Australia-SA game the decider as Group 1 fate unravels
The Australians need to beat South Africa at Durban to stay alive in the semis race
As the tournament moves into it's final couple of rounds, seven teams are competing for the four semi-final spots; none decided yet. The Australia vs South Africa encounter at Durban on the 3rd of September however will be a virtual knock-out that will potentially decide, or not do so, the semi-finalists from Group 1.
It is indeed a genuine do-or-die for Australia, who will have to win this game to remain in contention. A loss would mean both New Zealand & South Africa confirmed through to the next round- and Group A's fate would have been sealed with 4 games still left to play in the group.
However things would get interesting if the Australians end on the good side of the result- sending South Africa into a do-or-die for their last game against New Zealand, and opening up the possibility for a three-way tie on 4 points between the three teams if the Proteas do manage to win their encounter with the Kiwis. This means not even New Zealand themselves will be confirmed to qualify until that NZ-SA encounter reaches its conclusion, where NRR is going to absolutely be the decider if all teams do end up on equal wins in the end.
The simplest bet for Australia though, without NRR or any other hiccups, would be to just go and win the next two games, and hope New Zealand win the last game. Australia would not be able to qualify as the top team of the group, however will be confirmed through as the second team in this case. A three-way tie however can help them finish first if their NRR is high enough. And currently, it is the lowest of the three teams- but two good wins should suffice if other results go their way.
South Africa just need to win today. If they do they're in, and the Kiwis too would hope for this to be the case as they too join the Proteas in the semis as a result, immediately, without any last-round tensions. The NZ-SA game then becomes a shoot-out for the top spot, deciding who plays Group 2's runner-up in the Semi-Final 1 at Durban.
The home side has won 3 games so far, but all being against the three lower ranked sides. The real challenge beckons against Australia, a decider match for the fate of the group- whether the Aussies stay alive and push for that spot, or do they bow out and immediately send the other two through. Australia are on their own today, with no one but themselves on their side- it should be a good contest, and one that will matter a lot for both teams going forward.
Pitch Report: Durban is a green wicket as usual, with lots of grass and a hard surface. It will deteriorate as the match progresses.
Toss: Australian captain Aaron Finch calls heads and it is heads. Australia have won the toss.
Aaron Finch: We will bat first again. We had great success last game defending and it has been a good trend this tournament too. The wicket too supports that. It's a do-or-die and we're up against an unbeaten side at their home so this is our biggest game yet. We need to play to our 101% as we need to stay alive, cannot let go this soon. We've come back strong after our first loss, but that result makes this game ever so crucial now. We have 1 change in lineup, Ben McDermott comes in for Mitch Marsh. He was great in the warm-ups. Our bowling has been very good these few games, hopefully we get a good score on board and defend it, it should be a good clash.
Australia: Aaron Finch , D'Arcy Short, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Ben McDermott , Alex Carey , Mitchell Starc, Andrew Tye, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa
(Mitchell Marsh )
Faf du Plessis: Good to be back. Last game was a bit tight yeah, we let ourselves down with the bat initially but Miller & Morris, they were outstanding, and so was our bowling. Chasing this time, like our first game- but Australia are a very tough opponent, and this game is very crucial for both of us. Obviously we don't want to take it to the end, a win here would mean qualification and we want to provide that for the home crowd, so we will be at our best today, it is necessary. Going with the same team, would be harsh to drop any of our bowlers now. Our batting definitely needs to kick on, hopefully today's the day.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock , Hashim Amla, Reeza Hendricks, Faf du Plessis , Jean-Paul Duminy, David Miller, Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir
Australia won the toss and opt to bat first.
1st Innings
Australia once again put on a dominant batting performance, off the back of Chris Lynn this time, who notches up a brilliant knock of 68 with 10 boundaries, settling to his position down at 3. Finch smacked two fours to start but was dismissed for just 16 by Rabada, but that was when Lynn came in to stitch a clinical partnership of 87 runs with Short- the latter departing before his fifty but doing his job well enough. Phehlukwayo bagged a few scalps at the death after all this to bring the Proteas back, but cameos from Carey & Starc take Australia to 181 in the end. Will they be able to defend this or will South Africa come all guns blazing in the chase??
South Africa need 182 runs to win off 20 overs
@ 9.10 RPO
2nd Innings
Australia do the business with the ball brilliantly to follow up that batting performance with, and its Andrew Tye who strikes big today with four scalps, silencing the home crowd for the first time this tournament! Tye started off with the big wicket of de Kock, while Starc struck twice at the start with the other two batters of the Top 3, and Tye got the captain of the Proteas out for a duck- and before you know it South Africa were struggling at 25/4. Duminy finally stepped up with the bat to play a mature knock of 45 with a solid partnership on the other end- Phehlukwayo provided this, a 70 run stand that ended with 4 overs to go, but with over 60 runs to get, it was pretty much over. South Africa needed someone to accelerate, but non-affirmative, and the death bowlers finished it off as they were cleaned up for 127 in the end- the group is well alive!
Pitch Report: We return to Gqeberha for the last time, on a used wicket. It looks heavy on cracks and quite poor, batting might be very difficult. Expect 140 to be a winning score here kind of pitch.
Toss: England captain Morgan calls heads and it is tails. Pakistan have won the toss.
Sarfaraz Ahmed: We are going to bat first again. This pitch looks quite dusty and difficult to get runs on as the report says, but chances are it will get worse in second innings. We have a very good bowling attack, which is our key weapon- and we have been increasingly good in defending totals. We are in a crucial points-tie and have 2 big games ahead of us, and the points we get from them will be very crucial for our qualification. We are going with 2 changes in our lineup. Hussain Talat & Imad Wasim play their first match of the tournament. Shoaib Malik & Shaheen Afridi sit out. We feel the pitch looks dead enough for the extra spinner to help, Shaheen is a good bowler but Imad is an outstanding ace and we have to stick to our best combo. Inshallah, hope for another victory.
Pakistan: Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Hussain Talat , Sarfaraz Ahmed , Asif Ali, Imad Wasim , Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir
(Shoaib Malik, Shaheen Afridi )
Eoin Morgan: Finally chasing, that's a first for us this tournament after 3 games batting first. We've been hearing the talk about England being "underdog bashers" and so and so, but we're not letting anything affect us. Obviously we've had faults and we've let two games get unnecessarily close, and lost a third. We are facing top sides in our up and coming fixtures so we are really looking to introspect and learn from errors to be competitive enough. 1 change in the batting, Joe Root comes in for Bairstow- Root is an incredible batter and we feel his ability to stabilise the innings will be of extreme utility to us, especially on a tough wicket today, with our middle-order having failed over the last few times in playing out the long game. Hopefully a much better show today from the boys and these 2 points will be very crucial.
England: Jason Roy, Jos Buttler , Alex Hales, Joe Root , Eoin Morgan , Ben Stokes, David Willey, Tom Curran, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
(Jonny Bairstow )
Pakistan won the toss and opt to bat first.
1st Innings
The England bowlers find plenty of life on this wicket today, but its Chris Jordan who makes the most of it with three bags in his late-over spell, closing out the death phase with wickets and restrict Pakistan to a mere 101. Pakistan struggled to get going on a dead pitch, Babar & Hafeez the only ones who survived for a decent number of balls but could barely up the run rate and convert to a bigger score as well. All the English Bowlers bowled at an economy of 6 and under, and took wickets continuously to prevent any of the other Pakistani batters from stepping up. A cakewalk chase for England, or is it not as easy as it looks?
England need 102 runs to win off 20 overs
@ 5.10 RPO
2nd Innings
It was far from a straightforward chase for England, as the fiery Pakistani bowling feasted on the pitch as much as the other side, but captain Eoin Morgan, under a lot of scrutiny himself for his rut of scores, steps up in the most crucial situation to take his team home in some absurd conditions. England lost both openers for a run each and were 3/2 by the 7th ball. But coming in at the sixth over, Morgan stitched an instrumental partnership with Joe Root on the other end. The pair added 62 handy runs, in over 11 overs, providing England that much needed stability in a slow but steady run chase. After Root's wicket, a twist in the tale as Hafeez bagged three in a single over to suddenly bring Pakistan back into the game, but captain Morgan remained and slammed a six to take them to victory, with ten balls to spare.
Pitch Report: Today's pitch at Boland Park, Paarl is dusty and dry. Will assist spinners and medium quicks more than pacers. Batting will be somewhat difficult.
Toss: Afghanistan captain calls heads and it is tails. Scotland have won the toss.
Kyle Coetzer: We chose to bat first. The wicket looks good for slow bowling, and we feel we have good ones in our ranks. Batting first we feel would be better as we don't know how the pitch would die out by the chase. It's unfortunate to be out of contention so early but we've clearly underperformed for 3 games now. We are looking for our first win and we need to play well to beat Afghanistan on a spinny wicket. Good that all our batters are still in decent touch. One change in our lineup as well. Stuart Whittingham comes in for Alasdair Evans. We're trying things out now that we can. Hopefully we see a good contest.
Scotland - George Munsey, Kyle Coetzer , Richie Berrington, Calum MacLeod, Matthew Cross , Craig Wallace, Michael Leask, Josh Davey, Mark Watt, Bradley Wheal, Stuart Whittingham
(Alasdair Evans )
Asghar Afghan: We'd be content with chasing. We feel the pitch suits our bowling composition. Rashid, Mujeeb & Nabi will be great on this surface. On that note, we also have 2 changes coming up. Samiullah Shinwari comes in as another spin option and batter in place of Usman Ghani and will bat 7. Aftab Alam did well last game but has a bit of a niggle and hence will be sitting out for precaution. Shapoor Zadran plays his first match today in his place. We are yet to win a match and we are out of qualification contention which is rough. But we still need to play at our best to finish on a high. We are a growing team and we will hopefully reach the top accolades very soon.
Afghanistan: Mohammad Shahzad , Hazratullah Zazai, Asghar Afghan , Gulbadin Naib, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Samiullah Shinwari , Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Hamid Hassan, Shapoor Zadran
(Usman Ghani, Aftab Alam )
Scotland won the toss and opt to bat first.
1st Innings
The spin duo of Rashid Khan & Mohammad Nabi shine on a friendly surface, bagging five wickets between their 4 over spells while being responsible for getting the entire Scottish middle-order to go back for cheap. George Munsey played a neat cameo with four boundaries to kick-start Scotland's innings but Hamid Hassan removed both openers before they could do any long-term damage. Calum MacLeod continued his redemption in form, trying to single-handedly rescue the Scotland batting while the spinners wreak havoc on the other end. He couldn't get his fifty; Michael Leask then did his trademark job as finisher in the end to get Scotland to 145. But would it prove enough on this wicket?
Afghanistan need 146 runs to win off 20 overs
@ 7.30 RPO
2nd Innings
Afghanistan's top-order finally steps up in the tournament in an important run chase, and its Hazratullah Zazai who shines brightest with an aggressive 38-ball 63 to streamline the chase. The pair of Shahzad & Zazai seemed to be at their best form today, adding 91 runs to the opening stand in just 8 overs before Shahzad departed just 5 runs shy of fifty. Zazai continued the onslaught to reach his milestone, but was subdued by Berrington once again who found life with his medium pace to get both the openers' wickets today. With only 28 runs to get, it was too late for any Scottish comeback as captain Asghar & Naib steadily cruised home to get Afghanistan their first two points on board.
Pitch Report: The Wanderers pitch is green and hard, proving to be a good surface for batting and fast bowling. Conditions seem a bit cloudy.
Toss: Carlos Brathwaite, WI captain calls tails and it lands on heads. Zimbabwe have won the toss.
Hamilton Masakadza: We are going to bowl first. I think this wicket will be better for us to chase. We want to get our campaign kickstarted even if we are officially out, we shouldn't let our fans down without a single win in this stage and try to go out on a high. We are playing defending champions here and we must be at our best. We have two changes to our XI- Elton Chigumbura & Kyle Jarvis have been left out, and we welcome Peter Moor & Chris Mpofu back into our lineup. Moor will also keep wicket today. Hope to see the best from the lads today.
Zimbabwe: Hamilton Masakadza , Solomon Mire, Malcolm Waller, Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams, Brendan Taylor, Peter Moor , Wellington Masakadza, Tendai Chatara, Christopher Mpofu , Blessing Muzarabani
(Elton Chigumbura, Kyle Jarvis )
Carlos Brathwaite: We wouldn't mind batting first. It has been quite a successful choice this tournament. The wicket looks good, we feel it has a lot in it for our players. We are at a crucial stage in the tournament, a single loss could set us back that semi-final spot majorly and a win would be crucial to keep us in the hunt against the other sides vying for that place. We want to defend our title and be the first side to go two in two. Last game showed how we could play under pressure and it was a big positive. We have 1 change in our lineup, Shai Hope will play his first game today in place of Marlon Samuels. He will also don the gloves relieving that pressure off Fletcher today.
West Indies: Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Andre Fletcher, Shai Hope , Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo, Carlos Brathwaite , Sunil Narine, Ashley Nurse, Kesrick Williams
(Marlon Samuels )
Zimbabwe won the toss and opt to bowl first
1st Innings
It's showtime from the destructive opening pair of the Universe Boss along with Evin Lewis, who top scores with his 62 off 43 balls to announce his arrival firmly in this competition. Gayle continued to be in top form, blitzing his way to a fifty and getting dismissed only in the 11th over as the duo puts up a stand of 102 runs to begin. Lewis reached his milestone soon after and got support from Andre Fletcher to continue to pile on runs. After his dismissal, as Sean Williams bagged another wicket- Fletcher took control with Pollard at the death to finally land Windies on an impressive 181. Too much for the Zimbabweans now?
Zimbabwe need 182 runs to win off 20 overs
@ 9.10 RPO
2nd Innings
The West Indies' go-to paceman Kesrick Williams makes the big mark today, playing the key role as the Caribbeans shut the Chevrons down for 129 in another clinical defence. It was Mire who once again had to carry the Zimbabwean batting as the others struggled, and Williams after silently delivering every game finally got his big bag of 4 wickets in the middle. Bravo excelled at the death as usual to remove Mire and finish with two scalps as well. Mpofu threatened with a cameo of boundaries against Brathwaite but got run out to end the Zimbabwean fightback, and it was anyway too late for anything. West Indies march on with two more points leaving Zimbabwe still winless.
Qualification Scenarios for all 7 teams ahead of their final matches
India (Group 2, 4 matches, 8 points)
- India have only mathematically not qualified to the semi-finals yet. With an NRR of above 2, they are pretty much guaranteed a spot in the semis.
- The only (very unlikely) scenario where they miss out if they lose MASSIVELY to England, and West Indies beat Pakistan massively, such that all 3 are tied on 8 points & India's NRR falls to be the worst of the 3.
- They win they are through as the top of the table.
New Zealand (Group 1, 4 matches, 8 points)
- New Zealand are identically placed to India in the other group. However with a less humungous NRR, there is a more possible chance that they miss out on the semis than India. Currently their NRR is only second best in group, after Australia.
- So in the scenario they lose to South Africa & Australia beat Afghanistan, they will miss out on the top spot. If the loss is big enough, South Africa will overtake them and they will be eliminated.
- Again, win against SA and they are through as table toppers. They have fate in their own hands.
Australia (Group 1, 4 matches, 6 points)
- Australia basically need to win their last game against Afghanistan to qualify.
- If NZ beat South Africa, and Australia beat Afghanistan, Australia are guaranteed qualification in all cases as 2nd placed team.
- If South Africa beat NZ, and Australia beat Afghanistan, Australia can finish first. There is almost no chance that they have the lowest NRR in a three-way tie. This is because even if they win their last game closely, either of SA or NZ will still have a lower NRR based on the result of that game.
- If Australia lose to Afghanistan, they MUST hope NZ beat South Africa. In most cases their NRR will be better and they will edge South Africa out for the 2nd spot. They must not lose too heavily.
West Indies (Group 2, 4 matches, 6 points)
- West Indies are well placed at 2nd place with a superior NRR to their other competitors other than India. If they win against Pakistan, they are almost definitely through. Their fate is in their own hands.
- WI beat Pakistan, and India beat England- West Indies are confirmed through as 2nd place.
- WI beat Pakistan, and England beat India- A 3 way tie for 8 points. WI will qualify if they win by a decent margin and England win by a decent margin too. If WI win by a huge margin, they can finish 1st. If England win by a huge margin, enough to overtake WI's NRR and India's NRR drops just above West Indies' NRR, WI will be eliminated. WI will have to also win very narrowly for this.
- If WI lose to Pakistan, hope India beat England. They must make sure their loss is not too heavy, then they will still qualify with superior NRR over England & Pakistan.
England (Group 2, 4 matches, 6 points)
- England are placed 3rd with the lowest NRR of the four teams alive in their group, with 6 points. They HAVE to beat India to qualify. Even then, it is not assured. - If England beat India, and Pakistan beat WI- England assured of their qualification. Win huge and they can finish 1st. Two teams will have 8 points and qualify for sure.
- If England beat India, and WI beat Pakistan- England need to make sure they win big to still overtake WI's NRR. Ideally England wins big and WI wins narrowly. Or win big enough to overtake India's NRR itself (unlikely)
- If England lose, and Pakistan beat WI. 3 way tie on 6 points. England have the worst NRR now. They will be knocked out.
- If England lose, and WI beat Pakistan. Eliminated. Out as WI reach 8 points and they are left on 6.
- England HAVE to win their last match. Do or Die it is.
South Africa (Group 1, 4 matches, 6 points)
- South Africa are 3rd with the lowest NRR of the teams alive in their group. They also like England, HAVE to win to qualify, and even then not assured.
- If SA beat New Zealand, and Afghanistan beat Australia, then both SA & NZ qualify with 8 points and SA can finish first if they win big enough. Most ideal case.
- If SA beat New Zealand, and Australia beat Afghanistan, SA have to win big- else their NRR will still fall behind the other 2 in a 3-way tie.
- If SA lose to New Zealand, they have to hope Afghanistan beat Australia by a massive margin. This way SA-AUS are tied on 6 and SA have better NRR. Very unlikely. SA also have to lose very narrowly
- If SA lose to New Zealand and Australia win- they are confirmed eliminated.
- SA too, can be said to be in a do-or-die.
Pakistan (Group 2, 4 matches, 4 points)
- Stuck in the middle. Not eliminated, but barely hanging by a thread for qualification. Pakistan are fourth in group with 4 points, but they can still qualify. But fate is not in their own hands entirely.
- Pakistan MUST beat West Indies, and India MUST beat England. They must win by a decent margin. If all this happens, Pakistan qualify as second placed team. No chance to finish first obviously. If they win narrowly against WI, chances are their NRR will still be behind, and WI will qualify.
- If Pakistan beat WI and England beat India, they are out 100%. If they lose to WI they are out obviously. So they need several results to go their way.
Virtual Knock-out in Cape Town as the Proteas square off against the Black Caps
Dale Steyn was the last over hero for South Africa when the two sides last met in the WT20
The final round of group matches kicks off today as the hosts South Africa face table-toppers New Zealand in what is essentially a virtual quarter-final as the two sides battle it out for the semi-final spots from Group 1. Cape Town will host this dramatic encounter, which will be deciding the fate of the group once and for all.
The last time these sides met in a World T20 match, Dale Steyn bowled the famous final over, defending 7 runs to take the Proteas to a narrow two-run win that eventually got them into the semi-finals over New Zealand. Today the sides will face once again to decide who makes it and who gets the cut- but Steyn himself has remained in the sidelines for all the games for SA so far, will he play today?
However, there is a chance that both sides qualify. But Australia's superior NRR and odds against Afghanistan makes this highly unlikely, which would turn today's encounter into a definite knock-out of all sorts. But never rule out any possibilities.
New Zealand, having won all of their first four games, are still not confirmed to be through. Today's game would be ever so crucial for Williamson's side- a win today would take them to the top of the table and a guaranteed qualification. A loss wouldn't rule them out- however it would be ideal to take matter into their own hands with the best possible result.
The Kiwi openers & bowling attack have been in top form- however captain Williamson himself & Ross Taylor, the two senior men of the team have had a worrisome run so far, and that has made the middle-order the point of weakness for the Kiwis this tournament.
South Africa, slightly worse placed after a heavy loss against Australia last game have just broken their momentum. Having the most inferior NRR of the three sides in contention, they desperately need to win today to stay truly alive. They would also need to make sure the margin of victory is big enough for them to overtake the Kiwis, if they want to confirm their semi-final spot- regardless of result of the Australia-Afghanistan clash.
South Africa's situation has been identical to New Zealand- they have had a very competent bowling unit delivering consistently every game, keeping even Dale Steyn on the bench, and an opening pair that does the bulk of the scoring. However their skipper as well, Faf du Plessis, has been extremely poor so far- with 36 runs at an average of 9 this tournament. JP Duminy is in a similar rut of form- their middle-order too has been the point of struggle.
The wicket at Cape Town has proven to be evenly suited to both disciplines and often unpredictable- both teams need to make bold calls and the right decisions, off field as well as on the field, and it's going to be a direct shoot-out for that coveted spot in the semis.
- They defeat New Zealand by a NRR difference of 1.540 or higher. This accounts to a win margin of 31 runs or more while batting first. If South Africa chase, and let's assume New Zealand have scored 160- South Africa will have to chase it in 16.5 overs or lesser, the exact value varying based on what their final score is.
New Zealand qualify if:
- They defeat South Africa.
- They lose to South Africa by a NRR difference of 1.540 or lower. This accounts to losing by a margin of less than 31 runs while chasing. If they bat first and post 160, they have to drag the chase for more than 16.5 overs, and they can qualify regardless of result.
Both sides can qualify even after failing to achieve their respective scenarios- if and only Afghanistan defeat Australia. These scenarios are for instant qualification after the result of this match.
Pitch Report: As expected it is an even wicket at Newlands today with extra pace assistance as usual due to the grass. Nothing new.
Toss: New Zealand captain Williamson calls heads and it is tails. South Africa have won the toss.
Faf du Plessis: We're going to bowl first. More games are starting to be won by the chasing team now and it's not like batting first is a ticket to victory. We feel we can get better out of the wicket for batting as it dies out in the second innings. This is a do-or-die encounter and we have to win to stay alive, and we don't want to let down the home crowd here. They have been truly special in all of our games and Cape Town was where we started out in the tournament for our first win. Obviously we will come all guns blazing to win today, and hopefully get that Q mark next to our name on the table. We'll be making one change to our XI, Farhaan Behardien comes in place of Reeza Hendricks; we feel that 6th option as a medium pacer and his flexibility in the order will be of great utility to us. Hopefully, we end up on the victorious side.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock , Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis , Jean-Paul Duminy, David Miller, Farhaan Behardien , Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir
(Reeza Hendricks )
Kane Williamson: We will take that. We don't mind batting first. This is a crucial game for us. We have won 4 in 4 games but it won't mean anything if we let ourselves down today and consequently miss out on the semi-finals. That's really how competitive this tournament is. South Africa are a very good side too and are playing at their own home. It's going to be a challenging game and we need to be at our best. If we win, we top the table and qualify- it would be the most ideal situation and there is no reason why we can't make it happen. With the team, we're going with one change- Glenn Phillips will replace Tim Seifert as our wicket-keeper. We're excited to see how he plays, he's a talented cricketer. Fingers crossed we make it five in five today.
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson , Ross Taylor, Glenn Phillips , Corey Anderson, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult, Seth Rance
(Tim Seifert )
South Africa won the toss and opt to bowl first.
1st Innings
South Africa round up a clinical bowling show at Cape Town, with Chris Morris leading the way to suppress New Zealand's initial outburst and restrict them below 160. Colin Munro was the man of the hour for the Kiwis again, continuing to be a run-machine at the top and trying almost single-handedly to get his side to a big score with his 39 ball 62. However he lost all proper support after the wicket of Guptill, as the middle-order once again succumbed to cheap scores courtesy Morris, who bagged 3 wickets for just 23 in a clinical spell at the death-overs. New Zealand have gotten 152 in the end, will it be enough to put off the spirited South Africans on their own home soil?
South Africa need 153 runs to win off 20 overs
@ 7.65 RPO
2nd Innings
The Proteas fight to stay alive and it's their young superstar Quinton de Kock starring with the bat once again to get a match-defining fifty. Him and Amla once again did the bulk of the run-scoring with an 81 run partnership to stabilise the chase early. Amla departed 10 runs short of his fifty but de Kock stayed on, only to once again be completely let down by the next few batters going for cheap scores. David Miller's aggressive 30 later on helped get the game back on track and it was the duo of Behardien & Morris who could comfortably finish it off. The triangle is completed between the Top 3 sides of the group, but we now await to see if the Proteas have chased it quick enough to get the NRR boost they desperately need!
NEW ZEALAND ARE THE FIRST TEAM TO QUALIFY FOR THE SEMI-FINALS OF THE 2018 WORLD T20!
South Africa have fallen SHORT of the top spot today, by a margin of FOUR BALLS- they await the Australia-Afghanistan match to know their fate.
New Zealand however are confirmed through to the semi-finals as they cannot finish below the Top 2.
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
, Alex Carey 
)
