Cricket Highlights, 16 & 17 Jul: ZIM vs BAN (1st ODI), ENG vs PAK (1st T20I), WI vs AUS (5th T20I)

The 1st ODI of the 3-match series between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, the 1st T20I of the 3-match series between Pakistan and England, and the 5th and final T20I of the 5-match series between West Indies and Australia rolled on the field yesterday and today respectively. Let’s have a glimpse at the article to know about the interesting happenings of the days’ games.

ZIM vs BAN (1st ODI)

Bangladesh has started the ODI series with the expected victory on Zimbabwean soil. Although the batsmen were in danger at the beginning after batting first, the visitors scored 276 runs in the Liton Das’s century. Then the world’s best all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan took 5 wickets with the ball to give the team a big victory of 155 runs.

After losing the toss at the Sports Club Ground in Harare on Friday, Bangladesh went down to bat first and lost 4 wickets to score 74 runs. Then Liton Das and Mahmudullah took the helm of the team. They collected 93 runs for the fifth wicket together. Mahmudullah returned to the dressing room scoring 33 runs off 52 balls in one six. In the 40th over of the innings, Liton hit his fourth career-century off 110 balls with 8 boundaries. After that, however, he got out scoring 102 runs.
In the end, Afif Hossain (45) and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (25) scored 26 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in 50 overs. Luke Jongwe took 3 wickets for Zimbabwe. Richard Ngarava Blessing Muzarabani both took 2 wickets.

Coming down to chase the run, Zimbabwe was in danger in front of the pace attack of Bangladesh. Tigers‘ fast bowlers Taskin Ahmed, Mohammad Saifuddin, and Shoriful Islam took the first three wickets in the team’s 49 runs. After that, the hosts could not return to the match due to Shakib’s spin. However, when Regis Chakabva (54) tried to turn the team around, he could not increase the score due to the lack of a suitable partner. In the end, Zimbabwe was all-out for 121 in 28.5 overs. Shakib Al Hasan took 5 wickets for Bangladesh giving away only 30 runs in 9.5 overs and he is now the highest wicket-taker in all three formats for Bangladesh.

Bangladesh took a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series after a decent win in this match.

Scoreboard:
Bangladesh – 276/9 (50.0)
Zimbabwe – 121/10 (28.5)
Result – Bangladesh won by 155 runs
Player of the Match – Liton Das

ENG vs PAK (1st T20I)

Pakistan won the first match of the 3-match T20I series at Trent Bridge in Nottingham by 31 runs against England. Liam Livingstone scored a century off 42 balls for England. But the hosts could not stop Pakistan’s victory.

England won the toss and sent Pakistan to bat first. Batting first, opener Mohammad Rizwan and skipper Babar Azam put their score at 232 for six. 150 runs came from the opening pair in 14.4 overs. Wicketkeeper-batsman Rizwan hit 8 fours and one six, he scored 63 off 41 balls and Babar Azam hit 8 fours and 3 sixes and scored 85 off 49 balls. After that, Maqsood (19), Fakhar (26), and Hafeez (24) made small contributions and Pakistan collected a mammoth total. Tom Curran took a maximum of 2 wickets for England.

England lost their first wicket by 12 runs, then the second for 42 runs. Livingstone came to the wicket at that time. Batting devastatingly, he picked up the first century of his 6-match career with 42 balls in 6 fours and 9 sixes. Livingstone was bowled out for 103 in the 17th over. At the end of that over, England needed 44 runs from 18 balls to win. The rest of the batsmen could not make the rest for the team. Pakistan took a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series with a great victory of 31 runs. Shaheen Afridi became the man of the match taking 3 wickets for 30 runs.

Scoreboard:
Pakistan – 232/6 (20.0)
England – 201/10 (19.2)
Result – Pakistan won by 31 runs
Player of the Match – Shaheen Afridi

WI vs AUS (5th T20I)

In the last match of the T20I series against Australia, West Indies lost six wickets and collected a big score of 199 runs after batting first. Despite the possibility of winning in reply, Aussie’s innings stopped at 183 for 9 in the end. The Caribbeans won by 16 runs. The five-match series has been won by the West Indies 4-1.

Winning the toss, West Indies elected to bat first at the Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in St. Lucia. Opener Evin Lewis gave a great start to the team. Andre Fletcher returned to the dressing room with 12 runs off 16 balls for the team’s 40 runs. Then ‘The Universe Boss’ Chris Gayle flared up. However, he also returned to the pavilion scoring 21 runs off 7 balls in 2 fours and 2 sixes. Captain Nicholas Pooran played an innings of 31 runs from 18 balls. Evin Lewis scored 79 facing 34 deliveries, he smashed 4 fours and 9 sixes in this innings. Andrew Tye took the maximum of 3 wickets for the Aussies.

Batting in reply, Australia lost their opener Josh Philippe (0) while their score was 9 runs. Captain Aaron Finch top-scored with 34 off 23 balls. With the exception of Mitchell Marsh (30), no other batsman has touched the thirties. Andre Russell shone with the ball, even though he scored only 1 run with the bat. He took 3 wickets conceding 43 runs in 4 overs. Sheldon Cottrell also took 3 wickets giving away 28 runs. In the end, Aussie’s innings were stuck at 183 for 9 in the allotted 20 overs. Thus, the Windies won the match by 16 runs. Evin Lewis became the player of the match by playing a devastating inning.

Scoreboard:
West Indies – 199/8 (20.0)
Australia – 183/9 (20.0)
Result – West Indies won by 16 runs
Player of the Match – Evin Lewis
Player of the Series – Hayden Walsh 

International cricket is ongoing with some alluring battle of bat and ball. Stay with Baji for more latest updates on cricket!