02/14/26 11:37:00
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02/14 11:35 CST South Africa hammers New Zealand by seven wickets at T20 World
Cup. England beats Scotland
South Africa hammers New Zealand by seven wickets at T20 World Cup. England
beats Scotland
AHMEDABAD, India (AP) --- Skipper Aiden Markram smacked 86 not out off 44 balls
as South Africa beat New Zealand by seven wickets at the T20 World Cup on
Saturday.
Markram's innings included four sixes and eight fours and underlined a dominant
performance by the Proteas, as they won with 2.5 overs to spare.
South Africa finished with 178-3 in reply to New Zealand's 175-7 after left-arm
pacer Marco Jansen picked 4-40 in four overs.
It was New Zealand's first defeat in the tournament, while South Africa moved
one step closer to the next round with three successive wins in Group D.
In Kolkata, England rebounded with a five-wicket win over Scotland thanks to
Tom Banton's 63 not out off 41 balls.
In the morning game at Colombo, Ireland thumped Oman by 96 runs to record its
first win in three games at this T20 World Cup. Oman became the first team to
be eliminated from the competition.
South Africa underlines prowess in Ahmedabad
A crowd in excess of 50,000 -- the highest for this World Cup -- watched South
Africa power its way to a win against the Black Caps with relative ease.
Put into bat, Jansen struck against the in-form top order. He had Tim Seifert
caught behind for 13, while also accounting for Rachin Ravindra (13) and Finn
Allen (31) in the space of four deliveries.
When Keshav Maharaj bowled Glenn Phillips for 1, New Zealand was down to 64-4
in 6.4 overs.
It recovered thanks to 74 off 44 balls between Daryl Mitchell and Mark Chapman,
who top-scored with 48 off 26 balls. Mitchell scored 32 off 24 balls.
Jansen again provided the breakthrough as Chapman was out caught in the 14th
over. New Zealand struggled to cross 180 thereafter, losing three wickets in 17
balls. James Neesham's 23 not out gave it something to fight with.
But Markram set a hectic pace, smashing 50 off only 19 balls -- the quickest
for South Africa in tournament history.
It was also the third fastest T20 half-century against New Zealand as South
Africa reached 100 in 44 balls.
The other top-order batters made useful contributions, as Makram changed gears
to see his side home with plenty to spare. New Zealand is now five matches
without a win against South Africa in T20 World Cups.
Banton helps England revival
England, desperately needing the victory following an unconvincing four-run win
over Nepal and a loss to the West Indies, made 155-5 in 18.2 overs after the
Scots were bowled out for just 152 in Kolkata.
Scotland wasted an ideal platform after getting to 90-3 in 10 overs, with the
batters falling to mistimed sweep shots against the spinners.
England's top-order batters Phil Salt, Jos Buttler and captain Harry Brook fell
for single digits, but Banton put on 66 with Jacob Bethell (32) and 46 with Sam
Curran (28) to lift the team to second in Group C behind West Indies. It next
plays Italy on Monday.
Banton and Bethell rescued England from 13-2 before Scotland hit back with two
wickets in eight balls. Bethell slog swept and was caught at fine leg, while
Brook top-edged for four.
Earlier, England hit back in the closing overs after Scotland had looked poised
to set a challenging target when 113-3 midway through the 13th over.
The dismissal of captain Richie Berrington, who made 49, and Tom Bruce (24) in
the space of four balls left Scotland struggling to accelerate late on.
Berrington and Bruce put on 71 in 41 deliveries before spinners Adil Rashid
(3-36) and Liam Dawson (2-34) grabbed five wickets in four overs.
Fast bowler Archer, who was expensive against Nepal and West Indies, dismissed
George Munsey and McMullen in a double-wicket second over.
Ireland brushes past Oman
In Colombo, Lorcan Tucker's blistering unbeaten 94 off 51 balls earned Ireland
its first win in the tournament as it crushed Oman in Group B.
Tucker, leading the side after Paul Stirling was ruled out of the World Cup due
to a knee injury, powered Ireland to this tournament's highest score of 235-5.
Gareth Delany hit 56 and George Dockrell smashed three sixes off the final
three balls in a blazing 35 not out off nine deliveries.
In reply, Oman was bowled out for 139 in 18 overs after losing the last eight
wickets for just 42 runs. Opener Aamir Kaleem (50) and Hammad Mirza (46) put on
73 for the third wicket, but the remaining lineup folded quickly. Fast bowler
Josh Little grabbed 3-16.
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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
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