World Cup's biggest shock, Bangladesh crumble and South Africa blow hot and cold

Week two of the 2011 World Cup produced one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history with every match in Group B providing something exceptional.

AB de Villiers had opened his tournament account with a controlled century to steer the Proteas to a win over the West Indies. But the full range of his attacking talent was on show in a 98-ball 134 as South Africa put the Netherlands to the sword. A partnership of 221 between de Villiers and Hashim Amla (113) did most of the damage, before JP Duminy smashed 40 off 15 balls to reach a total of 351/5.

That was always likely to be out of reach for the Dutch, and they lasted just 34.5 overs, bowled out for 120.

Ireland produced one of the most memorable World Cup victories in Bengaluru, beating England by three wickets in a thriller.

England thought that their 327/8 was more than enough, with Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell all scoring excellent half-centuries. The innings did somewhat stutter to a close however, with England adding just 33 in the last five overs despite having plenty of wickets in hand.

Ireland's aggressive approach to their batting meant they were always likely to give the chase a good go, but it got off to the worst possible start when captain William Porterfield was bowled first ball by James Anderson. There seemed little hope remaining when Ireland’s No. 6 came to the crease with the team still needing 222 to win in less than 30 overs… but Kevin O’Brien rattled off a remarkable 113 off 63 balls, going to his century in 50 deliveries – still the quickest ODI World Cup hundred by any player.

O’Brien was run out with Ireland 11 runs short of their target at the start of the penultimate over, but Trent Johnston and John Mooney saw them home for the most extraordinary of wins.

A first-innings capitulation from Bangladesh ultimately denied them a place in the knockout stages on net run-rate. The joint-hosts had a packed crowd behind them, but the Dhaka fans fell silent as Kemar Roach, Sulieman Benn and Daren Sammy combined to bowl Bangladesh out for just 58 in 18.5 overs.

Devon Smith fell early in the West Indies' reply, but Chris Gayle and Darren Bravo knocked off the target in just 12.2 overs as the match ended hours early.

England’s extraordinary tournament continued in Chennai against South Africa with another result that defied expectations. At 15/3 it looked like their tournament could be ending early, but a defiant 60 from Ravi Bopara and 52 from Trott helped England scrape together 171 to at least give their attack something to work with.

And the England bowlers kept it exceptionally tight, with South Africa scoring at less than four an over as they struggled to get any momentum going in the chase. The Proteas still looked to be coasting at 124/3, but collapsed to 165 all out in one of the more remarkable low-scoring World Cup matches.

Graeme Swann bowled a very tight ten overs for just 29 runs, but it was Stuart Broad and James Anderson who did the damage, bowling 12.4 overs between them for a combined 6/31.

HOW THE WEEK PLAYED OUT

Group A largely went to form in the second week, with the tournament denied a huge match-up as torrential rain ended Sri Lanka’s match against Australia with the hosts on 146/3 after 32.5 overs and Kumar Sangakkara unbeaten on 73.

• Zimbabwe 298/9 vs Canada 123 - Zimbabwe won by 175 runs
• Kenya 142 vs Sri Lanka 146/1 (18.4 overs) - Sri Lanka won by nine wickets
• Pakistan 184 vs Canada 138 - Pakistan won by 46 runs
• Zimbabwe 162 vs New Zealand 166/0 (33.3 overs) - New Zealand won by 10 wickets
• Sri Lanka 146/3 (32.5 overs) vs Australia**- Match abandoned**

But while Group A was lacking in drama, the same cannot be said for Group B, where every single match of the week delivered something exceptional.

• West Indies 330/8 vs Netherlands 115 - West Indies won by 215 runs
• England 327/8 vs Ireland 329/7 (49.1 overs) - Ireland won by three wickets
• South Africa 351/5 vs Netherlands 120 - South Africa won by 231 runs
• Bangladesh 58 vs West Indies 59/1 (12.2 overs) - West Indies won by nine wickets
• England 171 vs South Africa 165 - England won by six runs