Match report: McCullum blitzes Bangladesh

source: AFP

• New Zealand 191/3 (McCullum 123, Franklin 35) defeated Bangladesh 132/8 (Hossain 50, Southee 3/16)

Summary:
Wicketkeeper Brendan McCullum clubbed 123 off only 58 balls, the highest T20 score in an international match, as New Zealand recovered from a modest start to post the highest score of the tournament. Coming in in the fourth over with the score on 19, McCullum hit 11 fours and seven sixes before being dismissed with the final ball of the innings. Bangladesh were never in the hunt during the run chase losing wickets at regular intervals, beginning with key batsman Tamim Iqbal in the first over.

The centurion:

McCullum becomes the first batsman to score two T20 international hundreds, his first coming against Australia in 2010. He showed that in T20 cricket it is possible to play yourself in, scoring only nine runs from his first ten deliveries before cutting loose to record 50 off 29 balls and reaching a hundred off 51 deliveries. McCullum now also holds the record for the most fours and sixes in T20 internationals.

Who's hot:

New Zealand: McCullum obviously, although the Kiwi's will be happy with their bowling attack. Their fast men Kyle Mills, Tim Southee and Jacob Oram accounted for seven of the eight Bangladeshi wickets, despite slow bowling generally being the favoured option in T20 cricket.

Bangladesh: The fielding coach may come under a bit of heat after a lacklustre performance in the field. Nassir Hossain battled gamely with the bat, while Abdur Razzak was the pick of the bowlers. 

What it means:

New Zealand: Confidence boost ahead of the game against Pakistan, with progression to the Super Eights virtually assured. With McCullum in this sort of form, New Zealand could pose a real threat in this tournament.

Bangladesh: A simple equation, they must win against Pakistan and then hope results go their way. Given the unpredictability of both teams anything is possible, although Bangladesh's abominable T20 World cup record (haven't won a match since 2007) would suggest they will shortly be making the quick flight back to Dhaka.

The Votes:
MVP 3- B McCullum, 2- T Southee (3 wickets while economical), 1- N Hossain (provided only Bangladeshi resistance)
Tucker Trophy: 1- E Sunny (bore the brunt of McCullum's attack), T Iqbal (soft dismissal set tone of innings), 3- M Rahim (captain didn't have a great day in the field or with the bat)

Match report: South Africa through to Super Eights

Source: cricinfo.com

• Zimbabwe 93/8 (Ervine 37, Kallis 4/15) lost to South Africa 94/0 (Levi 50*, Amla 32*)

Summary:

Zimbabwe are the first team out of the 2012 T20 World Cup after a crushing defeat to their African neighbours. They were bullied from the outset, with opening bowlers Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel going for just nine and 16 runs respectively for their four over spells, while also taking three wickets. Jacques Kallis then completed the job with four middle-order scalps. Richard Levi and Hashim Amla were then untroubled in the run chase, reaching the target with more than seven overs to spare.

Grim reading:

• Only two players reached doubled figures for Zimbabwe with Craig Ervine responsible for more than a third of their run total. 
• In Zimbabwe's two group matches they were only able to take four wickets, three of which came from run-outs.
• This was the first match of the T20 tournament where a spinner failed to take a wicket.

Who's Hot:

South Africa: Pretty much everyone. The pace bowlers were disciplined and intimidating while the opening batsmen looked rock solid. Alternatively you could say no-one got hot as it was such an easy game for the Proteas.

Zimbabwe: Hard to mount a case for anyone really, apart from Craig Ervine whose 37 runs came off 40 balls

What it means:

South Africa: Made the second group game against Sri Lanka a dead-rubber as both teams are already qualified. Clinical display bodes well for later in the tournament.

Zimbabwe: Were never likely to progress out of the group but the manner in which they went out is disappointing, with two pretty substantial losses. Key players failed to fire.

The Votes:

MVP: 3- J Kallis (4/15 with one maiden), 2- R Levi (2nd highest T20 score), 1- C Ervine (tried to right a sinking ship) 

Tucker Trophy: 1- B Taylor (Zimbabwe needed much more from their captain), 2- B Vitori (went for 21 runs off two overs), 3- V Sibanda (total contribution a duck and a dropped catch)

Match report: Watson leads Aussies past Ireland

Source: cricinfo.com

• Ireland 123/7 (K O'Brien 35, Watson 3/26) lost to Australia 125/3 (Watson 51, Warner 26)

Summary:

Australia avoided another embarrassing group stage defeat with a commanding performance against Ireland. Shane Watson set the tone removing Irish opener William Porterfield with the first ball of the game, as the Aussie attack took wickets at regular intervals to restrict Ireland to a low total. Watson and fellow opener Dave Warner ensured Australia were never troubled in the run chase.

All-round performance:

The match ended up being all about Shane Watson. Took three wickets with the ball including the key wicket of Irish top-scorer Kevin O'Brien, before notching the tournaments first fifty in a typically bludgeoning fashion. Was also involved in a bit of by-play on the field with the Irish player and the umpires.

Who's hot:

Australia: Watson aside, the Aussie will be encouraged by the performances of Mitchell Starc (2/20) with the ball and Cameron White (22 off 19) closing the innings. Captain George Bailey's move to open the bowling with Watson was inspired.

Ireland: The O'Brien brothers provided the most resistance to the Australians combining for 55 runs and a wicket. Opening bowler Rankin competed hard against without reward against Watson and Warner. 

What it means:

Australia: Have shown that T20 rankings are pretty meaningless, as Australia have at times been ranked below Ireland. Can now concentrate on Super Eight stage without worrying about needing a result against the West Indies.

Ireland: Teams now take Ireland very seriously after their efforts at the last T20 World Cup. Will need to improve dramatically to challenge the West Indies.

The Votes:

MVP: 3- S Watson (pretty obvious), 2- K O'Brien (fought on with bat and ball), 1- M Starc (2 wickets and was economical)

Tucker Trophy: 1- P Stirling (made 7 off 12 and went for 13 off one over), 2- W Porterfield (golden duck as captain a bad look), 3- Australian uniform designers (hang your heads in shame)

Match report: Indians see off spirited Afghanis

Source: zimbio.com

• India 159/5 (Kohli 50, Raina 38) defeated Afghanistan 136 (Nabi 31, Balaji 3/19)

Summary:
A scratchy performance for from India was enough to secure victory against minnows Afghanistan and virtually book their place in the Super Eight stage.  India made the most of a sloppy Afghan performance in the field, which included four dropped catches. Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina both benefitted from those misses to top score for India. Afghanistan missed a chance to record a massive upset, losing 8/61 after a solid start.

The comeback:
It was a welcome return to an international tournament for India's Yuvraj Singh following his recovery from cancer treatment. Five years to the day since he took England's Stuart Broad for 36 off one over, he opened his account with a six and finished with 18 runs. Also chimed in with 3 wickets.

Who's hot:
India: Kohli looked ominous before holing out, as did skipper MS Dhoni who pushed India's total to 159 with some lusty blows at the end of the innings. India's spinners stopped the Afghani innings in its tracks.

Afghanistan: Fast bowler Shapoor Zadran troubled the Indian top order, beating them for pace. The Afghani top order looked solid and give them a chance at an unlikely victory.

What it means:

India: With an eye on the next round of the tournament, India will be looking for a marked improvement against England with both bat and ball.
Afghanistan: Will be confident of causing an upset against England while rueing missed opportunities. The four dropped catches cost them more than 50 runs, not to mention the 16 wides and no-balls they bowled. Pretty much the game right there.

The Votes:
MVP: 3- V Kohli (half-century anchored innings), 2- Y Singh (Runs and started the Afghan collapse), 1- M Nabi (top scored and contributed with the ball)
Tucker Trophy: 1- M Nabi (dropped a couple of sodas), 2- Z Khan (went for 32 off three overs), 3- S Shenwari (dropped Raina and conceded six runs in one play, out for 1 in a very tame manner)

Team preview: India

T20 World ranking: 7th
T20 World Cup record:
2007: Champions
2009: Super Eights
2010: Super Eights

Coach: Duncan Fletcher

India comes into the 2012 T20 World Cup under a bit of pressure to perform after not making it passed the Super Eight stage since it won the title in 2007.

Strengths: The Indian squad is chock-full of talented players with loads of T20 experience thanks to both the Indian Premier League and the number of T20 internationals India plays. Captain MS Dhoni is one of the best finishers in the game.

Weaknesses: There are questions over India's athleticism in the field, and the immense pressure to produce results, although nothing new for India, could weigh on the minds of the Indian team.

With the tournament in neighbouring Sri Lanka, India gets the advantage of playing in almost home conditions but without the extra pressure of actually being the home team. India are infamous slow starters in tournaments, which is something they need to avoid to go deep in 2012.

India Squad
MS Dhoni (captain/wicketkeeper)	Virat Kohli
Gautam Gambhir	Irfan Pathan
Ravichandran Ashwin	Suresh Raina
Lakshmipathy Balaji	Virender Sehwag
Piyush Chawla	Rohit Sharma
Ashok Dinda	Manoj Tiwary
Harbhajan Singh	Yuvraj Singh
Zaheer Khan

Team preview: England

T20 World ranking: 2nd
T20 World Cup record: 
2007: Super Eights
2009: Super Eights
2010: Champion

Coach: Andy Flower

The defending champions come into the tournament with a very different squad to the one that won the title, and are without 2010 Player of the Tournament Kevin Pietersen.

Strengths: Belief, stemming from their positions as defending champions and from their recent performances against South Africa. They have a young but talented batting line-up to complement their more established and well-known bowlers.

Weaknesses: English cricketers tend to be somewhat uneasy on sub-continental surfaces, and for some of England's younger brigade it will be the first time they have played under those conditions in an international tournament.

The group match against India will be a good guide to how England will fare and how well they adapt to the conditions. They have proven domestic T20 players in their squad and have been a consistent T20 team for a few years now. Expect them to figure late in the tournament.

England Squad
Stuart Broad (captain)	Alex Hales
Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper)	Craig Kieswetter (wicketkeeper)
Ravi Bopara	Michael Lumb
Tim Bresnan	Eoin Morgan
Danny Briggs	Samit Patel
Jos Buttler	Graeme Swann
Jade Dernbach	Luke Wright
Steven Finn

Team preview: Afghanistan

T20 World ranking: 10th
T20 World Cup record:
2010: Group stage

Coach: Kabir Khan

The feel good story of the T20 World Cup, The Afghani's will be hoping to improve on their last outing where they got clobbered by India and South Africa's Morne Morkel.

Strengths: Hamid Hassan can be a difficult customer with the new ball and Mohammad Shahzad has made an explosive start to his international career. They will feel at home in the Sri Lankan conditions

Weaknesses: Afghanistan has only been playing T20 cricket since 2009 so experience, both in terms of games and dealing with pressure situations, is lacking. Their skills also quite at the standard of other international teams.

Afghanistan got a rough draw; grouped with previous winners England and India, although advancing past the group stage was always unlikely. May fancy their chances against England in sub-continental conditions.

Afghanistan Squad
Nawroz Mangal (captain)	Mohammad Nabi
Asghar Stanikzai	Mohammad Shahzad (wicketkeeper)
Dawlat Zadran	Najibullah Zadran
Gulbodin Naib	Mohammad Nasim Baras
Hamid Hassan	Samiullah Shenwari
Izatullah Dawlatzai	Shafi qullah Shafiq
Javed Ahmadi	Shapoor Zadran
Karim Sadiq