A.B. de Villiers announced himself at the World Twenty20 with a swashbuckling 64 and Afghanistan made a swift start to their chase as South Africa revived their campaign with a 37-run win at the Wankhede Stadium yesterday.
South Africa batted first after winning the toss and racked up 209-5 in their 20 overs.
Afghanistan came out all guns blazing in their assault on the target, with the diminutive Mohammad Shahzad leading the charge, hitting 44 off 19 deliveries.
Photo: AP
Shahzad, who hit five sixes and three fours, tore into paceman Kyle Abbott in the second over and took 22 runs off him as Afghanistan made a strong start.
The right-hander took Afghanistan to 47 in three overs — a reminder of the onslaught by the England batsmen on Friday — before paceman Chris Morris uprooted his stumps.
Afghanistan were ahead of South Africa’s score at the halfway stage on 103-2, but lost too many wickets to keep up with the required run rate.
Morris showed good control to finish with four wickets, while leg-spinner Imran Tahir and fast bowlers Abbott and Kagiso Rabada all picked up two wickets each.
Earlier, opener Quinton de Kock (45) continued his impressive show with the bat and added 65 for the second wicket with captain Faf du Plessis after South Africa lost Hashim Amla early.
The Proteas lost De Kock and Du Plessis (41) in quick succession, which set the stage for De Villiers to explode.
The right-hander was dropped by Samiullah Shenwari on 26 off his own bowling and then again on 35 by the same fielder.
In Kolkata on Saturday, Virat Kohli helped India survive a top-order collapse and beat Pakistan by six wickets in a tight game to revive their campaign.
Kohli’s magnificent 55 not out was the difference between the sides in the rain-hit 18-overs-per-side match, coming under tremendous pressure on a prodigiously turning track at Eden Gardens chasing 119.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two