Mumbai, Feb 16: South Africa and Sri Lanka won their respective second round of warm-up games ahead of the start of the 2011 ICC World Cup. With both teams having won both their warm-up games they begin their tournament campaign brimming with confidence. Australia, who lost to South Africa, though, have their task cut out as they slumped to their second consecutive defeat in as many warm-up games.
Here is a roundup of the warm-up games played on February 15:
South Africa v Australia – SA won by seven wickets
M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, Day/Night match
Australia suffered another disappointing loss in their final warm-up match against South Africa in a day/night game played at Bengaluru yesterday. Opting to bat after winning the toss, the Australian batting was guilty of another below par performance as only Ricky Ponting (55) and Michael Clarke (73) managed half-centuries. The Australians were bowled out for 217 in 47.1 overs, which the South Africans chased down in 44.2 overs for the loss of three wickets. Graeme Smith (65), Hashim Amla (60) and JP Duminy (47) led the Proteas’ run chase. This was South Africa’s second consecutive victory following their eight-wicket win over Zimbabwe in the warm-up game played at Chennai on Saturday.
Sri Lanka v West Indies – SL won by four wickets
R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Day/Night match
After thrashing Netherlands by a 156-run margin in their first warm-up game, Sri Lanka put in another clinical performance by beating the West Indies by four wickets in a day/night game at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. West Indies, who opted to bat first after winning the toss, went on to score a challenging total of 281 thanks to a consistent performance by all their batsmen. Chris Gayle (58) and Darren Bravo (54) posted half-centuries. But with Tillakaratne Dilshan (62 off 50 balls) getting Sri Lanka off to a flier and Kumar Sangakkara (71) and Thilan Samaraweera (55) consolidating on the start, the Lankans managed to get to the target with four wickets and 15 balls to spare.
Bangladesh v Pakistan – Pakistan won by 89 runs
Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, Day/Night match
Pakistan, who played their first warm-game of the tournament, began their World Cup campaign in style by beating joint hosts Bangladesh by a convincing 89-run margin. Two centuries, one from opener Ahmed Shehzad (103) and the second from middle-order batsman Misbah-ul-Haq (100) propelled Pakistan to a strong total of 285/9 in 50 overs. Bangladesh’s run chase never got going as they lost wickets at regular intervals. Abul Razzaq was the most successful bowler for the Pakistanis on the evening as Bangladesh were bowled out for 196 in 41.4 overs.
Kenya v Netherlands – Netherlands won by two wickets
Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo, Day match
In what was, perhaps, the most competitive game of the day, Kenya played Netherlands at the SSC stadium in Colombo. Kenya won the toss and elected to bat first. Their total of 263/5 in 50 overs was based, largely, on two significant contributions – one by opener Seren Waters who hit 126 off 150 balls and the other by number six batsman Rakep Patel whose 59-ball innings saw him contribute 64 runs to the team’s cause. Netherlands, in reply, began the chase well, reaching the 100-run mark in 22.3 overs for the loss of just two wickets. However, a middle-order collapse saw them tottering at 130/7 in 30 overs. But Ryan Doeschate, the Dutch number four batsman, found good company in Atse Buurman (29) and Mudassar Bukhari (20*) and helped Netherlands scrape through to a two-wicket win. Doeschate remained unbeaten on 98.
Ireland v Zimbabwe – Ireland won by four wickets
Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur, Day match
Ireland trumped Zimbabwe by four wickets in a keenly contested match at Jamtha, Nagpur. Zimbabwe who chose to bat first after winning the toss got off to a disappointing start, losing their first three wickets for just 12 runs. But a gallant century from middle-order batsman Elton Chigumbura (103*) saw the Zimbabwe team post a competitive score of 244/8 in 50 overs. Ireland, though, managed to chase this total down with three balls left to play in their innings. Alex Cusack (47), Andre Botha (79) and Kevin O’Brien (62) set up the four-wicket win for Ireland.
