England revived their 50-overs World Cup title defence as Dawid Malan smashed a career-best 140 and Reece Topley wreaked havoc with the ball in a 137-run hammering of Bangladesh on Tuesday at Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh.
Smarting from their nine-wicket thrashing by New Zealand in the tournament opener, England amassed 364-9 after their top order fired with Malan forging century-plus partnerships with Jonny Bairstow (52) and Joe Root (82). Playing his first match of the tournament, left-arm quick Topley (4-43) wrecked Bangladesh’s top order in the first six overs to set England up for an easy victory. Bangladesh were all out for 227 in 48.2 overs.
New Zealand crush Netherlands
Mitchell Santner played a blistering innings and then took five wickets to guide New Zealand to a convincing 99-run win over the Netherlands in a World Cup match in Hyderabad on Monday.
The 31-year-old left-hander clubbed a 17-ball 36 not out in New Zealand´s imposing total of 322-7 before achieving figures of 5-59. Santner, the first New Zealand spinner to take five wickets in a World Cup match, dominated the Dutch who were bowled out for 223 in 46.3 overs. The victory gave New Zealand two wins in as many games after crushing title-holders England by nine wickets in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
India start with winning note
India won its opening encounter of this world cup against Australia at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Oct 8. The victory came in the 42nd over, as it chased down a total of 200 runs with six wickets in hands. KL Rahul, unbeaten at 97, and Virat Kohli who scored 85, were the architects of the run-chase. They stitched a partnership of 165 runs. The team had begun the run chase on a shaky ground, with Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer getting out at zero. Despite losing the toss, India bowlers didn't disappoint and gave a very tough time to the Australian batters, who could be seen struggling from the very beginning.
South Africa defeat Lanka
South Africa rode on centuries from Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram to thrash Sri Lanka by 102 runs in a World Cup match in New Delhi on Oct 7. Put into bat, the Proteas batters toyed with the Sri Lankan bowlers with Van der Dussen (108), Markram (106) and De Kock (100) smashing quick-fire centuries to lift the side to a commanding total, which was also the highest by a team in the World Cup. Dilshan Madushanka (2/86) picked up two wickets for Sri Lanka. Chasing, Charith Asalanka (79), Kusal Mendis (76) and skipper Dasun Shanaka (68) played good knocks but it was not enough.
Bangladesh score over Afghanistan
Bangladesh bowled out Afghanistan for 156 in their ICC World Cup opener on Saturday. Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and opted to field first and the decision was vindicated by his bowlers’ impressive performance at the picturesque venue in Dharamshala on Oct 7. Opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz top-scored for Afghanistan with a 62-ball 47 in an otherwise ordinary outing with the bat. Shakib and Mehidy Hasan Miraz were the most successful bowlers for Bangladesh, picking up three wickets each as the Afghan innings folded in 37.2 overs.
Pakistan win by 81 runs
Pakistan kicked-off the ODI campaign with an 81 run victory over Netherlands at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on Friday. Batting first Pakistan managed to pile 286/10 in 49 overs despite a top-order collapse. Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan led the rescue act for Pakistan as both the batters chipped in with 68 runs each. Mohammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan also made some healthy contributions towards the end with 30-plus scores. In response Netherlands got off to a decent start with opener Vikramjit Singh and Bas de Leede leading the charge for the Dutch. Netherlands were eventually bundled out for 205 in 41 overs.
New Zealand beat England
Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway looked like two giants playing with a football on a cricket field. They did not give even a single chance to the English bowlers, smashing their way to individual hundreds and a memorable nine-wicket win for New Zealand in the first match of the ICC ODI World Cup at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on 5 October 2023. After winning the toss, Kiwi skipper Tom Latham decided to field first. Initially, commentators called it a great toss to lose for Buttler, only to realise that it was not a blessing in disguise as the wicket became tough to play in the first innings as soon as spinners started to operate. In the second innings, the dew made it hard for the spinners to grip, and New Zealand marched on to a win.
