Cricket news round-up – 23 June: Afghanistan give India a scare; Heartbreak for Carlos Brathwaite

India beat Afghanistan by 11 runs in Southampton; New Zealand edge past West Indies by 5 runs in Manchester; Entire Zimbabwe cricket board suspended; England Women take unassailable lead over the West Indies.

India beat Afghanistan by 11 runs

Mohammad Nabi’s fighting half-century went in vain as a Mohammad Shami hat-trick helped India successfully defended 224 runs at the Rose Bowl, on Saturday, 22 June and remain unbeaten in the ICC World Cup 2019.

Winning the toss and batting first, the Indian innings was kept in check by the Afghan spin trio of Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan even as Virat Kohli (67) and Kedar Jadhav (52) hit half-centuries. Nabi was the pick of the Afghanistan bowlers, returning 2/33. Rashid and Rahman got one wicket apiece.

In reply, Afghanistan looked well on their course to their first win over India in ODIs when Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi shared 42 runs for the third wicket, but a two-wicket 29^th over by Jasprit Bumrah turned things around for India and despite a rearguard effort by Nabi (52 off 55), Afghanistan were bowled out for 213.

The match ended with Shami picking up only the second World Cup hat-trick by and Indian bowler, removing Nabi, Aftab Alam and Mujeeb Ur Rahman off the last three balls of the match; he returned 4/40.

Heartbreak for the West Indies

Carlos Brathwaite’s magnificent 101 got the West Indies on the brink of a win against New Zealand at Old Trafford, only to fall five runs short of the target of 292 after the Caribbeans had found themselves 211/8 at one stage.

Brathwaite accumulated 25 runs off the 48^th over, bowled by Matt Henry, hitting three sixes and a four and single-handedly carried his team within touching distance of a win with only tailenders to bat with. Kemar Roach (14 off 31) and Sheldon Cottrell (15 off 26) played vital roles, too.

But Jimmy Neesham had the last laugh in the penultimate over of the match as Brathwaite pulled a short ball to cow corner, where a vigilant Trent Boult, who had already picked up 4/30 to dismantle the West Indies batting order, held on to a sharp catch inches inside the boundary.

Earlier, a fine century by Kane Williamson (148), his second in a row, and 69 by Ross Taylor helped New Zealand reach a competitive 291/8 after they had lost both their openers for ducks. Cottrell returned 4/56 while Brathwaite got 2/58.

Zimbabwe Cricket suspended

Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has been suspended with immediate effect by the country’s Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) on Friday, 21 June. Givemore Makoni, the acting ZC managing director has also been suspended. SRC had issued a directive last week to suspend ZC’s electoral process, but Tavengwa Mukuhlani’s selection as the chairman had put the cricket board in conflict and turned out to be the major bone of contention between the two parties.

“It cannot be in national interest that a national sporting association continues to conduct itself in a manner that it suggests that it and its officials are a law unto themselves. Certain of its office bearers, past and present, have been the subject matter of allegations involving fraud exchange control violations and other acts of corruption and criminality related to the monies and assets of Zimbabwe Cricket and the International Cricket Council,” said the SRC in a release.

England Women take unassailable lead

Danni Wyatt led England Women to a 42-run victory in the second T20I against West Indies Women in Northampton on June 21 to hand the hosts an unassailable 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The first game was abandoned due to rain. Wyatt scored 81 off 55 balls and was helped by Natalie Sciver (31 off 19) and captain Heather Knight (22 off 11) as England put up 180/6 on the board.

In reply, West Indies could never get going in their chase and were restricted to 138/9. Stacy-Ann King was the top scorer for the visitors with 43 off 34 balls. Chedean Nation got 32 off 20 but the rest of the line-up couldn’t contribute much even as Linsey Smith and Katherine Brunt returned two wickets apiece. Anya Shrubsole, Sophie Ecclestone and Sciver got a wicket each. The third and final game will be played in Derby on June 25.