The cricket World Cup began a week ago and a lot has happened since then. Some upsets, some disappointments and a few great performances later, this is where the teams stand currently.
While we are discussing the performances, let us look how the teams fared in individual matches.
1. England vs South Africa
England won by 104 runs.
The tournament started with a match between England and South Africa, which the hosts won by 104 runs. Player of the Match Ben Stokes scored 89 runs for his side, giving the Proteas a target of 312 to win. Thanks to a great effort from the bowlers, England bundled out opposition for just 207 and started their campaign with a bang.
2. West Indies vs Pakistan
West Indies won by 7 wickets.
The second match was between West Indies and Pakistan and it ended in a much shorter time than anticipated. Fielding first, West Indies dismissed the opposition for 105 runs and successfully chased the target in 13.4 overs. 105 is the lowest team total in the tournament so far.
3. New Zealand vs Sri Lanka
New Zealand won by 10 wickets.
The third match was played on June 1, with New Zealand and Sri Lanka competing against each other. The Kiwis bundled out Lankans for 136 runs and managed to chase the target without losing a single wicket. Matt Henry was declared the Player of the Match for taking 3 wickets.
4. Australia vs Afghanistan
Australia won by 7 wickets.
In not the most competitive match, Australia beat Afghanistan by 7 wickets in the fourth clash. However, result aside, it was a big moment for Afghanistan who are playing just their second World Cup. Rahmat Shah and Najibullah Zadran did give a good fight to mighty Australians by scoring 43 and 51 runs respectively but ultimately the target of 208 was not good enough.
5. Bangladesh vs South Africa
Bangladesh won by 21 runs.
The fifth match was the one with which the upsets genuinely started. Bangladesh gave opponent South Africa a target of 331, which they were unable to chase. The fight was real, though, and things seemed to be swinging in the other direction for a while but ultimately the Proteas fell 21 runs short and hence lost their second game too.
6. England vs Pakistan
Pakistan won by 14 runs.
Bouncing back from the lows of previous clash against West Indies, Pakistan killed it and how. They beat England by 14 runs, thanks to a brilliant innings by the entire top order. Chasing 349, the hosts could only manage to amass 334 runs and lost the match by 14.
7. Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka won by 34 runs.
Afghanistan’s second match of the tournament was a real scare for Sri Lanka, who struggled a lot while batting. Nabi’s 4 wickets, 3 coming in one over, wrecked Sri Lanka and they could not recover. However, luck didn’t favour the Afghans as it started raining and the match had to be stopped mid-way. The Lankans finally posted 201 and Afghanistan lost the match by 34 runs because of Duckworth and Lewis rule.
8. India vs South Africa
India won by 6 wickets.
The 8th match of the tournament was the first for India, who were competing against South Africa. One of the top contenders for the title, India easily dismissed SA for 227 and posted 230 in return for 4 wickets. Rohit Sharma, who hit a brilliant unbeaten century in the match, was awarded Man of the Match.
9. New Zealand vs Bangladesh
New Zealand won by 2 wickets.
Another close match was played between New Zealand and Bangladesh where the latter scored 244 and the former chased it successfully in 47.1 overs, losing 8 wickets in the process. While the batting for both sides was disappointing overall, Ross Taylor shined with his 82 and was awarded the Man of the Match title.
