Group A - India v Pakistan
at Edgbaston
Code:
[b]Pakistan India[/b]
Salman Butt V Sehwag
Shoaib Malik (c) G Gambhir
Khurram Manzoor SR Tendulkar
Misbah-ul-Haq MS Dhoni
Younis Khan SK Raina
Shahid Afridi Yuvraj Singh
Kamran Akmal R Sharma
Fawad Alam IK Pathan
Sohail Tanvir Harbhajan Singh
Umar Gul Z Khan
Shoaib Akhtar I Sharma
Irfan Pathan took five wickets in twelve balls as India qualified for a quarter-final match with West Indies. Though the net run rate calculations meant India would qualify with any win - and, conversely, that New Zealand's only hope rested with Pakistan getting an almighty thumping - it did not look good for India after having been taken apart inside 12 overs. Yet, they went one better, and Salman Butt could only stare on in disbelief as his side collapsed utterly and embarrassingly.
After Sehwag had set the tone with two sixes in the first over, Umar Gul castled Tendulkar and Gambhir with his second and third delivery of the game. Dhoni paired up well with a rampant Sehwag, but one big shot dropped short and Manzoor snatched it off the ground. The lower order looked like they had rarely played spin before, as Fawad Alam took five for 14 including three ducks and India crashed to 103. Yuvraj, in despair, made 22 not out but failed to hog the strike.
Evidently taking batting lessons from the Indian lower order, Pakistan proceeded to collapse to 24 for six, as Irfan Pathan struck with his fourth (Malik caught deep Zaheer), sixth (Manzoor caught at wicket), ninth (Misbah caught close Tendulkar), eleventh (Younus lbw) and twelfth (Afridi skying). Wiith Harbhajan taking a wicket during the powerplays, not even Salman's smashes could help Pakistan.
Yet, they only needed 82 runs from the last four partnerships, and Alam had the sense to leave the scene to Salman. Glorious hitting off Harbhajan, Sharma and Tendulkar turned the tables, and Pakistan were 59 for seven before another disaster struck - Sehwag trapped Alam lbw, then had Salman holing out, and Gul inside edged. Tanvir fought, but with Akhtar unable to concentrate, Pakistan were whittled for 68 - yet they win the group, leaving New Zealand on the outer.
India 103 all out (12)
Sehwag 36, Yuvraj 22*; Fawad Alam 5/14, Umar Gul 2/16
Pakistan 68 all out (10.1)
Salman Butt 44; Pathan 5/4, Sehwag 3/3
India won by 35 runs
Man of the Match: I. K. Pathan (Ind)
Group C - Cricket Web XI vs Zimbabwe
at The Oval
Code:
[b]Cricket Web XI Zimbabwe[/b]
JE Stedman H Masakadza
AP Chaulk V Sibanda
DP Smith T Taibu (wk)
SE Fuller CJ Chibhabha
CR Butler SC Williams
DA Kearsley E Chigumbura
H Mørk (wk) KM Dabengwa
KR Clapham P Utseya (c)
XPA Rose T Mupariwa
NS Pickup (c) RW Price
KJ Gough CB Mpofu
Kingsley Clapham smashed four sixes to become the Cricket Web hero as they posted a remarkable 184 all out after falling to 90 for six midway through the innings. A six-wicket over from Neil Pickup completed the humbling, as Cricket Web showed how farcical the inclusion of Zimbabwe without a qualifying tournament truly was.
A lackadaisical top order effort ensured that the Zimbabwean trundlers picked up wickets at regular intervals, with Stedman nipping behind early, Chaulk lazily dragging on, and Fuller sweeping to Sibanda. Butler, Kearsley and Mørk followed in quick succession, all guilty of bizarre shotmaking, and when Masakadza's leg spin reaped the wicket of Dan Smith after the batsman had thumped three sixes, things looked mildly dangerous for the webheads.
The lower order doubled the total in less than half the time, however, as Clapham gave Chigumbura, Masakadza and Dabengwa the hammering their bowling deserved. An enterprising 17-run display gave the crowd brief hopes of a 200-run total, but Clapham was caught napping by a swift call, ending the innings 14 balls prematurely.
Zimbabwe's innings will linger in the memory of some, mostly for the comical. A double hat-trick - Chigumbura, Dabengwa, Utseya, Mupariwa, Price, and Mpofu - after Pickup had conceded seven to Taibu in his first over, saw Zimbabwe go from a promising 82 for four after seven overs to a 102-run defeat. Rose was smashed about by Taibu, taken for 39 as the wicketkeeper made 47 off 19, but in the grand scheme, it mattered little.
Cricket Web XI 184 all out (17.4)
Clapham 41, D Smith 35, Chaulk 29; Price 2/14, Williams 2/17
Zimbabwe 82 all out (8)
Taibu 47*; Pickup 6/7
Cricket Web XI won by 102 runs
Man of the Match: N. S. Pickup (CW XI)
Code:
Group A P W L Pts NRR
Pakistan 2 1 1 3 +1.88
India 2 1 1 3 -0.85
New Zealand 2 1 1 3 -1.03
Code:
Group C P W L Pts NRR
West Indies 2 2 0 6 +1.20
Cricket Web XI 2 1 1 3 +1.88
Zimbabwe 2 0 2 0 -3.18
Quarter-final summary
Monday:
Pakistan vs runner up group B (Australia or Bangladesh) @ Lord's
India vs West Indies @ Trent Bridge
Tuesday:
England vs Cricket Web XI @ Edgbaston
Sri Lanka vs runner up group D (South Africa or USA) @ The Oval
West Indies will be without their captain Chris Gayle for the knockout stages, as he suffered a broken hand during the day's play. Ramnaresh Sarwan replaces Gayle as captain.