ICC Twenty20 World Cup News

Sri Lanka relied on a clinical bowling display to script a comfortable 19-run victory over Pakistan in their first Super Eight match of the Twenty20 World here on Friday.

After putting up a competitive 150 for seven largely bult around Tilakaratne Dilshan's 46, the islanders stopped Pakistan at 131 for nine to garner full points from the encounter at the historic Lord's.

Except for a 66-run run pertnership for the fourth wicket between captain captain Younis Khan, who top-scored with a 37-ball 50, and his deputy Misbah-ul Haq, Pakistan were never really in the run chase of 151.

They had a fumbling start with their opener Salman Butt out in the third ball and were in back foot losing two wickets in the sixth over before Younis and Misbah revived the innings.

Jacques Kallis scored his maiden Twenty20 fifty and led a clinical South Africa to a thumping seven-wicket victory over England in their opening Super Eights match of the ICC World Twenty20 in Nottingham on Thursday.

Kallis top-scored with an unbeaten 49-ball 57 in South Africa's run chase of 112 in the Group E encounter to help the Proteas attain the target in 18.2 overs and maintain their unbeaten run in the tournament.

Earlier, South Africa produced a clinical bowling and fielding performance to skittle England for a paltry 111 after home team captain Paul Collingwood elected to bat.

Late entrant Aaron Redmond proved his credentials as injury-stricken New Zealand thrashed hapless Ireland by 83 runs in the World Twenty20 Super Eights on Thursday.

Redmond, drafted into the Black Caps squad on Wednesday night to replace the sick Jesse Ryder, made an immediate impact with a hurricane 63 off 30 balls at the top of the order.

New Zealand, sent in to bat on an even-paced wicket, rode on Redmond's belligerence to pile up 198-5 before bowling the minnows out for 115 in 16.4 overs to record their first Super Eight points.

India's bowlers were clinical in their demolition of the Ireland batting, the batsmen were equally solid in chasing down the moderate total, thus consigning Ireland to their first defeat in Twenty20 internationals. Zaheer Khan ran through the top order full of left-hand batsmen, Pragyan Ojha took a first-ball wicket in his second Twenty20 international too, and the new opening combination of Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma got India off to another solid start.

Zaheer, who made his comeback from his shoulder game only in the last game, was fast and accurate today, getting the ball to shape away from the left-hand batsmen. He didn't swing it as much as his opening partner Irfan Pathan did, but his pace and accuracy did the trick. Jeremy Bray was the first one to go, on the last ball of the second over, playing all around a yorker. Soon Zaheer was on a hat-trick when William Porterfield chased the first ball of the fourth. Andre Botha survived the
hat-trick, but guided one to slip in the same over.

Something strange happens when the batsmen sight Ojha. On Ojha's debut, Shakib Al Hasan tried to pull a delivery too full for the shot and paid the price. Today Kevin O'Brien, Ireland's saviour against Bangladesh, walked across and went to pull, and dragged it from way outside off onto his leg stump. There must be something.

Sanath Jayasuriya and Tillakaratne Dilshan put on an opening stand of 124 on Wednesday to lead Sri Lanka to a 15-run win over West Indies in a meaningless Twenty20 World Cup game.

Jayasuriya smashed 81 in 47 balls and Dilshan 74 also from 47 deliveries, flaying West Indies' bowlers to all parts of Trent Bridge as Sri Lanka posted 192-5.

Lendl Simmons, who took 4-19, was the only bowler to avoid punishment, with Sri Lanka hitting 23 fours and six sixes.

Simmons then made 29 with the bat, but only Dwayne Bravo (51) of his teammates scored more as West Indies closed on 177-5.

Both sides had already qualified from Group C for the Super 8 phase, which begins on Thursday.

Despite the early loss of Andre Fletcher, bowled by Lasith Malinga in the fourth over for 13, West Indies made a promising start to the chase, racing to 55-1 after five overs.

South Africa defeated New Zealand by one run in a thrilling low-scoring match at Lord's.

South Africa's total of 128-7 seemed below-par but New Zealand never got the upper-hand in reply to eventually fall just short of their target on 127-5.

The Black Caps had only reached 57-2 by the halfway point in their reply with the third-wicket partnership of Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor holding the key.

Their 50-stand came up off an uncharacteristically circumspect 63 deliveries just before slow left-armer Roelof van der Merwe (who finished with the outstanding figures of 4-0-14-2) removed both in quick succession.