Pitch Report: The Centurion Wicket is a hard surface, that will assist batters and fast bowlers. Conditions remain clear.
Toss: Virat Kohli calls tails and it lands on heads. Zimbabwe have won the toss.
Hamilton Masakadza: We are going to bowl first. Good wicket and it should be good for our fast bowlers. Our openers, myself and Solomon have been batting well too and hope to continue, with some assistance from our middle order as we chase whatever target we get. We are coming off two losses, but we have fought well, and this will probably be our biggest game, against a side like India. The boys will be at their best today. Going with the same lineup, so far our bowlers have all done their job and our batting is fine, for now. Zimbabwe: Hamilton Masakadza , Solomon Mire, Malcolm Waller, Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Brendan Taylor , Elton Chigumbura, Wellington Masakadza, Tendai Chatara, Kyle Jarvis, Blessing Muzarabani
Virat Kohli: We will take that, good surface to bat on first up, get some runs on the board and our bowlers are capable of defending whatever total we put up provided we play to our strengths. We've started off well with two wins, there are no real thing such as easier opponents, every game is a mission and we are here to give our best. Each win is crucial in deciding our semi-final qualification and finish on the table. Same team today, no reason to make any changes.
Rohit Sharma brings up the first century of the tournament with a swash-buckling innings of 117, filled with sixteen boundaries- to add yet another T20I ton to his name. A 171-run opening partnership between Rohit Sharma & Shikhar Dhawan had the Zimbabwean bowlers crying for a breakthrough until Dhawan's dismissal in only the 14th over. Unfortunately Rohit departed soon after and the wickets began to fall in heaps after that to Masakada & Muzarabani, who shared 7 scalps between each other to somehow *restrict* India to 207 after that kind of a start. Still a mammoth score to chase, Zimbabwe will have to bat out of their socks for this one, because Rohit Sharma has just given them a beating today.
Zimbabwe need 208 runs to win off 20 overs
@ 10.40 RPO
2nd Innings
Not happening under my watch, says Jasprit Bumrah with an extraordinary spell of 3/12 in his 4 overs that is instrumental in India's clinical defence today. Zimbabwe lost their danger-man, Mire for just 17 runs to Bumrah which set them back massively, captain Masakadza too departed by the 11th over with the scoring rate nowhere near enough. Malcolm Waller & Sean Williams fought but were suppressed before they got to convert and stay till the end, and after that the wickets began to tumble to Bumrah & Co as Zimbabwe were silenced for just 140/7- that too thanks to Chatara for smashing a last-ball six. India go 3 in 3, Zimbabwe go down 3 in 3.
Scotland, Ireland and Zimbabwe have officially been eliminated.
By losing their first 3 games, they can maximum reach a total of 4 points.
With India & New Zealand having reached 6 points already, they cannot finish first.
To finish second, they must hope that Australia & South Africa (For Scotland in Group 1) and England & Pakistan (For Ireland, Zimbabwe in Group 2) lose all of their remaining games as these teams are currently already on 4 points.
But the problem is- Both Australia vs South Africa and England vs Pakistan are fixtures that are yet to take place, meaning it is impossible for all 4 teams to not win any match from now on.
The tournament is thus officially over for the three teams, who cannot possibly equal the second placed team on points in any scenario.
Colin de Grandhomme ruled out; Tom Bruce into NZ Squad
de Grandhomme picked up an injury in the nets post the game against Scotland
Kiwi all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme has been ruled out of the rest of the World T20 following a knee injury he picked up in the net sessions after the last game against Scotland. He has been replaced by Tom Bruce in the main squad, who was initially named as a travelling reserve.
de Grandhomme played all 3 games for NZ so far, having batted only in 2 innings. He scored a memorable 35* alongside Kane Williamson to see New Zealand to a victory in the chase against Afghanistan. He had to bowl his full 4 over spell in the last game against Scotland following Southee's absence.
de Grandhomme will not take part in any of the remaining games for NZ as he has been taken for further injury assessment. His replacement, Tom Bruce, was a regular in the T20I side for the Kiwis this year and will now be part of the main squad.
New Zealand have won 3 in 3 games and play Sri Lanka next on 2nd September in Centurion.
Pitch Report: Today's pitch is very grassy with cracks on surface, and will definitely be very tough to bat in comparison to other grounds. Fast bowlers mainly thrive.
Toss: Afghanistan captain calls heads and it is heads. Afghanistan have won the toss.
Asghar Afghan: We want to bowl first. This wicket looks very good for bowling and we want to take advantage of that. Probably gets a bit easier to bat on as the match progresses and we get a reading of the wicket. Should finally try to get the chasing victory by breaking the streak of the tournament. We've had two losses so far so yet to kick on our account, need to be more serious and up our performances. The home side won't be an easy opponent of course so we have to be at our A-Game here. Still going with unchanged team.
Afghanistan: Mohammad Shahzad , Hazratullah Zazai, Usman Ghani, Asghar Afghan , Gulbadin Naib, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Hamid Hassan, Aftab Alam
Faf du Plessis: Ideally we'd have bowled first. But we will take it. We've had a good start to the home tournament so far. Was a nervy win last game though, it's been quite competitive. We still have a lot of big games to go. It looks a good wicket for bowling. We'll need to focus and put on a good enough total. We have 1 change in our XI today- Reeza Hendricks comes in for Heinrich Klaasen and he will bat at 3. About Steyn of course, Steyn will play when he is required.
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
(Heinrich Klaasen )
Afghanistan won the toss and opt to bowl first.
1st Innings
South Africa are rescued from deep trouble by the duo of David Miller & Chris Morris, who came in at the 8th over following a catastrophic collapse and stayed till the end to ensure the Proteas did not completely disintegrate. Aftab Alam found breakthrough in the pitch and completely silenced the Hosts' top order, removing their dangerous opening pair and having them struggling at 52/5 before the pair came in. A brilliant anchoring partnership on a very tough batting surface saw 78 runs being added in the last 12 overs, to get South Africa to a respectable 130 after a disastrous start. This will be quite a tough defence, can Afghanistan pull off an upset against the home team to kick their campaign off?
Afghanistan need 131 runs to win off 20 overs
@ 6.55 RPO
2nd Innings
Fear not Proteas when you have KG Rabada in your ranks, because he will not let Afghanistan get away in the slightest today! One of the most incredible opening spells in the tournament from Rabada rattled the Afghanistan top and middle-order to a situation of 31/5 by the 7th over. Each and every wicket fell to him, as he bagged his fifer for 15 ruuns. Najibullah Zadran & Gulbadin Naib then tried to be Morris & Miller in another holding partnership for 10 overs, adding 59 runs, but they couldn't do it. Wickets tumbled once again after their dismissals and Phehlukwayo completed the finishing touch in the end, cleaning them up for just 99 in the last over. Another day, another heart-attack kind of win to celebrate for the home crowd, but South Africa go 3 in 3 on the back of another brilliant defence.
Pitch Report: The pitch at Johannesburg is hard, a little green and overall favourable for pace. Batting might not be very easy but quality batters should be able to make ground.
Toss: England skipper Eoin Morgan calls heads, and the coin lands on heads. England have won the toss.
Eoin Morgan: Another toss win, we'll bat first yet again. It's been a trend that teams have done well defending totals this tournament so why not- and we've won two games that way too. Although we definitely have concerns, the batting has been over-reliant on Jos, we've definitely not dominated either of our victories and have tougher opponents coming up, so we have a lot to learn. Can't let every game go that close- this is the rematch of the final, we have bitter memories from 2016 against the Windies so we are here for redemption. And 1 change in lineup, Mark Wood is back, we go for the extra quick as Moeen Ali sits out.
England: Jason Roy, Jos Buttler , Alex Hales, Eoin Morgan , Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Tom Curran, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
(Moeen Ali )
Carlos Brathwaite: Chasing in a T20 game against England? I mean, we have great memories of that. Not gonna get too complacent though- coming off a tough loss against India, and England are an equally competent side so we have to play our best game today. Obviously I've come a long way, that day in Kolkata will forever be in my memory, and today, against the same opponents as captain, hopefully we repeat that, in a little less nervy fashion of course. We have no team changes today, same XI.
West Indies: Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Andre Fletcher , Marlon Samuels, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo, Carlos Brathwaite , Sunil Narine, Ashley Nurse, Kesrick Williams
England won the toss and opt to bat first.
1st Innings
It's finally time that Jason Roy stepped up, after throwing away his wicket in subsequent games- he has taken charge today to be the backbone of the England innings. Buttler got England off to a quick start in the powerplay but he was dismissed earlier than he would have liked, Hales did the same with his cameo but couldn't convert as well. Roy stayed on one end, anchoring and building on his innings as the England middle-order once again failed to produce anything. He scored a very instrumental 65 that would be the main reason for England reaching 156/6. West Indies have bowled well, can they get the better of England again??
West Indies need 157 runs to win off 20 overs
@ 7.85 RPO
2nd Innings
It is destiny that England and West Indies' encounter must always go till the final ball, and Dwayne Bravo ensures it is destiny that it is the West Indies who finish the game off in the final ball for a victorious chase! West Indies started off well, despite losing Gayle, they had Lewis & Fletcher who took charge for a 53-run partnership, Lewis getting out after his fifty, having done damage in both the partnerships up till then. Fletcher carried on, but missing his fifty, he got out and suddenly Tom Curran looked like he was going to pull off another death bowling masterclass as he shot through the Windies middle-order with 4 wickets yet again. But Bravo & Brathwaite remained composed and finished it off in the final delivery to guide the West Indies home. Brathwaite, this time as captain, once again remains at the crease as WI defeat England in a last-ball thriller.
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.