ICC 20-20 Worldcup Off to a flying start
he West Indies were knocked out of the Twenty20 World Cup on Thursday by Bangladesh, who roared to victory by six wickets in their group match.
Bangladesh won the toss and restricted the West Indies to 164 for eight before captain Mohammad Ashraful's sparkling 61 off 27 balls ensured they reached the target with two overs to spare.
Ashraful's delightful innings included seven fours and three sixes as he tore into the West Indies bowling after neither opener Tamim Iqbal (10) nor Mohammad Nazimuddin (1), made any impression.
Ashraful shared a third-wicket partnership of 109 off 64 balls with Aftab Ahmed, who batted through the innings to finish with 62 not out off 49 balls, including eight fours and a six.
The West Indies were once again sluggish in the field and ill-disciplined in their bowling, having been trounced by eight wickets in the tournament's opening match against South Africa on Tuesday at the same venue.
Dwayne Smith's brutal hitting at the end of the innings lifted the West Indies from a moderate score after he came to the crease with 19 deliveries left and his team on 131 for five. He quickly scored 29 off seven balls, hitting four sixes.
Devon Smith earlier scored a patient half-century as West Indies overcame a tough start. He and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (37) added 95 for the second wicket after the third-ball loss of Chris Gayle but it took them 13.1 overs.
Left-arm seamer Syed Rasel performed superbly with the new ball for Bangladesh, dismissing Gayle, who notched the first international Twenty20 century against South Africa on Tuesday, for a duck as he bowled his four overs for just 10 runs.
Zimbabwe Shocked Australia to 138 for 9
Zimbabwe caused the first and what could be the biggest upset of the Twenty20 World Cup, when they beat Australia by five wickets in a Group B match in Cape Town, South Africa, on Wednesday.
After restricting the One-Day International World champions to 138-9, the Zimbabweans, powered by an unbeaten 60 off 45 balls from Brendon Taylor, hit up the required runs without much difficulty, finishing with a ball to spare.
Hosts South Africa quashed a tough West Indian challenge by eight wickets as the inaugural Twenty20 World Championships rocketed to a brilliant start here on Tuesday.
Some 33,000 home fans at the overflowing Wanderers were treated to the thrills and drama associated with the shortest version of the game as both teams put on a dazzling batting display.
Chris Gayle hammered 117 off 57 balls, the first-ever century in Twenty20 cricket, to lift the West Indies to 205/6 after they were sent in to bat by South African captain Graeme Smith. The hosts made light of the daunting target of 10.3 runs an over as Herschelle Gibbs smashed an unbeaten 90 off 54 balls and Justin Kemp an unbeaten 46 off 23 balls to see South Africa home with 14 deliveries to spare. The third-wicket pair put on an incredible 120 runs off just 64 balls.
Kenyans hit new low
Durban: Mark Gillespie returned the best ever figures in Twenty20 cricket as New Zealand demolished Kenya by nine wickets in the world championships here on Wednesday.
Gillespie picked up 4/7 in 2.5 overs to send Kenya crashing for 73 all out, the lowest Twenty20 international total, which the Kiwis surpassed easily in the eighth over to begin their campaign on a rousing note.
Peter Fulton ended the one-sided match with two consecutive sixes off Rajesh Bhudia. Daniel Vettori celebrated his elevation as New Zealand's Test captain earlier in the day by winning the toss and asking Kenya to bat first at a sunbaked Kingsmead. Kenya lost the first three wickets without a run on the board, slipped to 1/4 before Collins Obuya and Thomas Odoyo put on 36 for the fifth wicket.
Both batsmen made 18 runs each but it was not enough to help the Africans put up a reasonable total.
Shahid Afridi smashed 22 off seven balls and then grabbed 4/19 as Pakistan brushed aside Scotland by 51 runs in the Twenty20 world championships here on Wednesday.
The pugnacious all-rounder ensured his team faced no hiccups after Craig Wright had taken three wickets to restrict Pakistan to 171/9 at the Kingsmead.
Scotland were shot out for 120 in reply with opener Fraser Watts the only batsman to offer resistance with 46.
Umar Gul chipped in with 4/25, including two wickets off successive balls towards the end as Pakistan warmed up for Friday's clash against archrivals India at the same venue.
Scotland, who elected to field after winning the toss, rattled the strong Pakistani batting line-up with wickets at regular intervals.
John Blain, Dewald Nel and Majid Haq took two wickets apiece, but Pakistan were boosted by Younis Khan's 41 off 29 balls.
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