Section: Cricket World Cup

Australia, Cricket World Cup, New Zealand

Cricket World Cup: Australia crush New Zealand in final

Australia overwhelmed New Zealand to win the World Cup for a fifth time at an ecstatic Melbourne Cricket Ground.

World Cup final, Melbourne:
New Zealand 183 (45 overs): Elliott 83, Johnson 3-30, Faulkner 3-36
Australia 186-3 (33.1 overs): Clarke 74, Smith 56*
Australia win by seven wickets

New Zealand lost influential captain Brendon McCullum to the fifth ball of the match and were bowled out for 183.

Grant Elliott resisted with 83, while Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson and James Faulkner shared eight wickets.

Australia rarely looked troubled, sealing a seven-wicket win in 33.1 overs, with captain Michael Clarke scoring 74 and Steve Smith 56 not out.

Clarke, in his final one-day international, was given a standing ovation by the record 93,000 crowd and welcomed by his team-mates on the boundary when he was bowled by Matt Henry with eight required.

He was part of the Australia team that last lifted the trophy in 2007, with this success extending their record for most World Cups won. No other team has more than two.

Australia’s win was the second in as many tournaments by a host nation after India’s triumph four years ago.

It provided a joyous end to an emotional Australian summer which saw batsman Phillip Hughes die after being struck on the neck by a ball in Sydney in November.

In their first final, after six previous semi-final defeats, New Zealand were blown away.

Their path to Melbourne came with eight successive wins, all on home soil, and most of the pre-match speculation was of how McCullum’s men would deal with the change in conditions.

They won what was thought to be a crucial toss, but the life was sucked from their innings almost as soon as it began.

Read more at BBC Sport

Australia, Cricket World Cup, India

Cricket World Cup: Australia beat India to reach final

Australia powered into the World Cup final with a 95-run victory over defending champions India in Sydney.

World Cup semi-final, Sydney:
Australia 328-7 (50 overs): Smith 105, Finch 81, Yadav 4-72
India 233 (46.5 overs): Dhoni 65, Faulkner 3-59
Australia won by 95 runs

Steve Smith struck a fluent 105 from 93 balls and Aaron Finch 81 as Australia posted 328-7, the highest score in a World Cup semi-final.

India made a solid start to their reply but lost four wickets for 32 runs and fell well short on 233 despite captain MS Dhoni making 65.

Australia will meet fellow co-hosts New Zealand in Sunday’s final in Melbourne.

They will do so looking for their fifth World Cup crown – no other team has more than two – and on the back of a seventh semi-final win in as many attempts.

For India, the defence of the trophy they won on home soil four years ago and a run of 16 consecutive wins in major one-day tournaments – the World Cup and Champions Trophy – is over.

They can reflect on how their top order fell apart after openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma put on 76 inside 13 overs, but perhaps Dhoni’s biggest mistake was calling incorrectly at the toss.

As a result, India, who failed to win any of the 10 matches on their tour of Australia that preceded the World Cup, were made to bowl first on a Sydney pitch that was full of runs.

Even then, Australia failed to fully capitalise on the second-wicket stand of 182 between Smith and Finch, as Michael Clarke’s men were stunted by the off-breaks of Ravichandran Ashwin and a curious collective failure against back-of-a-length bowling.

Read more at BBC Sport

Cricket World Cup, New Zealand, South Africa

Cricket World Cup: New Zealand beat South Africa in thriller to final

New Zealand beat South Africa with a six off the penultimate ball to reach the World Cup final for the first time.

World Cup semi-final, Auckland
South Africa 281-5 (43 overs): Du Plessis 82, De Villiers 65*
New Zealand 299-6 (42.5 overs): Elliott 84*, McCullum 59, Anderson 58
New Zealand won by four wickets (Duckworth/Lewis method)

With five needed from two balls, Grant Elliott hit Dale Steyn into the stands to finish unbeaten on 84 and seal a four-wicket win in Auckland.

Elliott and Corey Anderson’s 58 had lifted the Black Caps from 149-4 in their chase of a rain-adjusted 298.

South Africa had earlier posted 281-5, with Faf du Plessis making 82, in a match reduced to 43 overs per side.

Captain AB de Villiers weighed in with an unbeaten 65 for South Africa and David Miller an 18-ball 49 in a target that was escalated by Duckworth-Lewis, but just within New Zealand’s reach.

It was a fourth unsuccessful World Cup semi-final for the Proteas to add to two defeats and the famous 1999 tie with Australia.

For New Zealand, a seventh last-four tie finally yielded a place in the final after six previous losses.

It was earned in a thrilling, fluctuating contest played out in front of a raucous and partisan crowd at Eden Park.

In scarcely believable drama that had echoes of Kane Williamson’s six to defeat Australia by one-wicket earlier in the tournament, South Africa-born Elliott smashed Steyn for six over long-on two balls after Daniel Vettori steered a four to the third-man boundary.

Elliott should have been caught from the final ball of the previous over, but his top-edged hook fell to the ground after a boundary collision by JP Duminy and sub fielder Farhaan Behardien.

That South Africa came so close was down to their third comeback of a game that both teams controlled at various points.

Read more at BBC Sport

Cricket World Cup, New Zealand, West Indies

Cricket World Cup: Martin Guptill hits highest score in New Zealand victory against West Indies

New Zealand’s Martin Guptill made the highest score in World Cup history with 237 not out against West Indies to send his team into the semi-finals.

World Cup quarter-final, Wellington (Regional Stadium):
New Zealand 393-6 (50 overs): Guptill 237*
West Indies 250 (30.3 overs): Gayle 61, Boult 4-44
New Zealand won by 143 runs

His 163-ball innings in Wellington featured 11 sixes and 24 fours and beat the 215 made by West Indies’ Chris Gayle earlier in the tournament.

Guptill, 28, hit 137 from his last 52 balls to help his side post 393-6.

Trent Boult then took four early wickets as New Zealand bowled out the Windies for 250 to seal a 143-run win.

Gayle’s 33-ball 61, featuring eight sixes, entertained the crowd as the Caribbean side scored at a furious pace.

But they continued to lose wickets at regular intervals and were bowled out in 30.3 overs to spark jubilant scenes in the capital.

New Zealand, semi-finalists for the seventh time, will now face South Africa in Auckland on Tuesday at 01:00 GMT, with both seeking a first World Cup final appearance.

Guptill’s score was the second best in one-day international history behind Rohit Sharma’s 264 and propelled the Black Caps to the highest total in a World Cup knockout match.

Having ended a run of 21 innings without a century in New Zealand’s previous match against Bangladesh, he became the fifth player to make an ODI double hundred.

He joined Indians Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, and Gayle in the exclusive club.

His effort was also the fourth highest score in all List A cricket – limited-overs games that are not Twenty20s.

Read more at BBC Sport

Australia, Cricket World Cup, Pakistan

Cricket World Cup: Australia beat Pakistan to reach semi-finals

Australia withstood a pulsating spell of fast bowling from Pakistan’s Wahab Riaz to set up a meeting with India in the World Cup semi-finals.

World Cup quarter-final, Adelaide:
Pakistan 213 (49.5 overs): Haris Sohail 41, Hazlewood 4-35
Australia 216-4 (33.5 overs): Smith 65, Watson 64*
Australia won by six wickets

Australia’s hopes of chasing 214 looked in peril when Riaz removed David Warner and Michael Clarke to leave them 59-3.

But Steve Smith countered with a measured 65 and Shane Watson capitalised on a dropped catch to steer Australia home with an unbeaten 64.

Earlier, Josh Hazlewood took 4-35 as Pakistan slid from 97-2 to 213 all out.

Australia’s victory keeps them on course for a fifth World Cup victory and sets up a chance to avenge their 2011 quarter-final defeat by India in Sydney next week.

Read more at BBC Sport

Bangladesh, Cricket World Cup, India

Cricket World Cup: India beat Bangladesh to reach semi-finals

Defending champions India coasted into the World Cup semi-finals with a 109-run win over Bangladesh in Melbourne.

World Cup quarter-final, Melbourne:
India 302-6 (50 overs): Rohit 137, Raina 65, Taskin 3-69
Bangladesh 193 (45 overs): Nasir 35, Yadav 4-31
India won by 109 runs

Opener Rohit Sharma made a composed 137 from 126 balls and Suresh Raina 65 from 57 as India recovered from 115-3 to post 302-6 at a boisterous MCG.

Bangladesh lost two wickets in the seventh over of their reply and eventually limped to 193 all out in 45 overs as India’s bowlers dominated.

India meet either Australia or Pakistan in a Sydney semi-final on 26 March.

They will go there on the back of 11 successive World Cup victories, a run that stretches back to their success on home soil four years ago.

Their six-match winning streak in this competition has come after a horrible tour of Australia, where they failed to win any of their 10 games across all formats.

But the resurgence in a limited-overs tournament is typical of MS Dhoni’s team, who not only hold the World Cup, but also the Champions Trophy and won the 2007 World Twenty20.

India made the last four by outclassing a Bangladesh team that eliminated England on their way to a first World Cup quarter-final.

Read more at BBC Sport

Cricket World Cup, South Africa, Sri Lanka

Cricket World Cup: South Africa ease into semi-finals

South Africa cruised into the World Cup semi-finals with a one-sided thrashing of a sorry Sri Lanka in Sydney.

World Cup quarter-final, Sydney:
Sri Lanka 133 (37.2 overs): Sangakkara 45, Tahir 4-26
South Africa 134-1 (18 overs): De Kock 78*
South Africa won by nine wickets

Off-spinner JP Duminy took a hat-trick and leg-spinner Imran Tahir 4-26 as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 133.

The Proteas then eased to their target for the loss of only one wicket in 18 overs, with Quinton de Kock making an unbeaten 78.

They go on to a last-four meeting with New Zealand or West Indies in Auckland on Tuesday.

South Africa’s first knockout victory in 23 years of playing World Cup cricket takes them to a first semi-final since a famous defeat by Australia in 1999.

In reaching their target with 32 overs to spare, AB de Villiers’ side also completed the fastest successful run chase in a World Cup knockout match as Sri Lanka, finalists in the previous two World Cups, wilted.

Their lacklustre display was not befitting what turned out to be the final international match for Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara’s last ODI. The duo have scored 117 international centuries between them.

After the Proteas’ pace bowlers made early inroads, the spin pair of Duminy and Tahir took advantage of a succession of loose shots, while South Africa were excellent in the field throughout.

Sangakkara, on the back of four successive hundreds, made a painstaking 45 and Lahiru Thirimanne a counter-attacking 41, but no other batsman reached 20.

To cap South Africa’s day, wicketkeeper De Kock, who had managed only 53 runs in his six previous innings, returned to form with a string of cover drives.

Still, their victory was built on a brilliant bowling performance after losing the toss on an excellent pitch.

Read more at BBC Sport

Cricket World Cup, UAE, West Indies

Cricket World Cup: West Indies win to reach quarter-finals

West Indies secured a place in the World Cup quarter-finals with a comfortable, if unconvincing, victory over the United Arab Emirates.

World Cup Pool B, Napier:
UAE 175 (47.4 overs): Aziz 60, Holder 4-27
West Indies 176-4 (30.3 overs): Charles 55, Carter 50*
West Indies won by six wickets

The UAE crumbled to 26-5 in Napier as Windies captain Jason Holder took 4-27.

But Nasir Aziz and Amjad Javed exploited some ragged bowling to add a record-tying 107 for the seventh wicket and lift the associates to 175 all out.

Johnson Charles and Jonathan Carter struck fifties as the Windies eased home by six wickets in 30.3 overs.

In reaching their target inside 36.2 overs, West Indies went through on net run rate, although their passage was not confirmed until Pakistan beat Ireland by seven wickets in Sunday’s final Pool B contest in Adelaide.

West Indies’ performance did little to suggest they will be a match for Brendon McCullum’s unbeaten New Zealand side in Wellington on 21 March.

The inconsistency that has blighted their campaign was again in evidence as a wayward spell from Kemar Roach helped the UAE get back into the game after Holder and Jerome Taylor had blown away their top order with some high-class pace bowling.

There was also a show of dissent from former captain Darren Sammy when he reacted badly to being pulled from the attack after one over and earned himself a talking-to from Holder.

By that point, the UAE were in the midst of an impressive recovery in which Aziz and Javed equalled their own team’s record for the highest World Cup seventh-wicket stand, set against Ireland in Brisbane in February.

Read more at BBC Sport

Cricket World Cup, Ireland, Pakistan

Cricket World Cup: Ireland out as Pakistan go through

Ireland were knocked out of the World Cup by Pakistan, who qualified for the quarter-finals with a seven-wicket win.

World Cup Pool B, Adelaide:
Ireland 237 (50 overs): Porterfield 107, Wahab 3-54
Pakistan 241-3 (46.1 overs): Sarfraz 101*, Shehzad 63
Pakistan won by seven wickets

Set 238 to win, Pakistan reached their target with 23 balls to spare thanks to Sarfraz Ahmed’s unbeaten 101 in Adelaide.

Ireland captain William Porterfield earlier made 107, but his wicket triggered a slide to 237 all out.

The Irish finish fifth in Pool B, behind West Indies on net run-rate, while Pakistan go on to meet Australia in Adelaide in the last eight on Friday.

Before the tournament, Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom said it would be a “failure” if Porterfield’s side did not reach the quarter-finals.

But for the third World Cup in succession, the Irish have acquitted themselves well, winning three games and beating two Test-playing sides in West Indies and Zimbabwe. England won only two matches, neither against Test nations.

Indeed, Ireland could have reasonably expected to go through with six points, only for their elimination to come as a result of several factors.

Heavy losses to South Africa and India damaged their net run rate, West Indies earned three big wins to boost theirs, while Pakistan recovered from two opening defeats to claim four successive victories.

This latest win continues the improvement of Misbah-ul-Haq’s men, echoing the Pakistan side that began poorly when the tournament was last held in Australia and New Zealand in 1992, only to go and lift the trophy.

For Ireland, their creditable showing will be used as evidence by those who say the next World Cup should not be cut from its current 14-team format to only 10 sides.

The Irish still have the chance to qualify for that tournament as well as the opportunity to earn Test status through the 2017 Intercontinental Cup.

Read more at BBC Sport

Cricket World Cup, India, Zimbabwe

Cricket World Cup: India beat Zimbabwe to keep 100% record

India continued their perfect record at the World Cup with a six-wicket win against Zimbabwe in Auckland.

World Cup Pool B, Auckland:
Zimbabwe 287 (48.5 overs): Taylor 138, Williams 50, Yadav 3-43
India 288-4 (48.4 overs): Raina 110*, Dhoni 85*, Panyangara 2-53
India won by six wickets

Suresh Raina (110 not out) and captain MS Dhoni (85 not out) shared a 196-run partnership to chase 288 at Eden Park.

Holders India had already qualified for the quarter-finals where they will face Bangladesh, but victory marked a 10th successive win in World Cup matches.

Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor had earlier scored 138 off 110 balls in his final international appearance.

Left-hander Raina, who reached his century in 94 balls, was gifted a lifeline on 47 when Zimbabwe all-rounder Hamilton Masakadza dropped a simple chance.

His error at short fine leg from a top-edged sweep shot came with India’s reply in the balance at 157-4.

India were already guaranteed to finish top of Pool B and wrapped up their sixth win from six matches, but defeat for Zimbabwe meant their World Cup campaign concluded with only one win from six.

India captain MS Dhoni, who won the toss and elected to field, admitted it had been a good test for his side ahead of the knock-out stages.

“The wicket was doing a bit in the second innings and the Zimbabwean bowlers exploited that well, with slow bowling,” he said.

“Raina is a key player for us and the partnership we put on was very good.

“Everyone has performed under pressure so this is looking good and all our batsmen have had a bat.”

Zimbabwe wicketkeeper Taylor’s brilliant century came in his final outing for his country, having elected to join Nottinghamshire on a Kolpak contract for the forthcoming English county season.

The 29-year-old smashed 15 fours and five sixes in his stay at the crease to ensure Zimbabwe recovered from a sluggish start to post 287.

It was the right-hander’s second century in the tournament, havingscored 121 against Ireland in their previous match.

Read more at BBC Sport