ICC Men’s T20 World Cup: Day 3 Review

Day 3 of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup was the first time we witnessed three games, which kicked off with Afghanistan taking on Uganda. Favourites in the eyes of many, England then faced neighbours Scotland, while the last game of the day saw the Netherlands come up against Nepal.

Afghanistan v Uganda

Afghanistan started their ICC T20 World Cup campaign in sublime fashion, winning this match by 125 runs. After batting first, the Asian country’s openers, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, put together 154 runs before the fall of the first wicket. Despite an underwhelming finish to their batting effort from the middle order, the opening stand set the platform for the team’s bowlers to strike in the 2nd innings.

They did just that as Fazalhaq Farooqi picked up two wickets in the very first over of Uganda’s innings. Overall, the SunRisers Hyderabad star finished with five for just nine runs in his quota of four overs. He was supported by captain Rashid Khan and Naveen-ul-Haq, who picked up two wickets each.

1st innings- 183/5 (Afghanistan in 20 overs)
2nd innings-  58 (Uganda in 16 overs)

England v Scotland

England v Scotland was the first game washed out in this edition of the T20 World Cup. After the game was reduced to 10 overs, Scotland got to 90, thanks to some good batting from the openers, George Munsey (41 of 31) and Micheal Jones (45 of 30). 

With a target of 109 set for England to chase in 10 overs, Jos Buttler and Co. never came out to bat due to the weather.

Netherlands v Nepal

The final match of the day saw the Dutch beating Nepal in a low-scoring clash. On a surface that provided the faster bowlers with some movement, Logan van Beek picked up three for 20 in his four-over quota, while left-arm orthodox Tim Pringle got three as well. Captain Rohit Puadel’s 35 of 37 and Karan KC’s 17 of 12 gave the Nepal fans something to cheer about, as they managed a sub-par total of 106.

After a sluggish start by the Dutch, experienced campaigners Max ODowd and Vikramjit Singh steadied the ship, putting on 40 runs before the fall of the second wicket. Although Nepal made a game of it with some tight bowling, ODowd’s experience and his important knock of 54 runs guided his team to victory.

1st innings- 106 (Nepal in 19.2 overs)
2nd innings-  109/4 (Netherlands in 18.4 overs)