New Zealand Edge out Australia, India Ease Past UAE and More from Day 15
New Zealand against Australia had been billed as a titanic clash that could be a dress rehearsal for an eventual World Cup final.
For once, the pre-match hype turned out to be justified.
The trans-Tasman rivals served up a low-scoring thriller at Eden Park in Auckland, with the hosts coming out on top by the smallest of margins.
There was no suggestion of what was to come when Australia—who had won the toss and opted to bat first—reached 80 for one.
Yet somehow they went on to lose their next nine wickets for just 71 runs as they were bowled out for 151. Trent Boult took five of them, giving him career-best figures.
New Zealand’s reply was given a thunderous start by skipper Brendon McCullum; he belted 50 from 24 deliveries, despite taking a nasty blow on the arm from Mitchell Johnson.
The Kiwis, though, twice contrived to fold quicker than a poker player with a poor hand.
They went from 78 for one to 79 for four, then lost another clatter of wickets with the finishing line in sight.
Mitchell Starc bowled Adam Milne and Tim Southee with successive deliveries as he claimed six for 28, though Kane Williamson’s unbeaten 45 saw New Zealand to victory with one wicket to spare.
There was no such drama in Saturday’s other game—India made quick work of seeing off the United Arab Emirates at the WACA in Perth.
Spinner Ravichandran Ashwin picked up four wickets as the ICC Associate Nation were dismissed for 102.
The only casualty in India’s run chase was Shikhar Dhawan, with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli steering the reigning champions to a comfortable nine-wicket win.
Apologies in advance to supporters of India and UAE—this feature is now going to be dominated by the events that happened in Auckland.
Delivery of the day
There is no better comeback for a bowler after being hit for a six than dismissing the same batsman with the very next ball.
That is exactly what Tim Southee achieved at the start of the third over.
Having belted the previous delivery down the ground for six, Aaron Finch thought initially he had been offered the opportunity to repeat the trick.
His eyes lit up to something pitched up in his half, only this time Southee found a little movement off the seam to gain instant revenge.
It was enough for Finch to be beaten through the gate and comprehensively bowled. To add to the dramatic nature of the dismissal, the off stump was left flat on the ground.
Shot of the day
The two matches combined to produce a total of 509 runs. To put that figure into context, South Africa managed 408 all by themselves on Friday.
That does not mean, though, that there were not some fine shots played during proceedings on Saturday.
Finch’s straight six has already been mentioned above, while Brad Haddin produced a pair of impressive strikes down the ground that went all the way.
Martin Guptill made the most of a free hit against Mitchell Johnson, giving himself room in the first over of New Zealand’s reply to hammer a six over extra cover in baseball-like fashion.
However, the best maximum of the match at Eden Park also happened to be the last one.
Having just seen Starc take two wickets in the previous over, Williamson sealed victory by lofting Pat Cummins over long-on for six.
It was a premeditated shot—he gave himself room by backing away to leg slightly, then took a stride down the pitch in the hope to get something in the area he wanted. Cummins duly obliged, allowing Williamson to win the game in style.
Instead of playing six and out, as many of us will have done us children in the back garden, this was a case of six and over.
(Worst) Shot of the day
It is easy to be critical. But, in a game where a batting collapse was never too far away, there are always some dismissals that probably could have been avoided.
Australia were motoring along nicely when David Warner and Shane Watson were together, the pair putting on 50 for the second wicket.
Things changed when Watson decided to have a dart at a short ball from left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori.
The pull shot was a suitable one to play to the delivery, but the right-hander foolishly decided to go the aerial route when a man was stationed out in the deep. Southee barely had to move to take the catch.
A New Zealand player also needs to be mentioned in this section (which is making a special, one-off appearance).
The dismissal of Grant Elliott just looked odd. Coming in at five in the order, he looked like a club player in his attempts to defend an inswinging delivery from Starc.
He lunged his bat out in front of his body, albeit at a funny angle, while somehow getting his feet in an awful tangle.
It was a tremendous example of how not to play the forward defensive stroke.
Catch of the day
It wouldn’t be right if one of these (fake) awards did not go to a player involved in the game between India and UAE.
So, step forward Dhawan to claim the prize (except there is no actual prize) for taking the best catch seen on day 15 of the tournament.
Stationed at slip, Dhawan showed sharp reactions to dive low to his right and hang on to an edge from UAE wicketkeeper Swapnil Patil off the bowling of Ashwin.
He may have ended up scoring only 14 with the bat during his team’s run chase, but Dhawan still played a hand in helping his country make it three wins from three in Group B.
His dismissal in India's innings came about because of a sharp catch from a UAE player; Rohan Mustafa reached up with one hand at backward point to pluck a well-timed cut shot out of the air.
Frantic finish
I'm not saying it got a bit tense in Auckland, but...
And breath...
The gif that keeps on giving
Why bother writing all these words when one tweet sums up New Zealand's innings perfectly:
Sunday at the World Cup
England return to the scene of their lowest point (so far) in this World Cup when they take on Sri Lanka at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington.
Eoin Morgan's side were dismantled by New Zealand at the same venue earlier in the tournament, though since then they have posted a morale-boosting triumph over Scotland.
Sri Lanka were also beaten comfortably by the Black Caps. However, they have bounced back with victories over Afghanistan and Bangladesh—a third straight success would put them firmly on course for qualification.
In Group B, Pakistan will hope to finally get their campaign up and running when they face Zimbabwe at the Gabba in Brisbane.
Defeats to India and the West Indies have left Pakistan pointless so far, though they can still make a late push to make it through to the knockout stages.
