Rahul NareshDay 20 of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup witnessed two Super Eight games take place, the first between Bangladesh and Australia, which was followed by South Africa’s clash against England.
Australia v Bangladesh
This rain affected encounter saw Australia come out victorious in the end by 28 runs. After bowling first, the Aussies restricted their Asian opponents to a total of 140 runs. Pat Cummins (3/29) and Adam Zampa (2/24) were the standout bowlers.
After a poor start at the top, Najmul Hassain Shanto (41 of 36) and Towhid Hridoy (40 of 28) gave something for their bowlers to defend. However, all hopes were dampened just as the Australian innings got underway, with David Warner and Travis Head putting on 65 for the first wicket in less than seven overs.
When the rain came, Australia were 100/2 in 11.2 overs and well ahead of the DLS asking rate. The Aussies are now top of Group 1, while Bangladesh are placed last.
1st innings – 140/8 (Bangladesh in 20 overs)
2nd innings- 110/2 (Australia in 11.2 overs)
South Africa v England
This contest between South Africa and England gave us the first real nail biting match of the Super Eight stage. After the Proteas batted first, they made a reasonable 163, thanks to knocks from Quinton de Kock (65 of 38) at the top and David Miller lower down in the order (43 of 28).
England never got going in the chase, as their top order struggled to score runs. They found themselves four down for 61 runs in 11th over and the asking rate had climbed over 10.
Harry Brook and Liam Livingstone played exceptionally well for their respective scores of 53 and 33 to bring the game close. In the end, Marco Jansens held his nerve in the 19th over to concede just 7 runs and gave his teammate Anrich Nortje 14 to defend in the final over.
South Africa got the job done and are now top of Group 2, while England are third after both teams have played two matches each.
1st innings – 163/6 (South Africa in 20 overs)
2nd innings- 256/6 (England in 20 overs)
