DUBAI, November 7
New Zealand crushed a billion Indian dreams and breezed into the semifinals of the T20 World Cup with an eight-wicket victory over Afghanistan in a key Super 12 match today.
The Black Caps romped home with 11 balls to spare to join England, Australia and Pakistan in last-four.
The fates of three teams were tied to the outcome of the match, each fancying their chances of becoming the second side from the pool, behind Pakistan, to make it to the last-four.
An Afghan victory would have suited 2007 champions India, who have the best net run-rate among the trio with a match to spare, while New Zealand had to simply win the game to advance, which they did in style.
Najibullah Zadran smashed a career-best 73 to rescue Afghanistan from a top-order collapse and post 124-8 at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Brief scores: Afg: 124/8 in 20 overs (Najibullah Zadran 73; Trent Boult 3/17, Tim Southee 2/24); NZ: 125/ 2 in 18.1 overs (Kane Williamson 40 not out, Devon Conway 36 not out; Rashid Khan 1/27).
Pak vs Aus in semis
Sharjah: Pakistan captain Babar Azam and Shoaib Malik cracked blistering half-centuries as the former champions eased past Scotland by 72 runs to seal top spot in Group II and set up a semifinal meeting with Australia. Azam opted to bat first after winning the toss and led from the front with a 47-ball 66 that contained five boundaries and three sixes before Malik put the Scots to the sword with a 25-ball 54 dotted by six hits over the ropes.
Mohammad Hafeez also joined the party with a 19-ball 31 to help them reach a commanding 189-4 in their 20 overs, with 114 coming off the final eight.
Brief scores: Pak: 189/4 in 20 overs (Babar Azam 66, Shoaib Malik 54 not out; Hamza Sharif 1/24, Chris Greaves; Sco: 117/6 in 20 overs (Richie Berrington 54 not out; Shadab Khan 2/14). — Reuters
Ex-champs Windies, SL miss 2022 Super 12 spots
Dubai: West Indies and Sri Lanka., winners of the three previous T20 World Cup tournaments, will have to go through the preliminary round of next year’s T20 World Cup in Australia after dropping out of contention for the eight automatic qualification spots for the Super 12 stage. The finalists of the ongoing T20 World Cup and next six highest-ranked teams at the November 15 cutoff date will be the automatic qualifiers for the Super 12 stage in the 2022 tournament. Defending champions West Indies, who won the 2012 and 2016 editions, will be ranked 10th at the cutoff date following their Super 12 defeat to Australia in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. Sri Lanka, champions in 2014, will be ranked ninth and will have to once again play the preliminary round to qualify for the Super 12 stage next year, like they did during the current tournament. Namibia and Scotland are the other teams from the ongoing Super 12 stage which will join West Indies and Sri Lanka in the preliminary stage of the 2020 tournament, to be played in October and November. Reuters
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