Australia’s first warm-up game of the 2023 World Cup against Netherlands in Thiruvananthapuram was constantly interrupted by rain from the get-go and eventually ended as a no-result on Saturday (September 30). A half-century for Steve Smith and a hat-trick to Mitchell Starc were the bright spots for the five-time champions in a game that was reduced to 23-overs-a-side due to a delayed start.
Heavy rains meant that the game didn’t start until 7 pm IST and after a shaky start, Australia managed to put a handy total on the board. Smith, promoted to open the batting for some gametime, looked his fluent self with an array of shots all around the ground including some 360 degree strokes. Alex Carey and Cameron Green also got a decent hit out in the middle with the former looking in very good rhythm in his innings. For Netherlands, Bas de Leede was the standout bowler while the veterans Roelof van der Merwe and Logan van Beek also bowled steady spells.
The chase never got going for Netherlands as Starc produced a trademark fiery new-ball spell. He struck twice in the last two balls of his first over and then struck again in the first ball of his next over to get a hat-trick. Max O’Dowd, Wesley Barresi and de Leede were the casualties. Colin Ackermann and skipper Scott Edwards were the only Dutch batters to get to double digits as Netherlands found themselves tottering at 84/6 before the rains came once more to put a damp finish to the game.
Brief scores: Australia 166/7 in 23 overs (Steve Smith 55; Roelof van der Merwe 2-12, Bas de Leede 2-25) vs Netherlands 84/6 in 14.2 overs (Colin Ackermann 31*; Mitchell Starc 3-18)
India vs England, Guwahati
Not a single ball was bowled in Guwahati as rain forced the warm-up match to be abandoned. India skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat. But before the teams could take the field, persistent rain ensured no play was possible.
September 29
Kane Williamson’s return to action headlined New Zealand’s first official warmup match of the 2023 World Cup as they hit the right notes with the bat in a high-scoring game in Hyderabad. Mohammad Rizwan (103) and Babar Azam (80) provided a good platform and the middle order got amongst the runs to help Pakistan post 345. The total, however, proved insufficient as New Zealand, led by Rachin Ravindra’s 97 and three other half-century scores, including that of Williamson, pulled off the chase with 6.2 overs to spare.
After Devon Conway was dismissed by Hasan Ali for a golden duck, Ravindra and Williamson got together and added 179 runs in just 22 overs to power New Zealand’s chase. Williamson decided to retire after crossing fifty while Ravindra was dismissed by Agha Salman before he could get a ton. Usama Mir then picked up the wickets of Tom Latham and Glenn Phillips in quick succession but fifties from Mark Chapman and Daryl Mitchell, and an important 33 from James Neesham, helped New Zealand over the line in the 44th over.
Earlier, After opting to bat, Pakistan lost Imam-ul-Haq in the second over to Matt Henry while Mitch Santner had Abdullah Shafique out stumped. Babar, who started watchfully, found his groove while Rizwan also scored at a steady rate as they raised a century partnership to set things up nicely for Pakistan. Babar, however, missed a hundred while Rizwan retired after reaching three figures, giving Pakistan’s lower middle order some time out in the middle. Saud Shakeel (75) and Agha Salman (33*) came up with handy contributions to propel Pakistan past 340.
Brief scores: Pakistan 345/5 in 50 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 103, Babar Azam 80; Mitch Santner 2-39) lost to New Zealand 346/5 in 43.4 overs (Rachin Ravindra 97, Mark Chapman 65; Usama Mir 2-68) by 5 wickets.
Bangladesh started their final round of preparations of the 2023 World Cup with a clinical seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the warm-up fixture at Guwahati on Friday (September 29). A disciplined bowling effort from Bangladesh helped them to restrict their opponents to a below-par total on what was a typically good batting strip. Young Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das and Mehidy Hasan then made short work of the chase with a professional batting performance.
Earlier in the afternoon, Sri Lanka won a handy toss but couldn’t make the optimum use of the batting conditions on offer. Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Perera got off to a brisk start with the latter being the aggressor. However, a continuing discomfort in the shoulder forced Perera to retire hurt. Nissanka and Kusal Mendis kept the impetus going but once the partnership was broken, Sri Lanka lost their way. Lot of their batters got starts without failing to kick on. A laborious fifty from Dhananjaya de Silva along with some lower order support is what enabled Sri Lanka to post a respective, even if underwhelming total.
Mahedi Hasan was the standout bowler for Bangladesh while his more popular namesake Mehidy bowled a tidy spell as well. The latter then came in at no.3 to produce a crafty unbeaten fifty to see the side home after the opening pair of Tanzid and Liton had put on a chanceless 131-run stand to strengthen Bangladesh’s advantage. The surface appeared to have gotten better under lights and chasing a not-so-threatening score meant that the result was a foregone conclusion. Point to note is that Mustafizur Rahman for Bangladesh and Maheesh Theekshana for Sri Lanka didn’t bowl while Shakib Al Hasan and Najmul Shanto were the others who were absent for this clash.
Brief scores: Sri Lanka 263/9 in 49.1 overs (Pathum Nissanka 68, Dhananjaya de Silva 55; Mahedi Hasan 3-36) lost to Bangladesh 264/3 in 42 overs (Tanzid Hasan 84, Mehidy Hasan 67*, Litton Das 61) by 7 wickets
South Africa vs Afghanistan, Thiruvananthapuram
Incessant rains meant that the warm-up game between South Africa and Afghanistan at Greenfield Stadium, Trivandrum got abandoned without even the toss being held.
