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Home   /   Cricket Weekly Column #5 World Cup: Round Five Roundup
Posted on by Riley Taylor
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By Riley Taylor (@rileyttaylor21)

Welcome to the fifth edition of Overtime’s Cricket Weekly Column, where we look at the weeks biggest cricket stories and games. 

This week, there is eight games to cover with the battle for semi-final qualification heating up!

Thursday June 27 India v West Indies at Old Trafford

India: 268/7 (Kohli 72, Dhoni 56no, Roach 3-36, Holder 2-33)

West Indies: 143 (Ambris 31, Pooran 28, Shami 4-16, Bumrah 2-9)

Full scorecard: https://www.cricketworldcup.com/match/8225

West Indies took on India at Old Trafford, with a loss for the Windies meaning elimination from the tournament.

India won the toss but started poorly when Rohit Sharma was caught by wicketkeeper Shai Hope off the bowling of Kemar Roach for 18.

They recovered through a 69-run partnership between KL Rahul and Virat Kohli.

However, the Windies fought back with quick wickets with Rahul (48), Vijay Shankar (14) and Kedar Jadhav (7) dismissed in quick succession.

Kohli and MS Dhoni repaired the damage with a 40-run partnership, but it was broken when Jason Holder had Kohli caught for 72.

Dhoni and Hardik Pandya then began to dominate the West Indies bowling with a 70-run partnership in just 10 overs.

Windies did offer a late fightback as Sheldon Cottrell picked up two wickets in his last over, Pandya (46) and Mohammed Shami (0).

Dhoni (56no) boosted India’s total in the last over, smashing it for 16 and bringing up his half-century in the process.

Knowing a loss would put them out of the competition a solid batting performance was needed from the Windies.

However, what happened was the direct opposite as the West Indies were completely undone by some superb Indian bowling with only Sunil Ambris (31) and Nicolas Pooran (28) the only batsmen to go past 20.

Mohammed Shami took his second four-wicket haul in two games as India romped to victory.

MOTM: Mohammed Shami – another superb bowling performance from the seamer which completely dismantled the West Indian batsmen.

Friday June 28 Sri Lanka v South Africa at Durham

Sri Lanka: 203 (Fernando 30, K.Perera 30, Pretorius 3-25, Morris 3-46)

South Africa: 206/1 (du Plessis 96no, Amla 80no, Malinga 1-47, Dhananjaya 0-18)

Full scorecard: https://www.cricketworldcup.com/match/8226

Sri Lanka took on South Africa at Chester-le-Street in the first deadwood game of the World Cup with both sides already eliminated.

South African captain, Faf du Plessis won the toss and elected to bowl and that decision looked to be a brilliant one as Dimuth Karunaratne was dismissed off the first ball of the innings.

Avishka Fernando and Kusal Perera repaired the damage with a 67-run partnership but when Fernando was dismissed by Dwaine Pretorius, Sri Lanka collapsed.

They lost nine wickets for 136 runs with only Kusal and Fernando reaching 30 as the South African bowlers ran through the batting order.

Sri Lanka reached a below-par total of 203 but they started their defence well with Lasith Malinga bowling Quinton de Kock (15).

However, that was to be Sri Lanka’s only wicket as Hashim Amla (80no) and Faf du Plessis (96no) calmly knocked off the runs as South Africa cruised to victory.

MOTM: Faf du Plessis – a true captains knock as he negotiated a small chase with ease and unfortunately fell just short of a deserved hundred.

Saturday June 29 Afghanistan v Pakistan at Headingley

Afghanistan: 227/9 (Najibullah 42, Rahmat 35, Shaheen 4-47, Wahab 2-29)

Pakistan: 230/7 (Wasim 49no, Babar 45, Nabi 2-23, Mujeeb 2-34)

Full scorecard: https://www.cricketworldcup.com/match/8227

Pakistan looked to heap pressure on England, as a win versus Afghanistan would put above the hosts and into the top four for semi-final qualification.

Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bat first but this decision did not look like a good one when they lost three wickets for just 57 runs.

A 64-run partnership between Asghar Afghan (42) and Ikram Alikhil (24) got Afghanistan back on track.

However, both batsmen were dismissed in back-to-back overs to hand back momentum to Pakistan.

Afghanistan then collapsed but Najibullah Zadran (42) was able to stay in and push Afghanistan to a meagre total of 227/9.

Pakistan knew a win would see them into the top four, so a decent batting performance was needed.

However, instead they started off in the worst possible way, Fakhar Zaman out off the second ball of the innings for 0.

Imam ul-Haq (36) and Babar Azam (45) put on 72 for the second wicket but Pakistan suffered a double setback when both batsmen were dismissed within nine runs of each other.

Mohammed Hafeez (19) and Haris Sohail (27) put on a stagnated 40 in 12 overs before Pakistan’s middle order collapsed, losing three wickets for 35 runs including captain Sarfraz Ahmed (18).

Afghanistan looked to have won the game but some selfish captaincy from Gulbadin Naib saw him use up precious overs with his expensive bowling, which the Pakistani batsmen in Imad Wasim and Wahab Riaz took apart which ended up winning the game for Pakistan.

MOTM: Imad Wasim – under intense pressure his batting was superb and ended up getting Pakistan over the line.

Saturday June 29 Australia v New Zealand at Lords’

Australia: 243/9 (Khawaja 88, Carey 71, Boult 4-51, Neesham 2-28)

New Zealand: 157 (Williamson 40, Taylor 30, Starc 5-26, Behrendorff 2-31)

Full scorecard: https://www.cricketworldcup.com/match/8228

A Trans-Tasman battle for top spot took place at Lords’.

Australia won the toss but got off to a disastrous start as they collapsed to 92 for five with Lockie Ferguson and Trent Boult tearing through the top order.

However, Usman Khawaja (88) and Alex Carey (71) remained unfazed by the collapse as they amassed a 107-run partnership to repair the early damage.

Carey was removed but Khawaja continued to push on with the lower order.

Khawaja and Cummins(23no) put on 42 for the seventh wicket before a Boult hattrick off the last three balls held the Aussies back to 243/9.

In reply, the Kiwis top order frailties shone through again as Martin Guptill (20) and Henry Nicholls (8) fell early to Jason Behrendorff.

New Zealand stalwarts Kane Williamson (40) and Ross Taylor (30) repaired the damage with a 55-run partnership.

However, as New Zealand have often shown in the past, whenever Williamson falls, as does the rest of the order.

This was the case yet again as when Williamson was caught by Carey off Mitchell Starc, the Kiwis then collapsed losing eight wickets for 60 runs to relinquish top spot to the Aussies.

MOTM: Mitchell Starc – Australia’s strike bowler continued his fine form in this competition with another five-wicket haul and another match-winning performance.

Sunday June 30 England v India at Edgbaston

England: 337/7 (Bairstow 111, Stokes 79, Shami 5-69, Bumrah 1-44)

India: 306/5 (Rohit 102, Kohli 66, Plunkett 3-55, Woakes 2-58)

Full scorecard: https://www.cricketworldcup.com/match/8229

A must-win game for England took place at Edgbaston, a loss seeing them most likely go out of the World Cup in the following days.

After struggling without him, the return of previously injured batsmen Jason Roy looked to be a huge boost for England.

This proved to be correct when Roy and Jonny Bairstow put on an opening 160-run partnership.

Roy was dismissed by Kuldeep Yadav for 66 but Bairstow powered on as he reached his first century of the World Cup.

India pegged England backed when Bairstow (111) and Morgan (2) were removed in quick succession by Mohammed Shami.

England’s star players of the World Cup, Joe Root and Ben Stokes recovered things with a 70-run partnership.

Root, Stokes and Buttler were then removed within two overs of each other but not before Buttler had smashed 20 off just eight balls.

Chris Woakes (7) came and went to hand Shami his five-wicket haul but Stokes stopped the flow of wickets by hitting 17 runs off two overs.

India’s reply got off to a nervous start when Rohit Sharma was dropped on two by Root before KL Rahul was dismissed for a duck by a sharp catch by Woakes off his own bowling.

Rohit and Virat Kohli then heaped pressure back on the England bowlers with a 138-run partnership.

However, England were back in the game when Kohli carved a ball from Liam Plunkett to James Vince at backward point.

Rohit continued to push on and he brought up his third hundred in the competition before he was dismissed when Woakes returned to have him caught behind for 102.

Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya put on 30 in just three overs but England again broke through when Plunkett had Pant caught for 32.

India continued to fall behind the run rate and when Pandya fell for 45, the game was England’s.

MOTM: Jonny Bairstow – A superb return to form for the Yorkshireman with a stunning century.

Monday July 1 Sri Lanka v West Indies at Chester-le-Street

Sri Lanka: 338/6 (Fernando 104, K.Perera 64, Holder 2-59, Allen 1-44)

West Indies: 315/9 (Pooran 118, Allen 51, Malinga 3-55, Mathews 1-6)

Full scorecard: https://www.cricketworldcup.com/match/8230

Two teams already out of the World Cup looked for consolation wins in Durham.

Sri Lanka, batting first, started well with a 93-run opening stand between Dimuth Karunaratne (32) and Kusal Perera (64).

However, as Sri Lanka have shown often in this tournament is that their batsmen have often not pushed on for big scores as both Karunaratne and Perera fell within three overs of each other.

Avishka Fernando broke this mould as he made a hundred whilst being ably supported by the middle order in Kusal Mendis (39), Angelo Mathews (26) and Lahiru Thirimanne (45).

West Indies reply did not start well as they collapsed to 84 for four before a 61-run between Nicholas Pooran and Jason Holder repaired the early damage.

Pooran pushed on as Holder and Carlos Brathwaite fell around him but he eventually found a partner in Fabian Allen as the pair made an 83-run partnership in which Pooran brought up his hundred.

However, the Windies failed in their chase as they lost three wickets for 29 runs which halted their progress.

MOTM: Avishka Fernando – A good find for Sri Lanka in what has been a disappointing tournament. His innings helped build a brilliant innings for Sri Lanka and thus setup a win for them.

Tuesday July 2 India v Bangladesh at Edgbaston

India: 314/9 (Rohit 104, Rahul 77, Mustafizur 5-59, Soumya 1-33)

Bangladesh: 286 (Shakib 66, Saifuddin 51no, Bumrah 4-55, Pandya 3-60)

Full scorecard: https://www.cricketworldcup.com/match/8231

India looked to bounce back from their defeat to England with a victory over rivals Bangladesh.

After winning the toss and electing to bat, India’s opening pair started superbly with a 180-run partnership between Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul.

However, they then lost four wickets for 57 runs as Bangladesh fought back.

India recovered through a 40-run partnership between Rishabh Pant and MS Dhoni before India collapsed again, losing five wickets for 37 runs to stutter to a total of 314/9.

Bangladesh’s reply started off steadily but lost both openers Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar before the 15th over.

Shakib Al Hasan’s was Bangladesh’s main threat in the chase and he was ably supported by the middle order but unlike him they did not push on for bigger scores as the Indian bowlers pegged them back.

Despite Shakib’s innings the Bangladesh middle-order collapsed, as they lost four wickets for 58 runs.

Sabbir Rahman and Mohammad Saifuddin provided some late resistance with a 66-run partnership but a collapse of four wickets for 41 runs ended Bangladesh’s efforts.

MOTM: Rohit Sharma – without his electric start India may of struggled to a lesser total, not to mention the fact that his century was his fourth of the tournament!

Wednesday July 3 England v New Zealand at Durham

England: 305/8 (Bairstow 106, Roy 60, Neesham 2-41, Henry 2-54)

New Zealand: 186 (Latham 57, Taylor 28, Wood 3-34, Stokes 1-10)

Full scorecard: https://www.cricketworldcup.com/match/8232

England took on New Zealand at Chester-le-Street in a must-win game for the hosts.

A win would see them guarantee a spot for semi-final qualification whereas a loss would see them pend their hopes on a Bangladesh win versus Pakistan.

England elected to bat first and since the return of Jason Roy their opening partnerships have been destructive, this was the case again when Roy and Jonny Bairstow started proceedings with a 123-run partnership.

Roy fell for 60 to James Neesham but Joe Root picked up where he left off and amassed a 71-run partnership with Bairstow.

Bairstow brought up his second hundred in a row before England suffered a minor collapse, losing three wickets for 20 runs.

Ben Stokes and Eoin Morgan recovered things with a 34-run partnership, but New Zealand pegged England back by removing Stokes and Chris Woakes in quick succession.

Morgan then fell to a stunning catch by Mitchell Santner off Matt Henry before Adil Rashid and Liam Plunkett put on a quick 30-run cameo to take England past 300.

New Zealand’s reply started off poorly as they lost both openers, Henry Nicholls and Martin Guptill inside five overs.

Yet again, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor had to recover things for New Zealand, before Wood ran out Williamson with the thinnest of fingertips at the non-strikers end.

Taylor fell an over later, run out by a great bit of teamwork by Rashid and Jos Buttler but Neesham and Colin de Grandhomme repaired things with a 54-run partnership.

However, both batsmen were removed in quick succession, Neesham bowled by Mark Wood before de Grandhomme was caught in the deep by Root off Stokes for three.

New Zealand’s innings then soon began to peter out with the run-rate well behind the required rate, this did not stop England bowling them out; the Kiwis last four wickets falling for 22 runs.

It seemed England would be crashing out of the competition after back-to-back defeats to Sri Lanka and Australia, but two wins against tough opponents have seen them qualify for their first semi-final since 1992.

MOTM; Jonny Bairstow – Back-to-back centuries for the opener, as England’s openers return to form at the right time.

Overtime Round 5 Best XI:

1. Rohit Sharma (IND)

2. Jonny Bairstow (ENG)

3. Avishka Fernando (SRI)

4. Faf du Plessis (SA)

5. Usman Khawaja (AUS)

6. Ben Stokes (ENG)

7. Alex Carey (AUS)

8. Shaheen Afridi (PAK)

9. Mitchell Starc (AUS)

10. Mustafizur Rahman (BAN)

11. Mohammed Shami (IND)

Here is the table after another week of games: https://www.cricketworldcup.com/standings

For more cricket content click here: http://www.overtimeonline.co.uk/category/cricket/

For our summary of the fourth round of fixtures click here:

Stay tuned for our summary on next week’s games!

Sub-edited by Tony Robertson

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