Day 27 Results
1. New Zealand v Bangladesh
Martin Guptill and the lower order helped New Zealand get past Bangladesh in their final Pool game of the Cricket World Cup, but only just. Chasing 289 to win, the Black Caps looked to be cruising with Guptill and Ross Taylor controlling the chase, however, the brave Bangladeshi slow bowlers refused to give the game away and took it right down to the wire. In the end, cameos from Corey Anderson (39), Daniel Vettori (16) and Tim Southee (12) were needed to see the locals home with seven balls to spare.
Bangladesh had earlier recovered from a poor first ten overs – they were 29/2 – to post an excellent 288. That was largely thanks to Mohammad Mahmudullah’s second consecutive hundred. His 128 was as good if not better than his previous knock against England. If featured, nervy start, in which a couple f chances went down within his first few balls, but then controlled aggression and supreme patience. He allowed others to build partnerships around him and later destroyed Mitchell McClenaghan in the final overs.
Bangladesh’s tactic of using slow bowlers to curb Brendon McCullum’s free scoring worked well. Shakib bowled an opening over maiden and then removed McCullum and Williamson shortly after. The plan was working and they should have been well on top had they reviewed an LBW decision against Guptill that went against them. Guptill got to 100, Taylor to 50, and New Zealand seemed on course before allowing the late pressure to get a bit much for them. Instead of cool heads, Guptill; Taylor; Elliot; Ronchi; and Anderson all went for wild swipes and perished.
And just when Bangladesh started to believe, Shakib, the hero of the innings with four important top order wickets, went for 12 to lose by 3 wickets.
New Zealand 289 for 7 (Guptill 105, Shakib 4-55) beat Bangladesh 288 for 7 (Mahmudullah 128*, Soumya 51) by three wickets
2. England v Afghanistan
The second match of the day was damp, dull and decidedly English in conditions and appearance. Sydney’s persistent rain had reduced play to just 50 overs and reduced the crowd to a sparse smattering. It was befitting of the England Cricket World Cup campaign that this was how it ended. No bright lights, no powerful opposition and no fanfare. Simply a final Pool game won comfortably against an associate nation.
All five bowlers took wickets for England, again there was no standout, and they chased their target of 100 easily. Just one down, with runs to Ian Bell and Alex Hales. Ian Bell scored another half century, his third of the tournament, but that just accentuates the problems with England. Not enough hundreds, not enough wickets, no x-factor and carrying a captain averaging 19 in the tournament.
A comfortable win to finish for England, a disappointing final effort from Afghanistan despite bringing plenty of value to the occasion.
England 101 for 1 (Bell 52*, Hales 37) beat Afghanistan 111 for 7 (Shafiqullah 30) by nine wickets (D/L method)
Day 28 Matches
1. India v Zimbabwe
India – $1.10
Zimbabwe – $7.00
India will look to continue their unbeaten World Cup run that spans not only this edition but also 2011’s tournament. Five from five this year and verging on ten in total, the Indians ave been mightily impressive, despite being given very little chance to do well at the onset.
So dominant have they been, they’ll relish a challenge and the chance to give more batsman game time if Zimbabwe can come to the party. That could be too much to ask, but we hope not, especially for Brendon Taylor, who deserves a fitting farewell in his final match for Zimbabwe (he’s signed for Nottinghamshire on a Kolpack deal).
2. Australia v Scotland
Australia – $1.01
Scotland – $17.00
Australia will make short work of Scotland in the second of the day’s matches. Scotland have been the biggest disappointment of the associate nations and you get the feeling they’ll just want to get home. The only unanswered questions in this match are the size of the total if Australia bat first, the overs taken to chase down Scotland’s effort if they bat first, and whether Shane Watson will play (which might be a tip for who gets the quarterfinal spot).
Day 28 Multi
The Test Best Double
During the Australian Summer two batsman stood out amongst a number of fine efforts. They were both captains of their sides at various times in the series and both made centuries for fun in the four test series. That’s why we’re backing them to succeed today.
Virat Kohli to Top Score at $4.75 + Steven Smith to Top Score at $5.00 = $23.75
Odds from Unibet Australia.
Betfair:
Bet on Henrik Stenson to become the BMW PGA Championship Winner.
Paddypower:
Back Australia to take the Ashes home with them.
Betway:
Back Rafael Nadal to become the Mens French Open Winner.
Coral:
Back One For Arthur to win the Grand National.
Bet365:
Back Mexico to win the Confederations Cup.
