The fourth and final day of the second week of Virtual Cricket Tournament 2020 saw six matches being played on Friday, June 12. There were some memorable performances in the simulated reality league cricket tournament, and here, we look at what transpired through the day and bring you the summary of each game.
IND vs PAK, Match 19: PAK won by eight wickets
PAK won the toss for the opening virtual cricket match of the day and put their arch-rivals IND to bat first. What followed was a mediocre showing from the winners of the previous edition of the Virtual Cricket Tournament 2020, with all batsmen, save for Hardik Pandey, posting single-digit tallies. Pandey himself only managed it barely, with 10 runs.
IND’s bowlers didn’t fare too well either, taking only two scalps compared to PAK’s nine, and with a mere 28-run target to chase down, PAK walked to a brisk win in just 3.5 overs.
ENG vs SA, Match 20: SA won by nine runs
SA opted to bat first after winning the toss and came out of the gates swinging, with openers Quincy de Kock and Hanif Amla racking up boundaries and sixes early on. Their stellar partnership earned SA 58 runs, peppered by 10 boundaries and four sixes before Fabian du Plessis came to bat and helped the scoring along to 69/1 with Amla.
With a formidable target before them, ENG didn’t waste much time getting going with the big shots either. However, they failed to hold on to their wickets, with the top-order falling by the wayside halfway into the e-cricket match. A lull in the scoring rate in the middle overs sealed ENG’s fate, and they came up short by nine runs.
AUS vs NZ, Match 21: AUS won by nine wickets
AUS won the toss and elected to let their neighbours bat first. However, save for a respectable 13-ball 22 by skipper Ken Williamson, the NZ batsmen hardly put up a performance of note.
This, combined with a lacklustre bowling effort as well, meant AUS enjoyed a comfortable victory. Racking up a score of 44/1 in just 3.4 overs, AUS won by three runs over the target and put paid to any hopes NZ had of making it to the semi-finals.
SA vs IND, Semi-final 1: SA won by 12 runs
IND got off to a glorious start after opting to put SA to bat first, as openers Quincy de Cock and Hanif Amla were out for a duck in the first two overs. However, the ever-reliable Fabian du Plessis, as well as middle-order batsmen Russel van der Dussen and Charles Morris kept their strike rates above 200 to assure SA with a decent 54/5.
Just like earlier in the day against PAK, IND struggled to score quick enough during their turn with the bat and came up short by 13 runs, assuring SA of a spot in the final.
AUS vs PAK, Semi-final 2: AUS won by six runs
Choosing to bat first, the AUS top-order was once again on song, with Daniel Warner and Sam Smith doing the bulk of the heavy lifting. Smith alone pounded out four boundaries and three sixes and his 13-ball 36 helped surge the AUS tally to 68/2 at 13.6 runs per over.
PAK’s top-order were no slouches either, with Baba Azem, Fakhar Zakir and Shoaeb Malek all posting respectable totals at healthy strike-rates. However, a lethargic fourth over dampened their momentum just enough to deny them from reaching the target by seven runs, and locked AUS into the final.
SA vs AUS, Final: AUS won by nine wickets
SA got off to a heady start, with a trio of boundaries from Quincy de Kock in the opening over. However, following de Kock’s dismissal at the end of the over, SA’s scoring hit a road block, with just a couple more boundaries and a lone six for the remainder of the innings that saw mostly singles and dots en route to an ordinary tally of 41/4.
Not having a huge target to worry about, AUS took it steady with the bat, with openers Daniel Warner and Armand Finch slowly but surely racking up the numbers, sneaking in a boundary whenever possible. Following Finch’s dismissal, Sam Smith kept up the same strategy, and within 4.4 overs, AUS were the Virtual Cricket Tournament 2020 Week 2 winners!
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