Hello and welcome to the third game of this Super Sunday. It’s India taking on South Africa in Perth in a bid for the top spot in Group 1. These two are also the only unbeaten teams in this group till now but that will change tonight. India started their campaign with a memorable win over Pakistan and then demolished the Netherlands. South Africa missed out on a point against Zimbabwe because of rain but registered a massive win over Bangladesh.
Apart from Indian and South African fans, Pakistani fans will also be watching this game keenly, because if South Africa wins tonight, that will all but knock Pakistan out. I am Hemant Brar and will soon be joined by Alan Gardner. We have got Firdose Moonda on Live Report and Sidharth Monga and Tristan Lavalette at the venue.
Thanks a lot for joining us, people. From Ekanth and I, Shashank, it’s time to say goodbye. There’s plenty for you to read and watch. We’ve got a star-studded ESPNcricinfo line-up of experts, so make sure you dig into everything that’s coming your way across our channels. We’ll see you tomorrow. Ta!
Aaron Finch is Player of the Match for his 44-ball 63.
“Wasn’t the easiest wicket, lot slower than we thought it was. They bowled well, cutters and stuff, was hard to get into a rhythm. Nah, not feeling the pressure at all, to be honest. The support from the change room and support staff has been incredible. T20 is a high risk-game, sometimes it comes off, and sometimes it doesn’t.
It wasn’t easy to come out and go after the bowling from the start. I’ve had a bit of a hammy twing, I don’t feel too bad at the moment but generally, overnight it can stiffen up a bit, let’s see how it goes, will have a scan tomorrow.”
Finch on Tim David [who didn’t take the field]: Just a bit of hammy tightness, that was more precaution than anything.
Andrew Balbirnie: “We’re making progress, to keep up with these big teams. It was hard fought. If someone had stayed with Lorcan Tucker, who knows.”
Australia have won this easily in the end, but there will definitely be a fair few concerns in the camp. Aaron Finch didn’t field for more than half the innings because of a hamstring issue. Tim David spent the entire innings off the field. Stoinis kept going in and out. So there are a number of injury concerns to address, the status of which we should/will know over the next 24 hours.
As such, the win itself gives Australia two handy points as they jump to No. 2 on the table with four points. They’re one ahead of England, who have games against New Zealand and Sri Lanka to come. Australia, meanwhile, have one game to go against Afghanistan.
So Australia can win that game and move on to six points
ravi: “Little could have dived and would have probably made in. with 11 balls to go, Tucker could have reduced the margin by around 20 odd runs”
Monga with an early update: Hooda and KL Rahul were at the nets a little while ago. Does that hint at any changes to the XI?
If you’re in the USA, you can watch the game LIVE on ESPN+.
Siva: “Is it a typo ? I think you wrote Pakistan instead of India taking on SA . Btw I am the first one to read today’s match commentary ” — Ha, yes. Perhaps because the result will have an equal, or even more, impact on Pakistan’s chances.
On paper and recent form, you would say India are favorites. But their batters will face a stern test against South Africa’s pace attack on this fast Perth surface. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli is on the verge of a T20 World Cup record… Read Fir dose’s match preview to find out more.
First win in T20Is for Pakistan in Australia and it was not a smooth one by any means. The 92-run target seemed pretty easy but Pakistan could never find the right tempo to it. Rizwan once again stood tall but was unlucky to miss out on a half-century. The others played around him but it was eventually a drag. Who knows what might have transpired if the target was a bit more than what it eventually was.
Shadab Khan is the player of the match for his three-for: “I think this is a true pitch. I just tried to bowl on the stumps. I bowled to these players in the last series as well as in county cricket.”
“We see ourselves as one of the best pace attacks there is.” That’s was Anrich Nortje on the eve of the game. But he doesn’t want to get carried away. He wants to stay calm in situations when adrenaline is flowing. Tristan has got more here.
And we have got Cricinfoverse for you – our own virtual world with the latest videos, stats, news, games, and much more – check it out!
Sunny: “I think india shoud go with hooda insted of KL. All eyes on india roar to almost semifinal with, SA pace attack is much better than indian”
Through this tournament, we’re picking the best moments from the games with our video experts in a daily show. And if you want to actually own a piece of those moments, they are available as digital memorabilia on FanCraze, ESPNcricinfo’s digital collectible partners. On FanCraze, you can pre-buy iconic moments from each match of the World Cup called the Crictos of the Game.
Vinod CJ: “Temba Bavuma will hit form today …..”
But South Africa have a got a complicated issue at the top of their batting order. Temba Bavuma is their captain and has showed great leadership skills in the last couple of years. But runs haven’t come from his bat in this format. How important are captains in cricket? And what happens when a World-Cup endangering slump in form meets complex socio-political nuances? Monga tries to dissect the issue here.
Scott Edwards, Netherlands captain: “That was still the right decision to make. We haven’t batted first all tournament, we just were not good enough on the day. We were on 30 or so and 15 [19] after the powerplay. We couldn’t string in the boundaries with the bat. Bowlers put their efforts in, but 90 was never enough.”
Babar Azam, Pakistan captain: “I am very happy. Team did well with the ball and bat. I think the length was crucial. They needed to bowl on a good length because there was bounce on the surface. Everyone executed well. We are used to chasing much better than this. Win always gives you confidence. We are taking the good things forward to the next game.”
So, Pakistan get off the mark in this T20 World Cup but their position on the table is unchanged. Their pace bowlers set the tone early by stifling the Dutch batters and it was thereon just about a matter of time. While Rizwan continued his supreme form with the bat, wonder what Pakistan would have learnt from the rest of the top order.
First win in T20Is for Pakistan in Australia and it was not a smooth one by any means. The 92-run target seemed pretty easy but Pakistan could never find the right tempo to it. Rizwan once again stood tall but was unlucky to miss out on a half-century. The others played around him but it was eventually a drag. Who knows what might have transpired if the target was a bit more than what it eventually was.
Shadab Khan is the player of the match for his three-for: “I think this is a true pitch. I just tried to bowl on the stumps. I bowled to these players in the last series as well as in county cricket. Our bowlers put pressure in the powerplay and I could strike and that is what is about a team game. It is horrible feeling to go in there with one run remaining. But we could not finish the games in the last two games and today was about finishing it.”
Puneeth: “I would pick Hooda in place of Axar for this match, to strengthen batting and bowl offspin against left hand power hitters in SA lineup.. Rohit wont use Axar if any of QDK, Rossouw or Miller is in middle…”
Charles J: “Bavuma form is concerned but it won’t impact as long as his captainship good as like Dhoni does it in 2011 WC. hopefully Bavuma bounce back his form in upcoming matches but not today ”
Imtanan Akbar : “2 down 1 to go, totally behind team blue from Pakistan, go Blue go ”
Jawahar: “Rahul will hit form today which completes form for the top 4 batters. However, the lower order batting will be tested today and hence Dinesh should be ready to play his cameo.”
“Crucial game for us,” Bavuma says. “We would have probably batted first because it might be a bit difficult to bat under lights. but now we have got to restrict them and pick up early wickets. We have the resources from the pace bowling point of view to exploit the conditions. Shamsi misses out, Lungi Ngidi comes in.”
6.30pm Bavuma calls heads and it’s tails. India opt to bat first. “No particular reason,” Rohit says. “It’s a good surface and we know what to expect here. It was a good prep but now it’s game-time. We want to come out here and do what we have been doing. Sometimes you can get carried away or your energy is low but you have to stay calm. Axar misses out and Deepak Hooda comes in.”