-S. Africa thrash India in Group-B matches
Sports Desk
PERTH: Pakistan bowlers, led by spinner Shadab Khan, helped them hammer the Netherlands by six wickets in Perth on Sunday for a first win at the Twenty20 World Cup to keep their faint hopes of reaching the semi-finals alive.
Pakistan restricted the Dutch to 91-9, and then cruised to 95-4 with 37 balls to spare as Mohammad Rizwan made 49. But it was the bowlers set up victory for a side that lost their opener to India and then were shocked by Zimbabwe in Group 2.
Shadab returned figures of 3-22 and pace bowler Mohammad Wasim took two wickets to set the tone for their team’s domination against a Dutch side who are out of the semi-final running after losing a third straight Super 12 match.
Pakistan lost skipper Babar Azam, for four, in the second over of their chase when he was run out by a direct throw from Roelof van der Merwe.
Rizwan attacked from the start, hitting five fours and putting on 37 with the returning Fakhar Zaman.
Fast bowler Brandon Glover had Zaman caught behind for 20 as a crowd of over 10,000, dominated by Pakistan supporters, feared for the worst at a venue where Pakistan fell short by one run in their chase of a modest 130 against Zimbabwe on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh got their Twenty20 World Cup back on track Sunday with a thrilling last-ball win over Zimbabwe, aided by opener Najmul Shanto’s maiden half-century and Taskin Ahmed’s three wickets.
Shanto (71) helped steer Bangladesh to 150-7 at Brisbane’s Gabba ground in a match that went to the wire with Zimbabwe needing 16 off an incredible last over.
It saw two wickets fall, a big six and the teams walking off thinking the match was over, only to be recalled. Bangladesh believed they had won when Blessing Muzarabani, needing five to win, was stumped trying to hit a six off the last ball with the fielding team celebrating as the players shook hands and left the field.
In a later thriller, David Miller and Aiden Markram smashed half-centuries to lead South Africa to a five-wicket win over India in Perth on Sunday and put them in pole position for a semi-final berth at the Twenty20 World Cup.
South Africa’s bowlers, led by Lungi Ngidi, restricted India to 133-9 in Perth and then their batsmen passed their target with two balls to spare largely due to a 76-run stand between Miller, who scored 59 not out, and Markram, who made 52.
South Africa leapfrogged India and Bangladesh to the top of Group 2 with five points from three games, a point ahead. Zimbabwe have three points, Pakistan two and the Netherlands are rock bottom, yet to score a point.
India dragged the game into the final over with South Africa needing six to win and Miller finished off with two boundaries in his 46-ball innings.
India’s opening bowlers made early inroads on the quick and bouncy Perth wicket. Left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh struck twice in the space of three deliveries of the second over with Quinton de Kock out for one and Rilee Rossouw, who made a century in the previous match against Bangladesh, this time out lbw for nought.
Markram hit back with two fours but captain Temba Bavuma’s dry run with the bat extended as he nicked one to the wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik while attempting a scoop shot off Mohammed Shami.
Markram and Miller took the innings to 40-3 at the halfway mark. They then opened up against off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin with a boundary each in the 11th over but the bowler was left crestfallen when the normally safe hands of Virat Kohli at deep midwicket dropped a routine chance from Markram, on 35.
India were dogged by sloppy fielding as Rohit Sharma missed a run-out and another catch going awry on the boundary. Markram raised his fifty with a four and two runs off Arshdeep as South Africa closed in on their target. Hardik Pandya broke the stand when Markram holed out to Suryakumar Yadav but Miller stood firm to see his team home.
