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NZ bowlers deliver series-levelling win after Conway ton
Devon Conway (101) and Kane Williamson (85) put on 181 runs for the second wicket on a spin-friendly wicket in Karachi before their bowlers came up with a collective effort to help New Zealand level the series with a 79-run win in Karachi on Wednesday.
The Conway-Williamson partnership was crucial in New Zealand being able to post 261, with the rest of the batters failing to come to terms with the pitch as Mohammad Nawaz (4-38) helped Pakistan fight back with the ball. Babar Azam top-scored for Pakistan in the chase but his 79 came off 114 deliveries as New Zealand kept the scoring in check throughout the innings, eventually managing to bowl the hosts out for 182.
Pakistan’s chase did not start on a bright note as the openers departed in successive overs. Fakhar Zaman was caught behind off Tim Southee attempting a drive while Imam-ul-Haq top-edged a Lockie Ferguson delivery to backward square leg. It was slow going for Pakistan in the first powerplay despite Babar scoring a few boundaries as they managed only 31 in the first 10 overs.
Mohammad Rizwan had a lucky break as Tom Latham could not hold on to the ball when the batter had gloved a Michael Bracewell delivery in the 12th over. The spinners kept it tight, giving away only one four from overs 11-20, with Mitchell Santner striking off the last ball of the 20th to have Rizwan (28 off 50) bowled to end a 55-run stand that came off 99 balls. The spinners continued the stranglehold on the Pakistan batters, not conceding a single boundary for 62 deliveries, the hosts could only manage 83 at the halfway stage of their innings, with the required rate going beyond seven.
The urgency was lacking in the Babar-Haris Sohail association as well that lasted 41 deliveries, with only 22 runs coming in the stand, and Sohail ended up being dismissed by Glenn Phillips for a 21-ball 10. Agha Salman struck a couple of fours in a brisk partnership with Babar before being run out for 25. Babar reached his fifty soon after, getting there off 86 deliveries on a track that had some help for the slower bowlers. While Babar started finding the boundaries, wickets at the other end weren’t helping as Nawaz fell to Bracewell who finished with 1 for 29.
Usama Mir struck a four and a six before gloving a short delivery from Southee to the ‘keeper as Pakistan slipped to 158/7. The equation was 96 off the last 10 overs, with Babar being the lone recognised batter. But New Zealand ensured that Pakistan did not even come close, as Wasim was run out while Sodhi had Babar stumped and Haris Rauf caught at long-off to finish off the game in the 43rd over.
Earlier, Nawaz powered Pakistan’s strong comeback after the second wicket pair of Devon Conway and Kane Williamson had put on a big stand. The visitors, who were going strong at 183/1 in the 30th over, could only add 78 more as Nawaz picked up four wickets in three overs to finish with his third four-wicket haul in ODIs, removing the cream of the New Zealand batting order.
Naseem Shah struck early to dismiss of Finn Allen in the opening over, getting him to drive uppishly to cover where Nawaz held on to a sharp catch. Williamson and Conway then kept the boundaries coming, driving, punching, pulling and flicking with confidence, as they scored 10 fours between them in the first eight overs. Williamson had multiple reprieves during his partnership with Conway, who started dealing in boundaries after a few quiet overs. He entered the 90s with three reverse-swept fours off Mir in the 29th over and brought up an 89-ball hundred with a couple in the same over.
However, Naseem’s reintroduction resulted in Conway being bowled, ending the second wicket stand worth 181. This started the slide as Nawaz picked up the wickets of Daryl Mitchell and Latham in the same over followed by the dismissal of Williamson, who was bowled by a delivery that spun away sharply. Phillips also fell to Nawaz while Mir and Rauf picked up a wicket apiece, dismissing Bracewell and Ish Sodhi respectively. Naseem pocketed his third with the wicket of Southee but ended up being struck for a six by Santner, who scored a handy 36 before becoming the last to depart.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 261 in 49.5 overs (Devon Conway 101, Kane Williamson 85; Mohammad Nawaz 4-38, Naseem Shah 3-58) beat Pakistan 182 in 43 overs (Babar Azam 79, Mohammad Rizwan 28; Tim Southee 2-33, Ish Sodhi 2-38) by 79 runs.
The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions – who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy – against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.
Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.
The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format – and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan – but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.
Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy – having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head to head record is less impressive in T20 however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.
Despite a wobble with the bat, Australia avoided mishap against Oman earlier in the week, the experience of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis shining through in difficult batting conditions. Surfaces in the Caribbean – not to mention those games staged in the USA – have already had teams scratching their heads; rather than the “slug-fest” England had prepared for, following a high-scoring tour of the Caribbean in December, it looks as if boxing smart may be the way to go.
Speaking of Warner, this could be the last time he faces up against England in national colours – and another match-winning contribution would likely reduce the chances of them meeting again in the knockouts. On the other side of the card is Jofra Archer, fresh from an emotional maiden outing at Kensington Oval and ready to take on Australia for the first time in any format since 2020. Can Mark Wood fire up England’s campaign, as he did during last summer’s Ashes? Will Pat Cummins be back to harass the old enemy once again? Seconds out, it’s almost time to rumble.
Cummins is set to return after being rested for the Oman game, which saw Mitchell Starc leave the field with cramp. Starc is understood to be fine and could keep his place – which would likely see Nathan Ellis miss out. Marsh is still not fit to bowl, with Australia likely to continue with the allrounder combination of Stoinis and Maxwell to give them cover.
Australia (probable XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
The one change England may consider is Reece Topley coming in for Wood, with the expectation that there will be some rotation among the seamers through the course of the tournament.
England (probable XI): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley/Mark Wood
[Cricinfo]
Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof.
To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup.
The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep walking, and then beat them again at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they exposed South Africa’s vulnerability in the chase. If they to do the treble, not only will Netherlands take the lead in Group D, but they will offer conclusive evidence of the threat they pose to Full Members, especially South Africa.
Of course, it will take some doing after South Africa’s opening performance against Sri Lanka, where they reduced their opposition to their lowest T20I total and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to the most stable middle-order of their white-ball era. In Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, South Africa have bankers and big-hitters and, for this match, they also have the advantage of experience. They’ve already played at Eisenhower Park, and have first-hand knowledge that run-scoring doesn’t come easily;Klassen said they are prepared to use their “cricket brains” and play “smarter cricket”.
But the conditions could be good news for Netherlands, who are not naturally a line-up of big hitters and build their innings on a foundation of turning ones into twos. In other words, they tend to take a slightly more conservative approach to batting, which may work well here, but they’ll be wary of the uneven bounce of the surface and will have to come up with plans to counterattack especially against South Africa’s seamers. Their own bowlers were exemplary in Dallas and will look to build on that performance against a line-up that will likely be more proactive than Nepal’s, but who they have managed to keep quiet not once, but twice in the past. Third time’s the charm, they say.
Anrich Nortje’s stunning return to form against Sri Lanka means South Africa may not have to tinker with the bowling combination, and Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi may have to wait their turns to get a game. The batting line-up should be unchanged, with no space for Ryan Rickelton yet.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markam, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje
Conditions in New York may tempt Netherlands to include an extra seamer and they have Kyle Klein in their squad. But it could come at the expense of a shortened batting line-up and they may not want to risk that.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma
[Cricinfo]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
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