South Africa rode on skipper Aiden Markram and Marco Jansen’s batting and bowling exploits to beat New Zealand by seven wickets and all but qualify for the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup here on Saturday.
Jansen recorded career-best figures of 4/40 as South Africa restricted New Zealand to 175 for 7 after opting to bowl in the crucial match.
Mark Chapman missed his personal milestone by a narrow margin when he fell for 48 to Jansen in the 14th over, but none of the other New Zealand batters could push on after making starts.
Finn Allen (31) and Daryl Mitchell (32) were also among the runs for the Blackcaps but they just could not find any momentum to push towards a big total. Chasing, Markram made unbeaten 86 off 44 balls, which equalled his career-best T20I score, and Quinton de Kock scored 20 off 14 as the duo shared 62 runs off 28 balls for the opening stand, while Ryan Rickelton made 21 off 11 balls.
Dewald Brevis (21 off 17) made useful contribution before the duo of Markram and David Miller (24 not out of 17) closed out the contest, reaching 178 for 3 in 17.1 overs overs.
Brief Scores:
New Zealand: 175 for 7 in 20 overs (Finn Allen 31, Daryl Mitchell 32, Mark Chapman 48; Marco Jansen 4/40).
South Africa: 178 for for 3 in 17.1 overs (Aiden Markram 86 not out, David Miller 24 not out; Rachin Ravindra 1/9).
Rashid, Banton guide England to 5-wicket win over Scotland
Veteran leg-spinner Adil Rashid returned with figures of 3/36 before Tom Banton smashed an unbeaten fifty in the middle overs to guide England to a comfortable five-wicket win over Scotland in a T20 World Cup Group C match here on Saturday.
Opting to bowl first, England rode on Rashid’s exploits to bowl out Scotland for 152.
Pacer Jofra Archer and left-arm spinner Liam Dawson also chipped in with two wickets apiece.
Captain Richie Berrington top-scored for Scotland with a 32-ball 49 while opener Michael Jones contributed 33.
Chasing, England didn’t have the best of starts losing both their openers — Phil Salt and Jos Buttler — inside two overs.
But Jacob Bethell (32 off 28 balls) and Banton (63 not out off 41 balls) shared 66 runs for the third wicket to get England’s chase back on track.
Sam Curran played a 20-ball 28-run short cameo, while Will Jacks made unbeaten 16 off 10 balls towards the end as England chased down the target of 153 with 10 balls to spare.
Brief Scores.
Scotland: 152 all out in 19.4 overs (Richie Berrington 49; Adil Rashid 3/36).
England: 155 for 5 in 18.2 overs (Tom Banton 63 not out; Oliver Davidson 1/12).
Lorcan Tucker guides Ireland to 96-run win against Oman
Ireland skipper Lorcan Tucker produced a masterful unbeaten 94 under pressure to power his side to a 96-run victory over Oman in their T20 World Cup match here on Saturday.
Riding on Tucker’s entertaining 51-ball knock, studded with 10 boundaries and four sixes, Ireland piled up a formidable 235 for five before dismissing Oman for 139.
It was Tucker who steadied the innings after Oman’s 38-year-old left-arm spinner Shakeel Ahmed (3/33) had jolted Ireland with three top-order strikes, leaving them reeling at 64 for four in the eighth over.
The Ireland skipper stitched together a vital 101-run partnership with Gareth Delany (56) for the fifth wicket before George Dockrell smashed an unbeaten 35 off just nine balls, studded with five sixes, to propel the team to an imposing total.
Oman attempted to keep pace with Ireland’s scoring rate but lost wickets at regular intervals, with opener Aamir Kaleem (50 off 29 balls) and Hammad Mirza (46 off 37) the only batters to offer resistance.
However, slumping to 108 for five in the 13th over with a daunting target still looming, their chase gradually lost momentum and eventually fizzled out.
Brief scores:
Ireland 235 for 5 in 20 overs (Lorcan Tucker 94 not out, Gareth Delany 56; Shakeel Ahmed 3/33, Aamir Kaleem 1/29).
Oman 139 in 18 overs (Aamir Kaleem 50, Hammad Mirza 46; Matthew Humphreys 2/27, Josh Little 3/16).