T20 World Cup: Super 12 wrapped up, India to fight England in semi-final

Pakistan to face New Zealand in the first semi-final on Wednesday; South Africa out

Sunday’s triple-header concluded the Super-12 stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022. As India and Pakistan cruised past their opponents Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, the Netherlands pulled a upset in their final match against South Africa knocking the proteas out.

In the first tie of the day, South Africa (SA) won the toss and decided to bowl. The Dutch were restricted to 158 for 4 wickets, with Colin Ackerman scoring the highest at 41 in 26 balls. He smashed 3 fours and 2 sixes. Earlier, Tom Cooper put in a useful cameo of 35 runs in 19 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes.

Chasing what seemed like a modest target, the Proteas fell short by 13 runs. After dismissing SA skipper Temba Bavuma at 20, Quinton de Kock at 13, and Rilee Rossouw at 25, the Dutch bowlers kept scalping wickets at a regular intervals and foiled their rivals from reach a competitive run rate. In the end, the South Africans made 145 runs and were ousted from the World Cup.

With South Africa’s ouster, Pakistan had an opportunity to bounce back into the semi-final slots, after their torrid start in Super 12. Capitalising on the opportunity, Pakistan restricted Bangladesh to a paltry 127 for 8 and chased it down in less than 20 overs. After a long dry spell, captain Babar Azam fired at top of the order, scoring an anchoring 25 from 33 balls. He helped Mohammad Rizwan (32 from 32) and Mohammad Haris (31 from 18) to guide the Pakistan side to victory.

Sealing their place at the top of the Group 2 standings, India cruised to an easy 71-run victory over Zimbabwe in the last match of the day. Surya Kumar Yadav’s furious 25-ball 61 and K L Rahul’s 51 from 35 balls helped the Men in Blue post a competitive 186 in their 20 overs after they had won the toss and decided to bat first. Among bowlers, Ravichandran Ashwin (3 wickets), Mohammad Shami (2), and Hardik Pandya (2) proved to be the most successful, even as each of the bowlers brought into attack managed to scalp at least one Zimbabwean wicket. They dismissed the gutsy African side within 117 runs and 17 overs.

India will meet England, which was placed second in Group 1, for the second semi-final on Thursday. Before that match, Pakistan will duke it out with New Zealand on Wednesday for the first semi-final.