Australia relying on Sri Lanka after sneaking past Afghanistan
Narrow victory means England will qualify for the semi-finals if they win on Saturday
Narrow victory means England will qualify for the semi-finals if they win on Saturday
Scorer: M Venkat Raghav | Commentator: Alan Gardner
10.15pm: Time for the captains to speak, starting with Mohammad Nabi: "Really good game of cricket. They started really well but at the end Naveen and Farooqi bowled well and it wasn't a big total on that pitch. We started well in the powerplay and the middle, but threw away four wickets back to back and that put us under pressure. [Two washouts] Tough when you play first game and then don't play for 10 days. We didn't get that momentum but improved every game from there."
Australia's Matthew Wade: [Feelings at the end?] "Okay, four overs out probably, brought our bowlers forward and gave Stoiny the last. Knowing you have the allrounder to bowl one of the last two is a bit nerve-wracking but I've seen Rash do that plenty of times. Never really felt safe. [Eng-SL game] We'll stay here and watch that game, hoping for a bit of an upset. We put ourselves in that situation, been trying to chase a bit of run rate but it hasn't gone our way. Bit slow out of the blocks this tournament, hopefully it doesn't cost us. [Finch, David fitness?] Yeah, hopeful they'll be right to go if we make the semis."
Right, that's it from amazing Adelaide tonight. Afghanistan missed out on a famous win despite Rashid Khan's blitz, but Australia's failure to boost their NRR in the City of Churches has left them on their last prayer as defending T20WC champs. You can catch up with how it all played out on the Live Report, and Valkerie's full write-up will be in the slot shortly. Tomorrow we head back to the SCG for England versus Sri Lanka and the conclusion of Group 1. Join us then... for now, from myself, Matt and Raghav, it's goodnight. Bye!
10.07pm: Raucous finish at Adelaide Oval, courtesy of Rashid Khan's dead-eyed tonking. But the mood is subdued for both teams as they leave the field. Afghanistan finish winless, having had two of their five games washed out, while Australia's semi-final hopes are hanging by a slender blue-and-yellow, fully recyclable thread. Oh, and speaking of Sri Lanka - they're out, even if they beat England in the final group game
Here is Player of the Match Glenn Maxwell: [Got close at end] "Certainly did, Afghanistan played well, struck the ball cleanly. Started well in the powerplay and we were able to haul it back, but there was some pretty clean hitting at the end. [Run-out, catches] Nice to have an impact in the field, knew I wouldn't bowl much. The wicket was quite slow during the day, quite hard to push on. Had to put a total on to give ourselves a chance to win the game. They executed well and we couldn't get away. [Eng-SL game] We'll be following it, we put ourselves in this situation but hopefully SL can do the job for us."
Stoinis just needs to land this straight
Two more of those to win it...
A lack of ruthlessness - what a thing to say about any Australian side - that might yet do for them at this T20 World Cup
Daniel Vettori admits consequences of heavy opening defeat to New Zealand were discussed at length
Narrow victory means England will qualify for the semi-finals if they win on Saturday
"It was thought among the hierarchy that Richardson is exceptional at the death and we'll utilise him there as opposed to Mitch," Australia's assistant coach said
Cites disappointment at the team's preparation for the World Cup and disagreements with the selectors and management
First Round Group A | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | M | W | L | PT | NRR |
SL | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0.667 |
NED | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -0.162 |
NAM | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0.73 |
UAE | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -1.235 |
First Round Group B | |||||
Team | M | W | L | PT | NRR |
ZIM | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0.2 |
IRE | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0.105 |
SCOT | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0.304 |
WI | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -0.563 |
Group 1 | |||||
Team | M | W | L | PT | NRR |
NZ | 5 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 2.113 |
ENG | 5 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 0.473 |
AUS | 5 | 3 | 1 | 7 | -0.173 |
SL | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -0.422 |
IRE | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | -1.615 |
AFG | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | -0.571 |
Group 2 | |||||
Team | M | W | L | PT | NRR |
IND | 5 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 1.319 |
PAK | 5 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 1.028 |
SA | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0.874 |
NED | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -0.849 |
BAN | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -1.176 |
ZIM | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | -1.138 |