 runs in the second T20. After the Australians opted to bat first and posted 8/161, Bangladesh could only muster 9/103. The tourists experimented with their batting order, including promoting Georgia Wareham to number three and […]
Australia changes format but not form in cruisy win
THERE may have been a change in format but there was no change to Australia’s dominance over Bangladesh, this time cruising to a 10 wicket win in the first T20 of the series between the sides. Bangladesh was restricted to 4/126 from its innings, before Australia only needed 13 overs to reach the tally. Losing […]
Aussies clean sweep series with strong but inaccurate bowling
AUSTRALIA has clean swept its ODI series with Bangladesh after defeating the hosts by eight wickets in the third ODI. Australia bowled Bangladesh out for 89, before reaching the target itself halfway through the 19th over. The fact that the hosts lost their first wicket two thirds of the way through the second over and […]
Sophie stars to help Aussies win big again
A bowling masterclass from Sophie Molineux has helped Australia cruise to a six-wicket win over Bangladesh in the second ODI of the series. After bowling Bangladesh out for just 97, the Australians did not even need half their allotted overs to get the job done. Bangladesh’s start was very slow, and when that first wicket […]
Warriors wrap up domestic triple-double
WESTERN Australia has secured its third consecutive Sheffield Shield title after defeating Tasmania by 377 runs at the WACA on Sunday. The Warriors sealed victory as day four drew to its crescendo, with Joel Paris sticking a screamer in gully to see Tasmania rolled for 160 in the final session. A dominant force on the […]
‘A’ names equals ‘A+’ performance as Australia wins big
SOME explosive batting from Alana King and some star bowling from the Australians has helped them start their series with Bangladesh with a big 118 run win. Australia posted 7/213 before bowling its hosts out for just 95. Although Australia’s total ended up being more than enough, things were not looking that certain early in […]
Molineux’s magnificent over helps Bangalore bag title
THE Royal Challengers Bangalore are the Women’s Indian Premier League (WIPL) champions of 2024, after they comprehensively beat the Delhi Capitals to the tune of eight wickets in the final overnight. Delhi was bowled out for 113 before Bangalore took its time but reached the target with three balls to spare. The Capitals actually made a […]
Bangalore’s big upset sees Royal Challengers through to big dance
THE Royal Challengers Bangalore have defeated the Mumbai Indians by five runs to cause a bit of an upset and move through to the Women’s Indian Premier League (WIPL) Final. After the Royal Challengers were restricted to just 6/135, some superb bowling ensured Mumbai could only make 6/130. The win sees Bangalore move through to […]
