Pitch Report: The Centurion Wicket is a hard surface, that will assist batters and fast bowlers. Conditions remain clear.
Toss: Virat Kohli calls tails and it lands on heads. Zimbabwe have won the toss.
Hamilton Masakadza: We are going to bowl first. Good wicket and it should be good for our fast bowlers. Our openers, myself and Solomon have been batting well too and hope to continue, with some assistance from our middle order as we chase whatever target we get. We are coming off two losses, but we have fought well, and this will probably be our biggest game, against a side like India. The boys will be at their best today. Going with the same lineup, so far our bowlers have all done their job and our batting is fine, for now. Zimbabwe: Hamilton Masakadza , Solomon Mire, Malcolm Waller, Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Brendan Taylor , Elton Chigumbura, Wellington Masakadza, Tendai Chatara, Kyle Jarvis, Blessing Muzarabani
Virat Kohli: We will take that, good surface to bat on first up, get some runs on the board and our bowlers are capable of defending whatever total we put up provided we play to our strengths. We've started off well with two wins, there are no real thing such as easier opponents, every game is a mission and we are here to give our best. Each win is crucial in deciding our semi-final qualification and finish on the table. Same team today, no reason to make any changes.
Rohit Sharma brings up the first century of the tournament with a swash-buckling innings of 117, filled with sixteen boundaries- to add yet another T20I ton to his name. A 171-run opening partnership between Rohit Sharma & Shikhar Dhawan had the Zimbabwean bowlers crying for a breakthrough until Dhawan's dismissal in only the 14th over. Unfortunately Rohit departed soon after and the wickets began to fall in heaps after that to Masakada & Muzarabani, who shared 7 scalps between each other to somehow *restrict* India to 207 after that kind of a start. Still a mammoth score to chase, Zimbabwe will have to bat out of their socks for this one, because Rohit Sharma has just given them a beating today.
Zimbabwe need 208 runs to win off 20 overs
@ 10.40 RPO
2nd Innings
Not happening under my watch, says Jasprit Bumrah with an extraordinary spell of 3/12 in his 4 overs that is instrumental in India's clinical defence today. Zimbabwe lost their danger-man, Mire for just 17 runs to Bumrah which set them back massively, captain Masakadza too departed by the 11th over with the scoring rate nowhere near enough. Malcolm Waller & Sean Williams fought but were suppressed before they got to convert and stay till the end, and after that the wickets began to tumble to Bumrah & Co as Zimbabwe were silenced for just 140/7- that too thanks to Chatara for smashing a last-ball six. India go 3 in 3, Zimbabwe go down 3 in 3.
Scotland, Ireland and Zimbabwe have officially been eliminated.
By losing their first 3 games, they can maximum reach a total of 4 points.
With India & New Zealand having reached 6 points already, they cannot finish first.
To finish second, they must hope that Australia & South Africa (For Scotland in Group 1) and England & Pakistan (For Ireland, Zimbabwe in Group 2) lose all of their remaining games as these teams are currently already on 4 points.
But the problem is- Both Australia vs South Africa and England vs Pakistan are fixtures that are yet to take place, meaning it is impossible for all 4 teams to not win any match from now on.
The tournament is thus officially over for the three teams, who cannot possibly equal the second placed team on points in any scenario.
Colin de Grandhomme ruled out; Tom Bruce into NZ Squad
de Grandhomme picked up an injury in the nets post the game against Scotland
Kiwi all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme has been ruled out of the rest of the World T20 following a knee injury he picked up in the net sessions after the last game against Scotland. He has been replaced by Tom Bruce in the main squad, who was initially named as a travelling reserve.
de Grandhomme played all 3 games for NZ so far, having batted only in 2 innings. He scored a memorable 35* alongside Kane Williamson to see New Zealand to a victory in the chase against Afghanistan. He had to bowl his full 4 over spell in the last game against Scotland following Southee's absence.
de Grandhomme will not take part in any of the remaining games for NZ as he has been taken for further injury assessment. His replacement, Tom Bruce, was a regular in the T20I side for the Kiwis this year and will now be part of the main squad.
New Zealand have won 3 in 3 games and play Sri Lanka next on 2nd September in Centurion.
Pitch Report: Today's pitch is very grassy with cracks on surface, and will definitely be very tough to bat in comparison to other grounds. Fast bowlers mainly thrive.
Toss: Afghanistan captain calls heads and it is heads. Afghanistan have won the toss.
Asghar Afghan: We want to bowl first. This wicket looks very good for bowling and we want to take advantage of that. Probably gets a bit easier to bat on as the match progresses and we get a reading of the wicket. Should finally try to get the chasing victory by breaking the streak of the tournament. We've had two losses so far so yet to kick on our account, need to be more serious and up our performances. The home side won't be an easy opponent of course so we have to be at our A-Game here. Still going with unchanged team.
Afghanistan: Mohammad Shahzad , Hazratullah Zazai, Usman Ghani, Asghar Afghan , Gulbadin Naib, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Hamid Hassan, Aftab Alam
Faf du Plessis: Ideally we'd have bowled first. But we will take it. We've had a good start to the home tournament so far. Was a nervy win last game though, it's been quite competitive. We still have a lot of big games to go. It looks a good wicket for bowling. We'll need to focus and put on a good enough total. We have 1 change in our XI today- Reeza Hendricks comes in for Heinrich Klaasen and he will bat at 3. About Steyn of course, Steyn will play when he is required.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock , Hashim Amla, Reeza Hendricks Faf du Plessis , Jean-Paul Duminy, David Miller, Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir
(Heinrich Klaasen )
Afghanistan won the toss and opt to bowl first.
1st Innings
South Africa are rescued from deep trouble by the duo of David Miller & Chris Morris, who came in at the 8th over following a catastrophic collapse and stayed till the end to ensure the Proteas did not completely disintegrate. Aftab Alam found breakthrough in the pitch and completely silenced the Hosts' top order, removing their dangerous opening pair and having them struggling at 52/5 before the pair came in. A brilliant anchoring partnership on a very tough batting surface saw 78 runs being added in the last 12 overs, to get South Africa to a respectable 130 after a disastrous start. This will be quite a tough defence, can Afghanistan pull off an upset against the home team to kick their campaign off?
Afghanistan need 131 runs to win off 20 overs
@ 6.55 RPO
2nd Innings
Fear not Proteas when you have KG Rabada in your ranks, because he will not let Afghanistan get away in the slightest today! One of the most incredible opening spells in the tournament from Rabada rattled the Afghanistan top and middle-order to a situation of 31/5 by the 7th over. Each and every wicket fell to him, as he bagged his fifer for 15 ruuns. Najibullah Zadran & Gulbadin Naib then tried to be Morris & Miller in another holding partnership for 10 overs, adding 59 runs, but they couldn't do it. Wickets tumbled once again after their dismissals and Phehlukwayo completed the finishing touch in the end, cleaning them up for just 99 in the last over. Another day, another heart-attack kind of win to celebrate for the home crowd, but South Africa go 3 in 3 on the back of another brilliant defence.
Pitch Report: The pitch at Johannesburg is hard, a little green and overall favourable for pace. Batting might not be very easy but quality batters should be able to make ground.
Toss: England skipper Eoin Morgan calls heads, and the coin lands on heads. England have won the toss.
Eoin Morgan: Another toss win, we'll bat first yet again. It's been a trend that teams have done well defending totals this tournament so why not- and we've won two games that way too. Although we definitely have concerns, the batting has been over-reliant on Jos, we've definitely not dominated either of our victories and have tougher opponents coming up, so we have a lot to learn. Can't let every game go that close- this is the rematch of the final, we have bitter memories from 2016 against the Windies so we are here for redemption. And 1 change in lineup, Mark Wood is back, we go for the extra quick as Moeen Ali sits out.
England: Jason Roy, Jos Buttler , Alex Hales, Eoin Morgan , Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Tom Curran, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
(Moeen Ali )
Carlos Brathwaite: Chasing in a T20 game against England? I mean, we have great memories of that. Not gonna get too complacent though- coming off a tough loss against India, and England are an equally competent side so we have to play our best game today. Obviously I've come a long way, that day in Kolkata will forever be in my memory, and today, against the same opponents as captain, hopefully we repeat that, in a little less nervy fashion of course. We have no team changes today, same XI.
West Indies: Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Andre Fletcher , Marlon Samuels, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo, Carlos Brathwaite , Sunil Narine, Ashley Nurse, Kesrick Williams
England won the toss and opt to bat first.
1st Innings
It's finally time that Jason Roy stepped up, after throwing away his wicket in subsequent games- he has taken charge today to be the backbone of the England innings. Buttler got England off to a quick start in the powerplay but he was dismissed earlier than he would have liked, Hales did the same with his cameo but couldn't convert as well. Roy stayed on one end, anchoring and building on his innings as the England middle-order once again failed to produce anything. He scored a very instrumental 65 that would be the main reason for England reaching 156/6. West Indies have bowled well, can they get the better of England again??
West Indies need 157 runs to win off 20 overs
@ 7.85 RPO
2nd Innings
It is destiny that England and West Indies' encounter must always go till the final ball, and Dwayne Bravo ensures it is destiny that it is the West Indies who finish the game off in the final ball for a victorious chase! West Indies started off well, despite losing Gayle, they had Lewis & Fletcher who took charge for a 53-run partnership, Lewis getting out after his fifty, having done damage in both the partnerships up till then. Fletcher carried on, but missing his fifty, he got out and suddenly Tom Curran looked like he was going to pull off another death bowling masterclass as he shot through the Windies middle-order with 4 wickets yet again. But Bravo & Brathwaite remained composed and finished it off in the final delivery to guide the West Indies home. Brathwaite, this time as captain, once again remains at the crease as WI defeat England in a last-ball thriller.
England's competitiveness questioned after 3 narrow games as uphill task awaits
England are coming off a last-ball loss against the West Indies, following two close wins against Zimbabwe & Ireland
A question mark currently lies over the England Team set-up as they come into their last two games of the Super 12, eyeing that semi-final spot in a three-way points tie in a closely contested group. England are currently placed 4th in Group 2, with four points in three games. They are tied on points with Pakistan & West Indies, but have the poorest net run rate of the three.
But the reason behind that is quite evident- as from the nature of England's two victories in the tournament so far. England have managed to win 2 games, against the two bottom-seeded teams in the group, the two sides that have advanced from the first round- Ireland & Zimbabwe. Both these games, you would expect to at least be cakewalk for the white-ball giant England are, but have come with margins of nine & five runs respectively.
It did raise questions over how competitive England would be against top sides, after their batting miserably failed in these two games, leading them to subpar first innings totals. Clinical death bowling was what saved them in the end to clinch the win, but far too close for what they would have ideally desired.
To make matters worse, their first match against an auto-qualified side against 2016 rivals West Indies, ended in a last-ball loss. A game that went in a similar fashion throughout with both bat & ball, another good death bowling exhibition- however was not enough to save them from a loss this time.
England are going into the next two games in a do-or-die kind of scenario, but they face Pakistan & India. The former is the No.1 ranked team in this format, while the latter is the table-topper with three wins in three games. Massive problems for England arise under their current batting rut, and huge question marks arise over whether the side can compete with the two best teams of the group. Two narrow wins against the lowest ranked teams and a narrow loss against their first top-10 side is not convincing enough, and the batting still hasn't showed proper promise- England are yet to score above 160 this tournament.
However they are yet to chase in any match this round- either a blessing or curse if it happens to be their first innings bowling first next game. The batting lineup faces even more pressure in the chase, and currently, has seemed to rely on a single batter to carry- twice Jos Buttler & most recently Jason Roy.
With Pakistan & West Indies directly competing to qualify, with superior net run rate and better batting form, England have a lot of work to do. They might have to look into their batting order- amidst the middle-order struggles is captain Eoin Morgan himself, with only 39 runs in his 3 games.
England play Pakistan next, in a crucial match for semi-final qualification. Up against arguably the best bowling side in the world, their batting faces a huge challenge- what would be their approach, changes and the way to go about it remains uncertain. All the batters need to step up, the bowlers can't be saving them each time. England would need to reinvent their game and bring their best form, as seen in bilaterals earlier this year, to push for that semi-final spot.
Pitch Report: It is a slightly more bowling friendly pitch in Centurion today, with heavy cracks. As the morning game, weather is clear and sunny.
Toss: Williamson calls heads and it lands on tails. Sri Lanka have won the toss.
Angelo Mathews: We'll bowl first. Yeah it might be a left-field decision, seeing the number of games that have gone the way of the team batting first. But we think this wicket improves and gets better for batting as the game progresses. We need wins desperately, it's pretty much a do-or-die scenario now with 2 points in 3 games, we need to win everything that comes our way. New Zealand have won all their games so they're better placed, it won't be easy. We have one change in our bowling, Isuru Udana sits out as Dushmantha Chameera comes into the XI in his place. He's an exciting bowler and we hope to see the best of him today.
Kane Williamson: We won't mind that, firstly you see the trend as well, teams batting first winning- We did win by chasing first two games but the last one, though it was quite close- yeah we feel we'll be comfortable. It's a decent wicket, Sri Lanka are competitive opponents. Southee is back, that's good news, unfortunate for CDG that he's out of the tournament- Corey is a like-for-like for our lineup so he stays. We have 2 changes overall- Southee & Seth Rance come in, the latter making his ICC tournament debut, in place of de Grandhomme & Milne. Hope to go 4 in 4, that will nearly get us to our semi-final spot, we need to play to our best today.
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson , Tim Seifert , Ross Taylor, Corey Anderson, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee , Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult, Seth Rance
(Colin de Grandhomme, Adam Milne )
Sri Lanka have won the toss and opt to bowl first.
1st Innings
New Zealand have been spun into a web of magic by Akila Dananjaya, who bags the best figures of the tournament by any bowler! Guptill & Munro once again provided a comfortable start, stitching a 75-run opening partnership that went on until the 9th over as Guptill departed for a well-made fifty. Munro failed to accelerate and lost his wicket to Dananjaya, which began the streak of scalps for the spinner. With three consecutive Malinga-Dananjaya catcher-bowler pair dismissals- as he redirected every bad shot to the Sri Lankan veteran in the field, he took the entire Kiwi middle-order apart. Everyone but Corey Anderson- who stepped on the pedal in the end with two maximums and one four to score a 6-ball 19 to propel New Zealand to 154 amidst all the madness. Can Sri Lanka return to winning ways today??
Sri Lanka need 155 runs to win off 20 overs
@ 7.75 RPO
2nd Innings
Not today, say the New Zealand bowling attack as they narrowly close out Sri Lanka for 139 in a tight, contested defence on a tough pitch. The newcomer Seth Rance enjoys the bulk of the wickets and it is his death bowling prowess that prevents the Lankans from inching closer at the end. Kusal Perera was the leader for Sri Lanka once again with the bat, but he would have definitely liked some more support as the rest of the batting fell like dominoes. de Silva stepped up for the first time with an anchoring knock, but there was nobody to up the scoring from the other end. All the Kiwi bowlers enjoyed their share of success as they bowled well constantly to limit the scoring as well as score breakthroughs- Dananjaya's efforts go in vain today as the Kiwis inch closer to that semi-final spot.
Pitch Report: It is a green, even surface at Cape Town, slightly worn out with cracks, might be a bit bowling-friendly. Conditions clear, in our afternoon game today.
Toss: Virat Kohli calls tails and it lands on tails. India have won the toss.
Virat Kohli: We will bat first. It's been a strategy that has worked well for us and everyone else so far. Wicket might be a bit slower today. You never know how it'll turn out. Nobody are minnows for us, every game is important and these 2 points are ever so crucial to inch more towards the semis. We have 1 change, a forced one- Bhuvneshwar Kumar is out with a niggle, we bring in the extra spinner in Kuldeep Yadav. Feel like we could utilise him well here, he's a good bowler. Hope for a good contest, to get a fourth win on the trot.
Gary Wilson: Obviously a better choice to bat first nowadays. I mean it's chasing again for us, it's the seventh game in a row we are fielding first and we must have gotten used to it. Hasn't gone well our way in the Super 12- following up 3 wins in a row with 3 losses. The level of competition is getting to us, India are no lesser, they're a serious team and we need to regroup and make sure we have learnt from previous losses. Going unchanged, our players have all done well and we are playing our strongest side- just need to push further.
Ireland - Paul Stirling, William Porterfield, Andrew Balbirnie, Kevin O'Brien, James Shannon, Gary Wilson , Simi Singh, George Dockrell, Barry McCarthy, Boyd Rankin, Peter Chase
India won the toss and opt to bat first
1st Innings
It was a clinical & valiant bowling performance from the Irish, with the duo of Barry McCarthy & Kevin O'Brien amongst the wickets, that helped stall the Indian juggernaut to a meagre 150/6 in their first innings. Rohit gave India a good start as he is known for doing, before getting dismissed. Dhawan constantly played the anchor as Kohli came in to take the aggressor role, but the scoring rate was still quite subpar- Ireland bowled in tight areas and they needed that final death over flourish. This was where the Irish were truly top-notch, blowing the Indian middle-order away for single digits at the death and preventing any sort of attack- O'Brien getting a double wicket maiden in the process and McCarthy ending with 3. Can Ireland pull off a historic chase and upset today, or is the pitch not as easy?
Ireland need 151 runs to win off 20 overs
@ 7.55 RPO
2nd Innings
The Irish fairy-tale was put to a halt by spin wizard Yuzvendra Chahal, who found life in the pitch to extract the breakthroughs for India to pull them out of their pit. Paul Stirling seemed to be the only one serious in the chase, as wickets tumbled continuously on the other end and he found no support en-route to his 39 ball 47, that tried so hard to complete the Irish dream today, only to be stranded carrying his bat. Bumrah was the man who did the initial damage, but Chahal took over in the middle-overs as expected, as the middle-order read like a phone number to reward Chahal his fifer and nail down the victory for India. McCarthy & Rankin tried to do some damage in the end but it was a little too late for that. 2 more points for India, and Ireland go down fighting after stunning us in the first half.
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Faf du Plessis 
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