5th Match IND V WI Super 10's

India 130 for 3 (Rohit 62*, Kohli 54) beat West Indies 129 for 7 (Gayle 34, Jadeja 3-48, Mishra 2-18, Bhuvneshwar 0-3) by 7 wickets

West Indies have been in Bangladesh for a week, but they still looked jetlagged in a bizarre innings of 129 for 7, which set up another comprehensive win for India, who were excellent with the ball. From the moment Bhuvneshwar Kumar surprised Dwayne Smith with a first over full of outswingers, West Indies sleepwalked through most of their innings, failing to make India pay for some sloppy fielding. 

India will be only mildly annoyed with that because of the stupendous work done by their bowlers.

Bhuvneshwar set the template with the most economical figures in Twenty20 internationals - 3-0-3-0, Shami kept the pressure up at the other end, R Ashwin bowled out pretty early to make sure that pressure pushed West Indies to the breaking point, and then Amit Mishra applied the coup de grâce with the wickets of Marlon Samuels and Dwayne Bravo off successive deliveries.

Without taking away from how well India bowled, it was an incredibly passive effort from West Indies. Despite a generous helping of extras, West Indies were 46 for 1 after 10 overs, Chris Gayle's 34 off 33 was his slowest 30-or-more-ball knock, Dwayne Smith prodded and fumbled around for 11 off 29, and the rest crumbled under the pressure of needing more than 100 in the last 10 to even be competitive when the dew would come in. All this despite two dropped catches: Gayle on 0 and 19.

There was something special about India's bowling at the top, especially Bhuvneshwar. Every time he bowled full to Smith, he looked like he would get a wicket. In the lead-up to the match, Suresh Raina had spoken about how West Indies struggle to get the runs when the big sixes are not forthcoming. Darren Sammy said, okay stop us hitting the sixes. Only six sixes were hit in the innings, and the singles were miserably low.

When those sixes were hit, as Gayle did as soon as legspinner Mishra was introduced, it involved a huge risk. Be that as it may, when you are 24 after six overs, with your partner struggling to get bat on ball, you are under the pressure to take those risks. The first one brought Gayle a six, but Mishra's wrong'un next ball should have had him. Yuvraj Singh joined Ashwin as Gayle's benefactor, but an extended spell of disciplined bowling from Ashwin - overs 6, 8, 10 and 12 for 24 runs - made sure Gayle didn't benefit much at all.

With no bad balls on offer, both Gayle and Marlon Samuels were handcuffed. The two are the last pair you want in the middle when you are hoping for quick running because boundaries are not available. Quite a few twos were turned into ones before Gayle was run out not even trying to make it to the striker's end. Dhoni could have gone off and finished his media interviews and come back to take the bails off; Gayle would still have not made it. At 62 for 2 in 13 overs, with Samuels struggling, they may as well have finished the interviews then.

Mishra put paid to all hopes of a Colombo-final-like comeback with a sharp legbreak that provided his captain his 127th stumping in all international cricket. Nobody has more. Bravo was next beaten comprehensively by the googly, and the game was practically over.

Some indiscipline from India towards the end took West Indies to 129, and despite a poorly called lbw of Shikhar Dhawan, this wasn't going to challenge India. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma saw India through with calm half-centuries, even though a struggling Yuvraj Singh manufactured some late drama. The only thing missing on another satisfying night for India was a push for a big net run-rate boost. If they play like they have been playing, they might not even need to think of the net run-rate. 

4th Match Super 10's PAK V AUS

Pakistan 191 for 5 (Umar Akmal 94) beat Australia 175 (Maxwell 74, Finch 65) by 16 runs

If ever proof was needed that Pakistan are world cricket's most mercurial side, take this match as exhibit A. Bilawal Bhatti's first over cost 30 runs, Pakistan dropped two catches in three balls, they conceded an 18-ball half-century to Glenn Maxwell and in their own innings stumbled to 25 for 2 in their fifth over. Oh, and they won. Comfortably, in the end. So relaxed was Mohammad Hafeez by the end that he trusted Bhatti with the final over, with Australia needing 23. They managed six.

This really was a split personality of a game. The fielding from both sides was poor, as was some of the bowling. But the striking from Umar Akmal and Maxwell was breathtaking, and a couple of wonderful overs from two of Pakistan's spinners, Zulfiqar Babar and Saeed Ajmal, meant more than Bhatti's dirty 30-run over. Perhaps the most important feature of the match was the lopsided nature of Australia's scorecard; nobody but Maxwell and Aaron Finch reached double figures.

And yet while they were at the crease together, Australia rocketed into favouritism. Chasing 192, they had come together at 8 for 2 at the end of the first over, after Babar's quicker ball rattled David Warner's stumps and his turner caught the edge of Shane Watson's bat on the way through to Kamran Akmal. But from there, Maxwell and Finch lifted Australia to 126 for 2 in the 12th over, a position from which they could have and should have won.

Had Maxwell stayed there they would have. As he struck six after six with conventional strokeplay, it was hard to work out why he had tried to reverse-sweep Hafeez from the first ball of his innings. Nerves, perhaps. But when he stood still and played the ball on its merits, he was almost impossible to stop. He clubbed Hafeez over midwicket and square leg for two sixes in an over and struck another as Shahid Afridi leaked 15 in his first over.

Afridi seemed Scrooge-like compared to Bhatti, who was thumped for two consecutive sixes that brought Maxwell his half-century, the equal fastest in a T20 international by an Australia player. The record was set by David Warner, who struck an 18-ball fifty against West Indies in 2009-10 at the SCG, where the Arizona Diamondbacks and the LA Dodgers are playing Major League Baseball this week. Some of Maxwell's strikes belonged there.

He was put down on 70 by Ajmal in the deep - two balls earlier Kamran had failed to glove Finch's edge behind off Ajmal's doosra - but on 74 Maxwell fell when he picked out deep midwicket off the bowling of Afridi. And magically, the runs dried up. The rest of the Australians struggled to force the pace against Pakistan's spin; George Bailey was bowled by Afridi for 4 off nine balls and after Brad Hodge was well caught in the deep by Ajmal off Umar Gul, Ajmal got rid of the other main danger, Finch.

Australia needed 31 off the final three overs when Ajmal was given his last over, and it was a brilliant one. Finch, settled but still a little scratchy, was bowled by an Ajmal straight ball for 65 off 54 balls, and the over brought one run and one wicket. And, more or less, one Pakistan victory. Because 30 off two overs was too much for Australia's lower order; Gul and Bhatti picked up wickets and there was a run out, and Australia were bowled out from the last ball for 175.

It meant that Umar Akmal's batting had not been in vain. That Pakistan reached 191 for 5 was a remarkable effort given that they were struggling at 25 for 2 in the fifth over. But the Akmal brothers combined to give Bailey a headache for the next three quarters of an hour.

They scored at 11.29 during their 96-run partnership and although Kamran has an excellent record against Australia it was Umar who really did the damage this time. Powerful through and over midwicket, especially during an 18-run over from part-time spinner Finch, who was twice dispatched dismissively over deep midwicket, Umar was also able to rocket the ball down the ground straight back past the bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile.

Kamran struck four fours during his run-a-ball 31 but the partnership ended when he tried to lift a cut over deep point off Coulter-Nile but was well taken by Warner running around on the boundary. Coulter-Nile picked up a second wicket when he yorked Sohaib Maqsood for 5, but Umar remained at the crease and seemed destined to become the first Pakistan batsman to reach a century in a Twenty20 international.

That was not to be. In the final over of the innings, on 94 from 53 balls, he tried to clear the long-on boundary off Mitchell Starc and was caught in the deep by Maxwell. A quick unbeaten 20 from Afridi helped Pakistan to 191 for 5, but the Australians were left wondering what could have been had they been a little less sloppy in the field.

Umar had been dropped on 22 when he lifted Coulter-Nile to deep square leg and Brad Hogg put down a catch that was coming to him at pace, but should have been taken comfortably. Afridi was also put down by Hodge at point and Kamran was grassed by Doug Bollinger at short fine leg, although the umpire called a no-ball against the bowler Shane Watson in any case.

Bollinger's first international for two and a half years had started more promisingly - he struck in the second over of the match when Ahmed Shehzad top-edged a pull and was caught by Bollinger himself. When Hafeez played on off Watson in the fifth over, Australia could dream of a small chase. In their dreams. 

2nd & 3rd games ICC World T20 Super 10's

Sri Lanka 165 for 7 (Kusal 61, Tahir 3-26) beat South Africa 160 for 8 (Duminy 39, Senanayake 2-22) by five runs

Lasith Malinga versus David Miller. It was supposed to be the yorker versus the big hit. It was supposed to be the cracking finish. But the pressure resulted in miscommunication and again, South Africa ended up on the wrong side of a chase.

With 15 runs needed off the final over and a finisher at the crease, the batting side is always in with a chance, even if that is narrowed by the presence of Malinga. South Africa, however, did not give themselves an opportunity to capitalise. Twin run-outs off the first two balls of the final over, including that of Miller's, left the tail-enders with too much to do against a team who has only lost defending a score of 160-plus twice in the past.

The real damage had been done four overs before when Albie Morkel threatened to take the game away with a couple of assertive sixes. The boom quickly turned to bust. Dinesh Chandimal saw Morkel's plan and moved himself to wide long-on, just square of where the two previous sixes had gone. Ajantha Mendis bowled a low full toss, the kind of delivery Morkel would have hit for six many times before but he didn't get enough on it. Chandimal took the catch inches inside and seemed to know South Africa's fate was sealed.

Sri Lanka appeared the more assertive side from the get-go even though South Africa were buoyed by Dale Steyn's return to full fitness. Their pace spearhead started off with a Pandora's box of an over. He went too full to Kusal Perera who took two fours and a six off him and gave himself two extra deliveries to bowl courtesy a pair of wides. 

The last of them uprooted Tillakaratne Dilshan's off stump.

Kusal was less ambitious against Lonwabo Tsostobe, who used the slower ball well, but still managed to play the pick-up shot against both Tsotsobe and Morne Morkel. With a healthy covering of grass on the pitch, Morne found some extra bounce to account for Mahela Jayawardene, who was caught off a splice to mid-on. Despite the two wickets in the first six overs, Kusal's big-hitting took Sri Lanka to 51 for 2 at the end of the power-play.

AB De Villiers, captaining in place of the injured Faf du Plessis, introduced spin immediately after the fielding restrictions. JP Duminy started with some control but South Africa's fourth seamer, Albie was guilty of bowling too full. Kusal's fifty came up off 29 balls, the second fastest half-century scored against South Africa, with a single behind square on the leg side.

It was only when Imran Tahir came on that the squeeze was on. Sri Lanka's batsmen found him tricky to pick. Both Kusal and Kumar Sangakkara were foxed by the googly and the run-rate slowed. South Africa gave only 37 runs in the five-over period between 10 and 15 to peg Sri Lanka back.

Angelo Mathews tried to be the architect of a last five-over burst and deposited Tahir over long-on. Chandimal was stumped when he attempted the same, to give Tahir his best returns in T20 cricket of 3 for 26. Mathews batted into the last over and Sri Lanka collected 48 from the final five to set South Africa a challenging total.

Quinton de Kock gave South Africa a solid start when he guided them to 31 in the first three overs. He did not have to deal with Malinga in the opening exchanges, but when he did, de Kock's stumps were broken by a crunching yorker.

South Africa stuck to the strategy of holding de Villiers back and sent JP Duminy at No.3. Duminy's intent to give himself some time bore fruit in the ninth over. Thisara Perera was driven down the ground, slammed over long-on and then scooped for six. Ajantha Mendis was taken for 12 runs in the next over.

Duminy had Hashim Amla for company for 6.2 overs and put on fifty runs to give South Africa stability if not speed, which could come when Amla, the only batsman to have a strike-rate below 100, hit the ball straight to short cover. De Villiers was under some pressure but dealt with it well against both Mendis and Malinga. Mathews had the measure of him when he held back both the pace and the length to an advancing de Villiers, who top-edged.

With de Villiers gone, Duminy should have anchored the chase and left the slogging to Miller but could not hold back. He swept Senanayake to cow corner and South Africa's slide had begun. Despite the big-hitters at their disposal they lost six wickets for 42 runs and the chase unraveled to leave the margin looking closer than it actually was. 

New Zealand 52 for 1 (Williamson 24*, B McCullum 16*) beat England 172 for 6 (Moeen 36, Lumb 33, Buttler 32, Anderson 2-32) by 9 runs (D/L method)

Brendon McCullum is such a master of the dark arts of Twenty20 that it seemed entirely appropriate that he should bat to a backdrop of thunder and lightning. But the storm in Chittagong was not a theatrical prop, it was real, and as the rain soon tippled down upon New Zealand's captain it also drenched him in a premature victory that left England awash with frustration.

New Zealand needed to bat for five overs, in reply to England's challenging but far from secure total of 172 for 6, to bring rain calculations into play in the event of a washed out match. When the first fork of lightning lit up the sky behind the bowler's arm, and caused McCullum to pull away from the crease with Stuart Broad about to enter his delivery stride, they still had to face two balls to make the match valid.

Unbeknown to the players, who do not carry laminated, rain-proofed D/L tables around their necks, not yet anyway, New Zealand needed one more run from the last two balls of Broad's over to claim victory if rain proved to wash out the rest of the game. There was nobody better to be at the crease in such a scenario than McCullum, a bullish batsman on the brink of becoming the first batsman to 2,000 T20I runs, a table he leads by a considerable margin.

McCullum gingerly blocked the next, as if fearing further meteorological intervention, then charged the last ball and whacked a full toss straight for six. It is the sort of thing he does anyway, but it was ideally timed. Broad's only over had cost 16 and, as the players left the field two balls into the next over, persistent rain wiped away any chance of a resumption, with New Zealand ultimately nine ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis target.

England would have had a par of around 180 in mind after watching the first match and adding on another 15 or 20 runs for the way in which evening dew had put some spice in the pitch and tipped the balance a little closer towards the batsmen.

They did not quite achieve it, but one indicator at midway held promise for them: their 172 for 6 was the highest total ever seen in Chittagong. They had set a challenging target and New Zealand had never beaten England on three previous occasions when batting second.

Such are the low expectations around England's challenge that there will have been a few cynical grunts from TV watchers when they launched their part in the tournament with a second-ball duck - it belonged to Alex Hales, who failed to work Kyle Mills' slower ball into the leg side and fell to one of two splendid catches by Corey Anderson, back pedalling at mid-off.

From that point, though, every England batsmen made some sort of contribution. They had unearthed a team batting display after a dreadful run of limited-overs form when they most needed one, although nobody managed to push on for the major score which would have made their position stronger. The least they deserved was a match played to a conclusion. Instead, their recent T20 record remains worse than every other nation bar Bangladesh.

New Zealand had also twice been whitewashed in recent times in one-day series in Bangladesh, but this was not about containing the opposition on low, suffocating tracks. New Zealand's pace bowlers, Tim Southee especially, became a little over-excited with the juice in the pitch and bowled too short, his first over going for 17.

The chief beneficiary was Moeen Ali. 

England kept faith with him at No 3, even though his first five limited-overs matches in the West Indies had suggested a county batsman initially struggling to make the transition to international level: his selection is very much a hunch, the sort of hunch that selectors always say they are planning to avoid, but to which they invariably resort. This was his best England innings, powered by several lofted leg side blows, one of which produced his downfall as he deposited Corey Anderson to deep midwicket.

The sight of hessian sacks being pulled around the outfield to minimise evening dew had been an indicator of the slippery ball that might inhibit the spin bowlers in particular. England relied upon four pace bowlers and omitted the left-arm spinner Stephen Parry; New Zealand also left out a left-arm spinner, Anton Devcich, as well as Ronnie Hira.

By the time Anderson took his second catch, a diving effort on the cover boundary to dismiss Michael Lumb for 33, England had set up a reasonable platform - 76 for 3 off 8.4 - for their two most destructive T20 batsman, Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler. But Morgan, deceived by Southee's slower ball, departed to a curious walking shot, as if he was creeping from around a bush to dry his hands in a headwind.

Mitchell McClenaghan proved to be New Zealand's most resourceful bowler, but a tricksy contribution from Buttler, ended when he dragged on against Anderson, kept England in touch. Then came McCullum, the thunder and lightning, and gathering despair in the England dressing room. 

1st Match Super 10's Group 2 IND V PAK

India 131 for 3 (Kohli 36*, Raina 35*) beat Pakistan 130 for 7 (Umar Akmal 33, Mishra 2-22) by 7 wickets

You don't often know what to expect in big India-Pakistan matches, but Pakistan are on to a disturbing trend of predictability of late. They work themselves up into a frenzy, try too many things, make too many mistakes, and India coolly stand in a corner doing little things right and stroll their way to a win. In the previous World T20 match between these two sides, Pakistan batted in a similarly nervous manner, got bowled out for 128, and lost despite a valiant attempt with the ball. 

Here they managed two runs more, succumbing to their own poor running and some clever spin bowling by India - in their 12 overs, the three specialists went for 63 and took three wickets - before putting up a fight with the ball, which was too little and too short.

Even in the lead-up, MS Dhoni spoke about how he was pleased a lot of acrimony had gone out of India-Pakistan matches, Mohammad Hafeez on the other hand sounded combative when asked about the lack of wins against India in World Cups. India were clear in their heads: they played three spinners, and didn't want to take a chance with the dew, so they put Pakistan in. Pakistan were a bundle of nerves.

Ahmed Shehzad ran out Kamran Akmal, who looked in good touch with his two early boundaries, before almost running himself out. 

With no loose balls on offer, Hafeez and Shehzad got more and more anxious before throwing their wickets away to Ravindra Jadeja and Amit Mishra in the eighth and the ninth overs. It is a minor surprise that Mishra was only in his second Twenty20 international, but he bowled like a grizzled veteran for the most part. The delivery to get Shehzad was a beauty: for the batsman on the edge, he slowed a legbreak down, got some drift and dip, and drew as comprehensive a stumping as any you will see.

From 47 for 3 in the ninth over, Umar Akmal and Shoaib Malik - the latter has feasted on Indian bowling in the past - tried a revival with a 50-run stand in seven overs, but the knowledge that a strong India batting lineup would need a total in excess of 150 to be challenged meant the percentages were always low. 

India again offered nothing loose, and Malik fell when trying to go inside-out off Mishra's bowling. He was beaten in the flight, the ball turned, and took a thick outside edge for long-off to catch.

What would have please India was that even in the last three overs - with the spinners' quotas exhausted - India conceded just 28 runs. The pitch was not the easiest to bat on, with good bounce and turn on offer, which would have actually left Pakistan a little more annoyed with their effort. 

About 15 more runs and their bowlers would have put India under serious pressure, especially with Shikhar Dhawan struggling at the top. Somehow, though, Dhawan scored 30 of possibly his most ungainly runs before falling. Rohit Sharma, who looked much better than Dhawan, managed 24 at a marginally better strike rate. Be that as it may, the two had given India a start, and despite a wobble in the middle Virat Kohli - in the company of Suresh Raina - did what he can do even in his sleep.

The only disturbing aspect of India's evening came through in this wobble: Yuvraj Singh had dropped a catch, conceded 13 in one over, and capped it off with a poor shot to be bowled for 1. That left India needing 66 in the remaining 9.5 overs, a situation that needs some panic from batsmen for some interest to be manufactured. No panic was forthcoming from Kohli, and once Shahid Afridi dropped Suresh Raina on 7 it was a cruise for India.

The key aspect of the finish provided by Kohli and Raina was how coolly they played Saeed Ajmal. Ajmal's analysis is worth a look: he was hit for three fours that Dhawan was not in control of, but still went for 18 runs and took one wicket in his four overs. However, the two India batsmen didn't show any desperation against him, and reached home with nine balls to go. 

Matches 11 & 12 Group B ZIM V UAE & IRE V NED

Zimbabwe 118 for 5 (Chigumbura 53*, Guruge 2-18) beat UAE 116 for 9 (Williams 3-15, Raza 2-15) by five wickets

In a must-win match, Zimbabwe found themselves in a spot of bother more than once against UAE, but Elton Chigumbura's belted a quickfire 53 from No. 6 to complete the chase in 13.4 overs. The win lifted Zimbabwe's net run-rate above Ireland's, moving the attention firmly to the Ireland v Netherlands match.

Facing the twin opponents - UAE and the pressure of upping their net run-rate - Zimbabwe lost two of their best batsmen in no time: Hamilton Masakadza heaved at a straight delivery from Manjula Guruge in the second over only to see his stumps flattened and Brendan Taylor, after laying out his plans bare with a couple of lofted boundaries, was brilliantly caught by Shaiman Anwar running backwards from mid-off. The script threatened to go horribly wrong for Zimbabwe, as 22 for 2 soon became 34 for 4.

Chigumbura though avoided the embarrassment with a fantastic riposte. He opened his account with a six and a four in his first two balls, and maintained the same intensity throughout his innings. His last shot - a straight six - not only took Zimbabwe over the line, it also brought him his half-century off 21 balls.

UAE have looked every bit an amateur side among professionals in this tournament and while that makes for a good story, it doesn't really translate to good cricket. Hong Kong's unlikely win over Bangladesh, however, seemed to have given UAE the will to fight. Anwar's catch to dismiss Taylor was an indicator (two nights ago, they dropped a number of simple chances). Once Chigumbura took the bowling on though, the familiar problems started showing up. Misfields. Drops. In the end, UAE didn't really have much cushion.

They had batted well in the first half of the innings. The period between the second and the tenth overs, when Khurram Khan and Swapnil Patil were batting, gave them hope of a competitive total. The two started tentatively, scoring ten runs in the first 20 deliveries of the partnership, before Patil opened up in the sixth over of the innings with three boundaries.

The aggression rubbed off on Khurram. He was on 3 off 12 balls before he hit his first boundary - a powerful sweep off Natsai Mushangwe's first delivery - and followed it up with a couple of beautifully executed inside-out drives in Mushangwe's next over that went for 16. From a lowly 17 for 2 at the end of five overs, UAE propped up their run rate to 6.88 in a matter of four overs.

The hopes quickly dwindled though as UAE slipped to 75 for 7 from 66 for 2 in the space of 25 balls. It worsened to 88 for 8 as the spin-combo of Williams and Raza snared five batsmen between them, including Khurram and Patil, who had added 58 for the third wicket. Khurram was the first to go, top-edging a sweep to deep square leg off Williams. Five balls later, Patil played around a Raza delivery and was trapped in front. 

The rest of the batting lacked the skill to counter the spinner and proved to be sitting ducks. Was it not for the 27-run stand between Kamran Shazad and Shadeep Silva, UAE would have struggled to make it to three figures. 


Netherlands 193 for 4 (Myburgh 63, Cooper 45, Barresi 40*) beat Ireland 189 for 4 (Poynter 57, Porterfield 47) by six wickets

Netherlands pulled off one of the best chases in Twenty20 cricket, chasing 190 in 13.5 overs to break the hearts of their opponents Ireland and Group B rivals Zimbabwe, who were watching with bated breath, to progress to the Super 10 of the World T20. 

Netherlands needed to achieve the formidable target in 14.2 overs to vault from No. 3 to No. 1 in the group on net run-rate, which meant they had to bat in high gear throughout.

Stephan Myburgh gave Netherlands belief that they could pull it off with an electric fifty; Tom Cooper proved the team had the back-up after Myburgh departed and the final flourish was delivered by Wesley Barresi, who ensured qualification with a massive six over midwicket with three balls left.

After Cooper blazed six sixes in his 45, he pulled a short one from Tim Murtagh to Kevin O'Brien at deep square leg, giving Ireland a lifeline when they desperately needed one. 

Netherlands were anyway coasting towards the target, needing 29 off 52 balls but merely attaining it wasn't going to bring a smile to their faces. What mattered was if they could attain it in the next 18 balls. Only three more runs were scored when that Murtagh over ended, piling on the anxiety for Netherlands.

The first three balls in the next over were uneventful for Netherlands but it all changed when Barresi edged O'Brien to the third man boundary. Two balls later, Ben Cooper siphoned off six more from the runs required with a blow over deep midwicket. Ireland needed to keep them under control for the next eight deliveries but Murtagh and Ireland hadn't yet seen enough of the carnage.

Barresi made room and smashed the second ball of the over over the sightscreen, making the equation a more manageable seven off six balls. He then clobbered a four over extra cover, bringing it down to less than a run a ball for the first time. A length ball was then biffed over deep midwicket and Netherlands had pulled off the improbable, leading to wild celebrations, having jumped from third place to first in the group.

Netherlands signaled their intent from the first ball of the chase, when the captain Peter Borren went on his knee and swept to the fine leg boundary. 

The real carnage began in the second over when Myburgh took on the offspinner Andy McBrine with four sixes, in an over that wnt for a soul-destroying 25. Myburgh targeted the on side, sending the first miles over long-on and the next three over deep midwicket, each big hit longer and higher than the other.

If McBrine needed a shoulder to cry on, he could have picked any one of the five other bowlers who had the misfortune of bowling to Netherlands' determined batsmen. 

Alex Cusack was the next to be on the receiving end of Myburgh's blows with three consecutive sixes, bringing up the fifty in just 3.1 overs. The manic opening stand between Borren and Myburgh came to an end when George Dockrell took a stunning catch running backwards, sending back Borren. Netherlands' 91 at the end of six overs was the world record for the highest Powerplay score. It wasn't the only record they broke though.

Myburgh's fifty off 17 balls equaled the second-fastest in T20s, but he fell not too long after that, when he pulled Dockrell straight to deep midwicket. In the following over, Ireland got another breakthrough thanks to another impressive running catch backwards under pressure by the captain William Porterfield, sending back Logan van Beek. The edge was suddenly with the Irish but the relief was only temporary.

Ironically, just moments after those two brilliant bits of catching, Ed Joyce put down a sitter in the deep. A powerful reverse sweep from Tom Cooper went straight to deep cover and Joyce fluffed it running forward.That drop didn't just burn a hole in their pockets - it set their pants on fire.

Two balls later, Tom Cooper hit the helpless bowler Dockrell over deep midwicket and in his following over, suffered further humiliation, giving away the third hat-trick of sixes in the innings. Tom Cooper, who was controversially rushed to the squad from Australia shortly before the first match, showed why he's considered their best batsman. He launched four sixes in the over, mostly over the on side. Dockrell tossed it up but it didn't induce the false shot as Tom Cooper middle them all.

After that over, the equation came down to 33 needed off 20 to qualify and the Zimbabweans, who had kept their qualification hopes alive with a hurried victory against UAE, would have begun to twitch on their seats. Had Netherlands taken longer than 14.2 overs, the Zimbabweans' effort would have been worth it.

The pressure began to tell on the fielders when the cover fielder made a schoolboy error, conceding a boundary. Murtagh finally had some success when he bowled a short one on seeing Tom Cooper advance and got him to pull to deep square leg. 

There were no boundaries scored off the next seven balls, but when Barresi edged O'Brien to third man, Netherlands were feeling good again and there was no looking back. By the end of the game, Netherlands had hit 19 sixes in the innings, a world record and the combined 30 sixes in the game was another record.

All the Ireland bowlers were made to look like helpless schoolboys whose lunch money was snatched by bullies. They might have felt that the match and qualification was rightfully theirs when they posted 189. Porterfield led the early assault with a 32-ball 47, skipping down the track and chipping the ball over the infield. Netherlands had used as many as seven bowlers in the first ten overs as Porterfield and Joyce set the platform for a big score. 

The fireworks came from Andrew Poynter and O'Brien as Ireland hit 118 from the last ten overs. Poynter was dropped by Michael Swart early in the innings but he went on to compile his own hat-trick of sixes, off Swart, on his way to a fifty off just 27 balls. O'Brien cleared the ropes with ease, with lofted drives down the ground.

At the end of the innings, Poynter was asked if 189 was enough and he replied, "I'll tell you after the game." On paper, Ireland were the favourites to qualify. Only that few would have expected the first innings to be reduced to a side-show. 

Matches 9 & 10 Group A HK V BAN & AFG V NEP

Hong Kong 114 for 8 (Dar 36, Shakib 3-9) beat Bangladesh 108 (Nadeem 4-21, Nizakat 3-19)

Hong Kong gave every Associate nation a reason to rejoice by pulling off the shock of the tournament thus far beating Bangladesh by two wickets in a last-over finish, despite the hosts managing to edge past Nepal on net run-rate for a place in the Super 10s.

Haseeb Amjad smacked Abdur Razzak for a six over extra cover to complete the win in 19.4 overs. But the match was set up by their bowlers who bowled out of their literal skins, with Nadeem Ahmed winning the man-of-the-match award for his four-wicket haul. Irfan Ahmed and Munir Dar completed their greatest ever triumph with a cluster of boundaries when the game could have sprung out of their reach.

For once, Irfan didn't get out to the first ball of the innings as Al-Amin Hossain dropped a simple return catch. Then it was Rubel Hossain who dropped him on 12 at short third man and injured himself. But in between and after, Irfan blasted three sixes and three fours in his 28-ball 34 that ate into Bangladesh's tiny total - their second lowest in T20s. They suffered a collapse too, but it was Dar, the veteran, who stood firm in the end, biffing three fours and a six in his 36 off 27 balls.

Dar had to endure a collision with Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim while trying to complete a second run in the 15th over. But fatefully, he found Farhad Reza, a former teammate from the only time he played in the Dhaka Premier League seven years ago, to his liking and smashed 15 runs in the 17th over when they needed 26 runs off 24 balls.

Honk Kong, however, waded into Bangladesh with the ball in hand. Left-arm spinner Nadeem took 4 for 21, his best bowling figures in T20s while Nizakat Khan, whose bowling action has a slight Shahid Afridi resemblance, picked up three wickets for 19 runs. Irfan Ahmed's only wicket started the Bangladesh batting collapse while Tanwir Afzal's two early wickets helped Hong Kong keep the noise in the ground down.

Bangladesh's descent started, as it does when they play this poorly, in the first over when Tamim Iqbal tried to cut Tanwir's incoming delivery and had his off stump flattened. Tanwir trapped Sabbir Rahman with another delivery that went in, and replays showed it would have crashed into leg and middle.

Anamul Haque and Shakib Al Hasan, perhaps embarrassed by the early wickets or driven by superiority, went after the Hong Kong bowlers till the end of the Powerplay overs. Off the last ball of the sixth over, just after he had struck Nadeem for three consecutive boundaries, Anamul played on to an innocuous delivery. Bangladesh were still going strong in the eleventh over when Shakib played a scoop, tried another and then finally gave a simple catch to deep midwicket. The shot didn't do justice to the comfort of 85 for 3, but do any of their shots ever?

That's when the rot took over. In the space of 5.5 overs, Hong Kong not just got themselves into the game, they got on top of it and ruled. Mushfiqur's attempted slog at Nizakat fell at cover's hands.

 Mahmudullah was bowled by Nadeem as he tried to pick a single on the off-side, the delivery looking far better in the TV replay as there was a bit of confusion whether Jamie Atkinson had deflected it.

Atkinson then gulped in Reza's edge off Nizakat and then took an even better take off the next ball to dismiss Razzak. 

It was 101 for 8 in the 14th over. Soon Rubel Hossain was removed by Nadeem, and then with a chance to construct a last-wicket resistance, Nasir Hossain decided to give Al-Amin Hossain the strike. 

The result was predictable as the No 11 holed out at long-on, a spectacular catch by Babar Hayat, who had earlier let one slip through his legs.

The collapse complete with seven wickets falling in 5.5 overs, for just 23 runs. This was a batting disgrace, particularly the attitude that came with the batting. 

Nepal 141 for 5 (Khakurel 56, Vesawkar 37) beat Afghanistan 132 for 8 (Stanikzai 49, Mukhiya 3-18) by nine runs

Nepal have long had an army of fans back home but at this World T20 they have been on a recruitment drive. In their maiden global tournament, they have played with skill and passion, confirming their status as one of the most exciting teams in world cricket's second tier. Even when you consider Ireland's potential progress from Group B, Nepal's performance has been one of the most powerful endorsements of the ICC's decision to expand the competition.

They set another marker at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, beating Afghanistan for the first time in T20s. A 50-over win in the ACC Trophy ten years ago had been their only previous success against a side that has been one of the strongest Associates over the last five years. Afghanistan had come into the tournament hoping to upset a top-level side or two but they will depart knowing that the competition around them has increased.

As ever, inspiration came from Paras Khadka, Nepal's captain. Despite a failure with the bat, he claimed two towering catches, the second diving flat out to remove the dangerous Samiullah Shenwari in the penultimate over, with 27 required. Asghar Stanikzai kept the game alive by hitting fours from the first, second and fourth ball of the final over but, with 10 still needed, he holed out to long-on and Nepal could breathe.

The close nature of the game also means Bangladesh are all but assured of a place in round two; not only would they have to lose to bottom-placed Hong Kong, their run rate would need to drop by a huge 1.753 in order for Nepal to leap over them.

Afghanistan were in trouble by the fifth over, when Jitendra Mukhiya took wickets with consecutive balls to leave them 20 for 3 in pursuit of another Nepal total that was useful rather than intimidating. Karim Sadiq had already been bowled by Sompal Kami and, after Mohammad Shahzad had been caught slogging at third man, the other frontline batsman, Najibullah Zadran, chipped Mukhiya's next ball at chest height to mid-on.

Shafiqullah, who finished the match against Hong Kong in barbarous fashion on Tuesday, took three consecutive fours off Basant Regmi but the spinner had his revenge in the 15th over, leaving Afghanistan 83 for 6.

Nepal's other left-arm tweaker, Shakti Gauchan, claimed two wickets in an over for the second time in the tournament. First, Nawroz Mangal's huge top edge flew into a space between short fine-leg and deep backward square. Khadka sprinted from the ring towards the boundary to take a fine catch over his shoulder. Gauchan's gloriously uninhibited celebration was on display again moments later as he claimed Mohammad Nabi lbw, although the decision looked a little hard on the batsman.

Nepal batted first in all of their three matches and each innings has been delicately crafted with a few obvious flaws. Their batsmen are neat and tidy but lack the power to regularly clear the boundary - or maybe they are just used to the ball flying further in the thin mountain air.

Subash Khakurel, who made the first half-century by a Nepal player at the tournament, absorbed 23 dot balls during his innings but managed to increase the tempo after trading in nudges and dabs early on. His half-century came up off 48 balls with a slice through backward point and included one resourceful scoop for six but he fell trying to go aerial in the penultimate over, bowled by Shapoor Zadran.

That ended a stand worth 76 with Sharad Vesawkar, who struck some meaty bottom-handed strokes, the best of which was a flat crump down the ground that gave long-off no chance. Shapoor then had Vesawkar caught behind top-edging a pull and Nepal again became bogged down at the end. The final two overs of each of their three games have totaled 43 for 8.

Khakurel and Sagar Pun have shown themselves to be nimble runners without quite being able to force enough shots through the infield and once again the batteries on their opening partnership didn't last the Powerplay. Khakurel had survived chipping the ball between mid-off and extra cover, when Nabi inexplicably failed to dive for the chance, but Afghanistan's captain didn't have to exert himself in the following over, when Pun picked him out with an airy drive.

Khakurel crunched consecutive fours off Shapoor Zadran, the second a precise punch straight down the ground, and Gyanendra Malla briefly threatened to play the sort of explosive innings that can decide a game. His first ball was a rapier cover-drive for four and, with Afghanistan stacking the off-side field, he then went over Nabi's head, clearing the fingertips and beating long-off running to his left. A cross-batted pull over mid-on was followed by a delicious ping beyond the rope to the same part of the ground.

Malla's urgency got the better of him when he top-edged a switch hit to short third man. In Nepal's first two games, Khadka had shown poise and good technique to repair early damage but on this occasion, he played an uncharacteristically loose shot, trying to whip an off-stump delivery through midwicket. Mirwais Ashraf, who looks like a pro wrestler, showed some subtle variations to pick up 1 for 14 and he punched the air exuberantly at removing Nepal's talisman - though he was later outdone by Mukhiya's piston fist pump at getting two in two.

As Stanikzai drove Afghanistan close, laying into Kami's final over, a tightly packed corner of the stadium held themselves in suspense. Then came the cheers. 

Matches 7 & 8 Group B IRE V UAE & NED V ZIM

Ireland 103 for 3 (Joyce 43) beat United Arab Emirates 123 for 6 (Anwar 30) by 21 runs (D/L method)

Two down, one more to go for Ireland. After taking down a Full Member, Zimbabwe, two days ago, they ensured they didn't take it easy against the weakest side in the group, United Arab Emirates. Asking UAE to bat, Ireland kept them to an extremely manageable 123 for 6.

Netherlands' 140 had proved inadequate earlier in the day against Zimbabwe, and the ball was only going to come on better under lights. Despite the early loss of Paul Stirling to injury, Ireland were well on their way to victory at 103 for 3 in the 15th over when the floodlights went off at the Sylhet Stadium around 10.10pm local time, the electricity cut due to an impending storm.

The lights came back on and play resumed after ten minutes only for the ground to be plunged into darkness two balls later. This time, rain followed the loss of power. The ensuing delay was enough for the match to be called off, leaving Ireland winners by 21 runs by the Duckworth-Lewis method, although the lights started to regain life again another ten minutes later, only to witness a proper downpour this time.

Stirling could not perform his role with the bat but he had already played a crucial one with the ball, when he snapped up two wickets in the seventh over to leave UAE at 46 for 3. Those strikes squeezed out whatever momentum UAE had built up with some free-spirited strokeplay at the start. Amjad Ali and Faizan Asif, the UAE openers, did not display the best understanding while running between the wickets but, before frequent confusion culminated in the latter's run-out, the pair had put on 35 within five overs.

Stirling earned Ireland further inroads after that gifted break from UAE. In a spell of 3-1-12-2, he had Amjad cutting to short third man in the seventh over, while Swapnil Patil stepped out and popped one straight to short midwicket three balls later.

Just like their opening match against Netherlands, UAE were forced to rebuild but they weren't able to regain any impetus against the Ireland medium-pacers, led by Kevin O'Brien, who returned figures of 4-0-17-2. Shaiman Anwar did club a couple of sixes in his 30 off 28 but UAE also played out as many as 48 dot balls, piling more pressure on themselves.

That resulted in two more quick wickets, setting them back even further. Shaiman mis-hit a pull back to O'Brien off the last ball of the 14th over to make it 88 for 4. Three balls later, that became 90 for 5 as Khurram top-edged a slog, the skier coming down in cover's hands.

Ireland tightened the screws further towards the end, as UAE were able to score only three boundaries off the last five overs - despite losing only wicket in that period - against a mix of full deliveries and slower ones.

Stirling suffered a blow to the elbow off the second ball of the chase after he was too early on an attempted pull. He did punch a couple of boundaries in the same over but was in too much discomfort despite taking treatment, and had to leave the field early in the second over.

Ed Joyce and William Porterfield extended Ireland's dominance with an 80-run stand that came in 68 deliveries. With an eye on their net run-rate, Ireland lost a few quick wickets in trying to finish the game early. There was to be an early finish, but Ireland could not claim to have wrought it. 

Zimbabwe 146 for 5 (Taylor 49) beat Netherlands 140 for 5 (Cooper 72*) by five wickets

On Monday, Zimbabwe wanted to bat second in Sylhet. On Wednesday, they did.

On Monday, Zimbabwe's captain Brendan Taylor asked his batsmen to put more value on their wickets. On Wednesday, they did.

On Monday, Zimbabwe's match against Ireland went down to the last ball and they lost. On Wednesday, the margins were just as close but the result was different.

Zimbabwe kept themselves in contention for the main draw of the World T20, despite making hard work of chasing 141 on a surface which, on Monday, Taylor had assessed as a 180-run pitch. They needed much less and were solid at the start, but almost left themselves with too much to do at the end.

Having watched their own bowlers pluck the Netherlands top-order in the Powerplay, and concede 37 runs in the next six overs, Zimbabwe approached their chase conservatively at first. Hamilton Masakadza and Sikandar Raza left as many deliveries as they hit upfront before Raza was hurried into skying one to deep midwicket.

The early setback did not rattle Zimbabwe. At the same stage in Netherlands' innings, after 4.3 overs, Zimbabwe had already taken four wickets. Prosper Utseya had two of those, removing Stephan Myburgh for a first-ball duck and having Peter Borren caught at mid-off.

The Cooper brothers held Netherlands' innings together, and Zimbabwe had Masakadza and Taylor. Tom and Ben Cooper put on 52 for the fifth wicket for Netherlands, with Tom, the senior partner, adding 29 of those runs. Masakadza and Taylor put on 62 and took Zimbabwe closer to the target.

The Zimbabwe pair showed patience, focusing as much as on singles, and trying to turn them into twos, as they did on clearing the boundary. They each managed the latter only once, off Tom Cooper in the 10th over, which left Zimbabwe with 75 to get off the second half of their innings.

Three boundary-less overs followed and the required run rate crept up but Masakadza and Taylor were resolute in not rushing. Then Masakadza decided one of them had to. He charged Pieter Seelaar for the second time in the over and missed to find the ball hitting the middle stump.

When Netherlands lost their fifth wicket, with 6.1 overs left in the innings, Mudassar Bukhari went in to bat. He shared a stand of 53 with Cooper and assumed the role of the finisher. Zimbabwe lost Masakadza with 6.3 overs left in their chase and decided not to hold their big-hitter back. Elton Chigumbura was promoted to No. 4 but was out two balls after he arrived. He slapped Seelaar straight to cover to leave Netherlands with the advantage and Taylor out in the middle on his own.

The next two overs yielded only ones and twos as Peter Borren's slower ball and Timm van der Gugten's full delivery proved miserly. Zimbabwe needed 40 runs off the last 24 balls but they would have known it was not impossible as Netherlands had scored 37 in the same period.

Ball one of the 17th over. Logan van Beek overpitched and Taylor hit over mid-on for four. Ball two: Van Beek was too short and Taylor got four more. Off the last ball of the over, Van Beek went short again and Sean Williams found the gap between mid-wicket and square leg, making the equation a manageable 25 off 18.

The next six balls from Ahsan Malik offered no width at all. Taylor and Williams carved out 10 runs anyway to bring it down to 15 off the 12.

Van der Gugten was back to bowl the penultimate over. Taylor tried to lift him over the covers, but Borren stuck out his hand to pull off a tough chance. Zimbabwe would have to score 14 off 11 without Taylor. Van der Gugten aimed at the toes for the rest of that over but Williams and Vusi Sibanda kept him out and took the runs on offer to bring it down to seven off the last six.

Malik started the final over with a yorker. Then he conceded two. Williams swung wildly at the next ball but the inside edge beat Wesley Baressi to go for four. One needed off three. Zimbabwe appeared to have turned into the South African class of 1999 when Williams missed the next ball and followed that up with a mindless run that found him well short of his ground.

With the fielders up to save the single, Malik missed the yorker and Sibanda lofted the ball over long-on, sending it into the stands. Borren covered his eyes so he did not have to look, Taylor opened his. 

Matches 5 & 6 Group A BAN V NEP & HKG V AFG

Bangladesh 132 for 2 (Anamul 42) beat Nepal 126 for 5 (Khadka 41, Al-Amin 2-17) by eight wickets

Pressure? Not a bit of it. Bangladesh are strutting their way through Group A with an insouciant swagger, as good as sealing a place in the tournament proper with a second emphatic display. Dismissing the challenge of Associate sides can be a damned-if-you-don't, damned-if-you-do-it-well sort of scenario but, given the team's recent form, it had been by no means guaranteed that Bangladesh would make it through the first round without any scares.

They are not through yet but with a regal-looking net run rate of 2.686 and the weakest team in the group left to play, Dhaka can begin to prepare for bumper fixtures against India and Pakistan, not to mention, West Indies, the defending champions, and Australia. Bigger exploits may still be to come.

Faced with a modest target after Nepal had gamely scrapped through their innings, losing only five wickets but always struggling to score much above six an over, Bangladesh repeated the dose they had administered to Afghanistan. Paras Khadka, Nepal's resourceful captain, scored 41 for the second match running and continued to open the bowling with his stately offspinners but this time his side were overwhelmed.

They were not totally outclassed in this match, their first encounter with a Full Member. They were, however, outgunned, in much the same way their supporters, among the most fervent around, on this occasion had to accept being outnumbered.

Al-Amin Hossain claimed 2 for 17, conceding only a couple of singles off the final over to quell any thought of a more testing total and Bangladesh's openers again attacked aggressively from the outset. Anamul Haque hit his second and third balls for six and four as 13 runs came off Sompal Kami's opening over, while Tamim Iqbal's every contribution was lapped up on his home ground.

A sumptuous strike over long-on was greeted by the word "Tamim-ator" flashing up on the big screen. When he fell after putting on 63 runs with Anamul in 7.5 overs - only the third time Bangladesh's openers had passed 50 together in T20s and their highest stand - it was almost certain Nepal would not be coming back.

Both wickets to fall were born of Bangladesh's haste to get the job done, Tamim caught giving Basant Regmi the charge and Anamul run out after a miscommunication with Sabbir Rahman, again failing to build on a promising start. The end came quickly, after Shakti Gauchan had failed with a courageous one-handed attempt to catch Rahman. Gauchan, bowling the next over, conceded 21, three times hit beyond the boundary boards, and Shakib Al Hasan sealed victory with his fourth towering six and 27 balls remaining.

As in the first match in Mirpur, Mushfiqur chose to bowl. As in the first match, a capacity crowd roared its approval at every run, wicket and catch for their luridly clad heroes. Bangladesh's kit has made quite an impression at this tournament; thankfully the team's impact has been even more noteworthy.

A seam attack of Mashrafe Mortaza and Al-Amin may not be express by absolute standards but they seemed to discomfit Nepal's openers, who were far more subdued in their second outing. There was just enough pace and movement, through the air and off the seam, to have Subash Khakurel and Sagar Pun poking uncertainly outside off, forced on to the back foot.

Mushfiqur's first bowling change brought immediate reward and he continued to deftly rotate his attack, 12 times in total. Khakurel got away with a toe-ended loft back over the new bowler, Farhad Reza, but then fell trying to take on a back of a length ball, sending it high and steepling straight to mid-off.

Shakib's first over was not so successful, as Gyanendra Malla, who struck 48 in Nepal's victory over Hong Kong, smoked him over cover to suggest that this would not be such a facile challenge for Bangladesh's spinners, after they had bamboozled Afghanistan two days ago. Shakib was later denied the wicket of Sharad Vesawkar when Mushfiqur failed to collect the ball low to his left with the batsman yards out of his ground.

Despite looking a somewhat ill at ease, at 38 for 1 after the Powerplay, Nepal were actually a couple of runs and a wicket better off than against Hong Kong. Al-Amin, switching ends, evened the gap between perception and reality with two wickets in three balls. When Pun drove on the up to be caught at cover, fireworks whistled into the night sky; moments later Malla was struck on the knee by one that darted back in. The pyrotechnics crew had not been given time to reload and they were made to wait a significant period before another salvo was required, as Khadka combined with Vesawkar in a fourth-wicket stand worth 85.

Khadka's second ball was a gorgeously timed drive through extra cover that seemed to telescope away from the sweeping fielder as he gave futile chase. In Greek mythology, it was Paris of Troy who felled the seemingly invincible Achilles with a well-aimed arrow. Paras of Nepal had a little more trouble in locating Bangladesh's weak spot but he mixed good running with deft strokeplay (and the occasional heave), again laying the foundations of Nepal's total.

As the season turns in Bangladesh, hotter temperatures meant repeated attempts to keep the grass free of dew, as hessian cloths were dragged across the outfield. But the first group stage has so far been no sweat for the hosts. 

Afghanistan 154 for 3 (Shahzad 68, Shafiqullah 51*) beat Hong Kong 153 for 8 (Barkat 32, Chapman 38) by 7 wickets

Mohammad Shahzad is Afghanistan's most prolific Twenty20 batsman by a long way. His recent form had been quite poor, as scores of 7, 22, 0, 22 and 0 in his last five innings would indicate. He broke this peculiar streak by hammering 68 off 53 balls as Afghanistan rushed to a seven-wicket win over Hong Kong.

The garnish on the win was provided by Shafiqullah, touted the T20 specialist by captain Mohammad Nabi. He blasted 24 runs off the 17th over, bowled by Aizaz Khan, and later helped himself to 11 off Haseeb Amjad in the following over to ensure Afghanistan won with two overs to spare.

A 150-plus chase looked tricky but Shahzad timed his innings perfectly. He made sure Afghanistan didn't stutter from the early loss of Najeeb Tarakai, who couldn't clear the midwicket boundary in the third over. Shahzad added 55 runs for the second wicket with Asghar Stanikzai, who scored slowly, but kept one end tight.

Shahzad survived two dropped catches in the sixth over, though, and three in total. Captain Jamie Atkinson and Aizaz missed him with differing degrees of difficulty. Aizaz's chance was a sitter at mid-on. The other drop was in the 15th over when Tanwir Afzal misjudged a chance at third man.

Shahzad continued in his merry way, having already struck a boundary past the wicketkeeper's right with a ball that struck the back of his bat. Stanikzai fell in the eleventh over, after which Shahzad reached his fifth T20 international fifty. Two balls later, he struck the shot of the day, a helicopter shot, over the midwicket boundary, and didn't he love it.

Irfan Ahmed made up for his second first-ball duck in the tournament with a stunning catch at deep extra-cover to get rid of Shahzad, but Afghanistan were on top of the situation. Though Nabi walked to the crease at that point, it was Shafiqullah who finished it in some style - making an unbeaten 51 off 24 balls.

Hong Kong finished on 153 for 8 in 20 overs, a marked improvement from their meltdown against Nepal. But their start must have made them worry about a repeat of Sunday night. Irfan missed Shapoor Zadran's inswinger off the first ball of the innings, the same point at which he had been out to Paras Khadka in the previous game.

But Waqas Barkat and Atkinson hit back soon after, taking 16 off the fourth over, bowled by Gulbadin Naib. Atkinson blasted boundaries through the off-side field and one straight down the ground. He also pulled a four and a six, over midwicket, his best shot in a very short innings. He was trapped leg-before by Hamza Hotak a ball after he had struck his fifth boundary, in the fifth over.

Barkat kept his shape well at the other end, despite the two losses. He built a 60-run stand with the fidgety Mark Chapman, Barkat scoring at a run-a-ball and letting Chapman have more of the strike.

Chapman started off very well but just after he had cracked one through the covers, Dawlat Zadran floored him with a quick bouncer. Chapman had looked to charge him, and although he dusted himself and got up quickly, Chapman needed the physio's attention immediately.

He ended up with the top score, 38 off 43 balls with three fours and a six, coming off legspinner Samiullah Shenwari. Two of his boundaries came through the off-side, and one could easily imagine the sort of talent possessed by this 19-year old.

Barkat got out to Mohammad Nabi, trying to scoop the offspinner. Babar Hayat also fell to Nabi in the 16th over. Chapman gave away his stumps for Zadran to aim at, and he stung his leg pole in the 17th over.

Nizakat Khan and Tanwir Afzal then took over the last three overs, hitting one six each. Nizakat hammered Hotak over extra-cover, the best-looking shot of the innings, while Tanwir top-edged a hoick over third-man in the penultimate over.

The result is effectively the end of the tournament for Hong Kong, while Afghanistan survive for one more potentially pivotal day, March 20.