Ross Taylor tees off, England's shambolic tournament continues
New Zealand ensured that Group A produced a classic in the third week, with Ross Taylor blitzing his way to a huge century against the previously unbeaten Pakistan.
But it was in Group B where the big drama occurred once again, with England suffering another headline-grabbing defeat and South Africa giving joint-hosts India a wake-up call.
England’s bizarre tournament continued as they were comprehensively outplayed by Bangladesh in Chattogram, only to almost sneak a victory. England posted a sub-par score, despite Jonathan Trott again being in the runs with 67 and the returning Eoin Morgan hitting a timely 63 at No. 5. But England’s lack of attacking intent with the bat saw them limp to just 225, offering Bangladesh plenty of hope in the chase.
A quickfire 38 from 26 balls from Tamim Iqbal got the hosts ahead of the rate, and a partnership between Imrul Kayes and Shakib Al Hasan pulled Bangladesh into a comfortable position at 155/3 with 29 overs remaining. However, a crazy mix-up to run out Kayes for 60 prompted a collapse as Bangladesh lost five wickets for just 14 runs. But Shafiul Islam and Mahmudullah steadied the ship and a partnership of 58 won it for Bangladesh with two wickets and one over to spare.
South Africa’s loss to England had left them temporarily vulnerable in Group B, but the Proteas turned on the style against India and recovered from a late stumble to secure a win that ultimately earned them top spot in the group.
A five-wicket haul for Dale Steyn helped restrict India to 296 off 48.4 overs after the hosts had got off to a flier. An opening stand of 142 between Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar set India up nicely after just 17.4 overs, and Gautam Gambhir added a further 125 with Tendulkar for the second wicket before the ‘Little Master’ fell for 111 off 101 balls. But India crumpled from 267/1 to 296 all out to give South Africa a chance.
Steyn was at the heart of the collapse, taking 5/50 from 9.4 overs, and accounting for Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan before tearing through the tail
The Proteas’ top order fired in the chase, with Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers all scoring half-centuries. But a similar collapse, from 223/3 to 279/7, left South Africa needing plenty off the last two overs. A quickfire 18 off seven balls from Robin Peterson ensured they got the job done.
New Zealand inflicted a first defeat of the tournament on Pakistan in eye-opening fashion in Group A, with some brutal batting from Ross Taylor turning the game on its head. New Zealand were limping to a sub-par score and were 210/6 when Nathan McCullum was dismissed with four overs remaining. But the Kiwis slammed a further 92 runs in a phenomenal display of power-hitting to knock Pakistan onto their heels. Jacob Oram (25 from 9) and Kyle Mills (7 from 3) played their part, but it was Taylor who did the damage, finishing on 131*.
Taylor cracked 28 off a single Shoaib Akhtar over and followed that up by smashing 30 off an Abdul Razzaq over. Pakistan were rocked by the power of Taylor’s hitting, and they carried their scrambled minds into the chase, slumping to 66/6 and ultimately falling 110 runs short of the target in their only defeat of the group stage.
New Zealand ensured that Group A produced a classic in the third week, with Taylor blitzing his way to a huge century against the previously unbeaten Pakistan in the standout game.
- Kenya 198 vs Canada 199/5 (45.3 overs) -Canada won by five wickets
- New Zealand 302/7 vs Pakistan 192 - New Zealand won by 110 runs
- Sri Lanka 327/6 vs Zimbabwe 188 - Sri Lanka won by 139 runs
- New Zealand 358/6 vs Canada 261/9 - New Zealand won by 97 runs
- Australia 324/6 vs Kenya 264/6 - Australia won by 60 runs
But it was in Group B where the big drama occurred once again, with England suffering another headline-grabbing defeat and South Africa giving joint-hosts India a wake-up call.
- Netherlands 189 vs India 191/5 (36.3 overs) - India won by five wickets
- West Indies 275 vs Ireland 231 - West Indies won by 44 runs
- England 225 vs Bangladesh 227/8 (49 overs) - Bangladesh won by two wickets
- India 296 vs South Africa 300/7 (49.4 overs) - South Africa won by three wickets