Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!
Afghanistan 266 for 8 (Shinozada 81, Ahmadzai 74, Niazai 51, Botha 3-45) beat South Africa 238 (Rowles 98, Aziz 2-49, Stanikzai 2-46) by 28 runs
In the 267 chase, South Africa were 175 for 5 at the end of the 40th over, with Jason Rowles on 97. But he was run out in the next over for 98, following which South Africa struggled to keep up with the scoring rate, with a couple of big hits from Corne Botha bringing the equation down to 39 off 24 balls. But Khatir Stanikzai had Botha caught at the end of the 47th over to leave South Africa at 237 for 8, following which they lost their last two wickets in the 48th over to hand Afghanistan a win.
For Afghanistan, opener Ahmadzai and Shinozada laid a solid platform after the early wicket of Osman Sadat, adding 152 for the second wicket. Bayanda Majola broke through in the 35th over removing Ahmadzai for 74, while Shinozada too departed in the next over, leaving Afghanistan at 183 for 3. Niazai did not let the momentum slip as he made a run-a-ball 51 even as wickets fell around him to lift Afghanistan to 266. Majola and Botha finished with three wickets each.
South Africa lost their openers early but Rowles kept their hopes up, without much support from the other batters, as they fell 28 runs short in the end.
England 210 (Falconer 66, Hussain 3-38, Subhan 2-24) beat Pakistan 173 (Yousaf 65, Green 2-21, Minto 2-23, Albert 2-23) by 37 runs
Pakistan captain Farhan Yousaf lacked support even as he fought back from 85 for 6 in their chase of 211 against England. Yousaf scored 65 off 86 deliveries, but the next highest score from Pakistan was Momin Qamar’s 18*. Eventually, they were bowled out for 173 as England started with a 37-run win after themselves being rescued by Caleb Falconer.
England’s No. 5 arrived at 67 for 3 in the 16th over, which soon became 90 for 4 after 19 on a slow pitch where the ball kept low. But Falconer then added 80 for the fifth wicket with Ralphie Albert, and dominated that partnership. He scored 50 of those runs, and on the way, brought up a run-a-ball half-century in the 29th over.
Four overs later, Ahmed Hussain broke that partnership by bowling Albert for 25, and finished with 3 for 38 off his ten overs. Falconer fell for 66 off 73 deliveries soon after, and England’s tail folded quickly.
In the chase, Alex Green and James Minto reduced Pakistan to 28 for 3 in the ninth over. There were only brief recoveries thereafter: Hussain and Yousaf added 26, while Yousaf and Huzaifa Ahsan had a stand of 23. Batting with the tail, Yousaf kept Pakistan’s faint hopes alive. But once he was caught off Minto, Pakistan needed another 67 to win with two wickets remaining. That turned out to be too much for their tailenders.
Australia 237 for 2 (Hogan 115, Samuel 77*, Murray 1-46) beat Ireland 235 for 7 (O’Brien 79, Ogilby 49, Lachmund 3-41) by eight wickets
After being put in to bat, Ireland openers James West and Freddie Ogilby were off to a slow start, before John James struck to remove West for 11. Sebastian Dijkstra was the next one to go, with Charles Lachmund pinning him in front in the 18th over. That brought Rob O’Brien to the crease, who then slowly rebuilt the innings in Ogilby’s company to put up a 43-run stand.
Offspinner Will Malajczuk, however, denied Ogilby his half-century, having him caught behind for 49 in the 29th over. O’Brien continued to build steadily and found the boundaries occasionally, before departing for a 98-ball 79 in the 49th over, helping push Ireland’s total to 235.
Australia got off to a strong start in the chase, with Malajczuk hitting a four and six in the first over. After he fell in the third over, Samuel and Hogan continued to build towards the target, scoring their half-centuries off 62 balls and 50 balls respectively. Their 100-run stand came up in the 21st over, and Hogan continued to find boundaries, bringing up his ton off 97 balls in the 32nd over.
Medium-pacer Luke Murray provided the breakthrough in the 36th over, having Hogan caught behind for 115. In his 111-ball stay, Hogan hit 11 fours and a six. By then, Australia needed only another 20 runs to win. Ollie Peake then joined Samuel, who finished unbeaten on 77, and together they completed the chase with 62 balls remaining to get Australia off to a rollicking start.
