We are more than half way through the World Cup 2019 and its becoming clear which teams are likely to make the semifinals and which are as good as out of the competition. After India defeated Afghanistan in a scarily close match, there were four more matches. Check out the updates via some of the best tweets and memes.
The reality was nowhere near expectations. It was meant to be a cakewalk for India; instead, a sharp looking Afghan side restricted the men in blue to a very modest 224/8.
The match went right down to the wire and the Indian total never looked out of reach. In the end India won by a slender 11 run margin.
Entrusting Mohammed Shami with the last over of the match proved an excellent decision. He took a hat trick to wipe out the Afghan tail.
New Zealand got up to a decent 291 while losing 8 wickets. Looking at how New Zealand is the only unbeaten team in this championship (apart from India) this should have been an easy win. It was not.
It fell to the New Zealand bowlers to contain the Windies. In the end, the West Indian batsmen were all out for 286 in the penultimate over. It was a Minandad-Chetan Sharma moment when Carlos Brathwaite’s heroic innings (he helped his team recover from 164/7 at one point) culminated not in a six, but a brilliant catch on the boundary by Trent Boult.
Pak made 308 while losing 7 wickets and restricted South Africa to a 259/9 to win the match and to knock the Proteas right out of the competition.
The meme makers were out in force, chiding the Pakistanis for poor fielding and dropped catches. It was not because of their fielding but in spite of poor fielding that they won the day.
Skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed leaning over the iconic balcony of Lords to speak to someone seemed to amuse the tweeple no end. Maybe he’s speaking to the pizza delivery guy, maybe he's telling the neighbour to end the party, asking his kid to come home…
Making 262 in their 50 overs, the Bangladeshis comfortably beat Afghanistan; getting them all out in 200 by the 47th over. Shakib Al Hasan was largely instrumental in this win (scoring a 50 with batting figures of 5/29).
There is still a chance that Bangladesh may make it to the semifinals. Fans haven’t given up hope.
Australia made 285 while losing 7 wickets; thanks in large part to a century by Aaron Finch. A clinical Aussie bowling attack ensured that England were all out by the 45th over; Australia winning by 64 runs.
The host team now has to win their remaining matches to stay in the reckoning for the semifinal spot. Trouble is, those matches are against India and New Zealand!
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