ICC World Cup 2019 updated points table, highest run-scorer and highest-wicket takers’ list
Here’s the updated points table of ICC World Cup 2019 after Pakistan vs Afghanistan and Australia vs New Zealand matches along with the highest run-scorer and highest wicket-takers’ list
Pakistan kept their nerve to avoid a huge shock on Saturday, beating a spirited Afghan side by three wickets with just two balls to spare to keep their ICC World Cup 2019 semi-final hopes alive.
All-rounder Imad Wasim hit Afghanistan skipper Gulbadin Naib for a boundary through the covers to seal the win off the fourth ball of the last over, prompting chaotic scenes as fans poured onto the Headingley pitch.
Pakistan, chasing a modest 228-run target, were in grave danger at 156 for six in the 39th over.
But man-of-the-match Imad (49 not out) and Shadab Khan (11) put on 50 for the seventh wicket to revive their hopes. A third consecutive victory lifts Pakistan into fourth place in the 10-team table, above hosts England, with the top four qualifying for the semi-finals.
READ: India vs England, World Cup 2019, Match 38, Edgbaston, Live Score Updates
In the other match of the day, Trent Boult’s historic hat-trick went in vain as Mitchell Starc’s brilliant five-for helped Australia crush trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand by 86 runs and consolidate their spot at the top.
In what was a rematch of the 2015 final between the trans-Tasman rivals at Lord’s on Saturday, Kiwi left-arm pacer Boult hogged the limelight with a sensational last-over hat-trick to stop Australia’s rebuilding job at 243 for nine.
With his swinging full-pitched deliveries, Boult sent back the well-settled Usman Khawaja (88 off 129 balls), Micthell Starc and Jason Behrendorff, while giving away just two runs of the last over to become the first Kiwi to grab a hat-trick in the World Cup.
But New Zealand, who are yet to qualify for the semifinals, crumbled in front of Starc, tournament’s best bowler so far, who returned with brilliant figures of 5 for 26, and were bundled out for 157 in 43.4 overs.
On Sunday, India face England in Birmingham with a win guaranteeing Virat Kohli & Co of a spot in the knockout stage of the tournament. On the other hand, a loss will further damage England’s semifinal hopes.
(With agency inputs)
Here’s the updated points table of ICC World Cup 2019
Here’s the highest run-scorers’ list of World Cup 2019
Here’s the highest wicket-takers’ list of World Cup 2019