New Zealand 142-8 (20 ov)
Australia 134-9 (20 ov)
New Zealand won by 8 runs
New Zealand beat Australia by eight runs Friday in a thrilling match at cricket’s World Twenty20, with recalled paceman Mitchell McClenaghan taking three wickets for 17.
After New Zealand had made 142 for eight in their 20 overs at Dharamshala, Australia had appeared well set to chase down a modest total.
But they lost four wickets in their last two overs with McClenaghan and Corey Anderson holding their nerve at the death, giving the Black Caps revenge after losing last year’s final of the 50 over World Cup to Australia.
McClenaghan was a surprise replacement for Nathan McCullum, one of the heroes of New Zealand’s dramatic victory over the hosts India on Tuesday.
But captain Kane Williamson’s switch was vindicated in spectacular style while Australia were left to rue their decision to pick two rookie spinners, Ashton Agar and Adam Zampa.
Agar had a game to forget, carted for three sixes in what was his one and only over. His first two balls were full tosses, gratefully dispatched over the ropes by Martin Guptill, who top-scored with a brisk 39 off 27 balls.
Guptill and Williamson put on 61 in the first seven overs but the Black Caps’ hopes of putting on a score close to 200 soon subsided.
But poor shot selection and tight bowling from the veteran Shane Watson and allrounders Glenn Maxwell and James Faulkner put the brakes on one of T20 cricket’s biggest-hitting teams.
Read more:
World Twenty20 scores, schedule in UAE time (updated)
Misbah-ul-Haq: Speaks on India-Pakistan rivalry, county contract and World T20 absence
World Twenty 20 diary: A buzz in Delhi and Kolkata, but it’s nothing to do with the cricket
Guptill was the first to go after racing to 39 off 27 balls, caught on the boundary by Maxwell off the bowling of Faulkner as he tried to go for another six at the beginning of the eighth over.
Williamson and Corey Anderson were then out in quick succession, both taken after they miscued expansive strokes.
New Zealand never recovered their momentum and no batsman ever really looked settled on what proved to be a slow pitch.
Watson’s first three overs yielded just 11 runs and he took the key wicket of Ross Taylor in his final over, one ball after being hit for six by the former Kiwi captain.
Usman Khawaja and Watson got the Australian innings off to brisk start, putting on 44 before Watson fell.
Khawaja stroked six fours in an attractive innings of 38 off just 27 balls before he was run out just as he looked poised to post a big score.
Australia seemed comfortably placed at the mid-way point in their innings, having put 66 on the board.
But David Warner perished in the first ball of the 11th over, holing out at deep mid-wicket after mistiming a pull shot off the bowling of Mitchell Santner.
Spinners Santner and Ish Sodhi, the heroes of the win over India, again bowled tidy spells.
Sodhi conceded just 14 runs in his four overs while Santner took two for 30, his figures slightly tarnished at the end when he conceded two sixes off his last three balls.
McClenaghan was handed the ball for the penultimate over and did his captain proud by taking the wickets of both Marsh and Agar, conceding just three runs in the process.
New Zealand’s second win in two games makes them firm favourites to reach the semi-finals of the tournament but is a big blow to Australia’s hopes of winning a trophy that has so far proven elusive.
Also read: Joe Root masterclass delivers England win over South Africa
Sri Lanka’s Malinga ruled out of World T20 due to knee injury
MUMBAI // Sri Lanka’s World Twenty20 title defence suffered a huge blow after fast bowler Lasith Malinga was ruled out of the tournament due to a knee injury, the team said on Friday.
Malinga was forced to hand over the captaincy to Angelo Mathews last week due to a slow recovery from the injury and missed the Super 10 opener against Afghanistan on Thursday.
“Malinga’s knee injury flared up before the match against Afghanistan yesterday,” a team spokesperson said. “He has been ruled out of the World Cup and has flown back to Sri Lanka this afternoon.”
The paceman, 32, with blond-tinted hair and an unorthodox action is not quite the same player who was a key figure in Sri Lanka’s progress to three World Twenty20 finals in the last four tournaments.
He was, however, considered key to their success in India, where he has performed admirably in the Indian Premier League.
“Sri Lanka team management on tour have observed that Malinga whose niggling injury has been flaring up would be better off resting it, and have recommended he return to Colombo,” Sri Lanka Cricket said in a statement.
The selectors will choose Malinga’s replacement after practice matches between the remaining players in the World T20 squad to be played in Colombo later on Friday.
Sri Lanka will take on 2012 champions West Indies in their second Group One match in Bangalore on Sunday.
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last-16, second leg:
Real Madrid 1 (Asensio 70'), Ajax 4 (Ziyech 7', Neres 18', Tadic 62', Schone 72')
Ajax win 5-3 on aggregate
The Old Slave and the Mastiff
Patrick Chamoiseau
Translated from the French and Creole by Linda Coverdale
Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
THE BIO
Ambition: To create awareness among young about people with disabilities and make the world a more inclusive place
Job Title: Human resources administrator, Expo 2020 Dubai
First jobs: Co-ordinator with Magrudy Enterprises; HR coordinator at Jumeirah Group
Entrepreneur: Started his own graphic design business
Favourite singer: Avril Lavigne
Favourite travel destination: Germany and Saudi Arabia
Family: Six sisters
Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand
UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The line up
Friday: Giggs, Sho Madjozi and Masego
Saturday: Nas, Lion Bbae, Roxanne Shante and DaniLeigh
Sole DXB runs from December 6 to 8 at Dubai Design District. Weekend pass is Dh295 while a one day pass is Dh195. Tickets are available from www.soledxb.com
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
MWTC info
Tickets to the MWTC range from Dh100 and can be purchased from www.ticketmaster.ae or by calling 800 86 823 from within the UAE or 971 4 366 2289 from outside the country and all Virgin Megastores. Fans looking to attend all three days of the MWTC can avail of a special 20 percent discount on ticket prices.
Match info
Deccan Gladiators 87-8
Asif Khan 25, Dwayne Bravo 2-16
Maratha Arabians 89-2
Chadwick Walton 51 not out
Arabians won the final by eight wickets
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
The Year Earth Changed
Directed by:Tom Beard
Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough
Stars: 4
