The third day of the fourth week of the Virtual Cricket Tournament 2020 saw six matches being played on Thursday, June 25. 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 virtual match.
AUS vs IND, Match 13: IND won by 31 runs
IND won the toss and elected to bat, racking up a phenomenal tally of 68/2. While the usually heavy-hitting Rohan Sharma failed to accomplish much, Shikhar Dhaven, Viraj Kohli and KL Rajul all pulled their weight handily throughout the innings.
AUS failed to produce a performance needed to chase down such a formidable target, with all batsmen save for skipper Armand Finch unable to go beyond five runs to their name. Ultimately, they fell 32 runs short of the winning target.
NZ vs SA, Match 14: NZ won by one run
Like the e-cricket match prior, this one too saw a considerable total racked up by NZ, with Callum Munro anchoring his side’s innings with a 17-ball 39, laced with five boundaries and two sixes, to see them through to a tally of 63/1.
SA, however, were on course to meet the target. Benefiting from a no-ball with two balls left to go, SA were just four runs short of the winning target. Unfortunately, a double on the penultimate ball and dot ball to cap off the final over saw them fall two runs short of the goal.
PAK vs ENG, Match 15: PAK won by eight wickets
Opting to field first, PAK's bowlers could not restrict ENG’s scoring as much as they would have liked. Opener James Butler put out a 15-ball 29 and his knock was complemented by steady scores from the rest of the batting order to finish the innings at 54/3.
However, while their bowling may not have been top-notch, PAK were in fine fettle with the bat. Following an early dismissal of Baba Azem, Fakhar Zakir and Shoaeb Malek struck up a 28-run partnership to get PAK on-track for eventually chasing down the winning target of the virtual cricket match with four balls to spare.
AUS vs NZ, Match 16: AUS won by 10 wickets
Coming off their virtual match win earlier in the day where they batted first, NZ opted to exercise the option to do so again after winning the toss. However, while Callum Munro once again anchored his side’s innings, with a 21-ball 38, the rest of the batting order failed to do their bit well enough, leaving his side’s tally at 49/2.
AUS seemed to have warmed up after their loss to IND earlier in the day, as openers Daniel Warner and Armand Finch rampaged through the opening overs. Finch, in particular, went berserk, whacking out seven boundaries and two sixes en route to a 15-ball 42. Together, they chased down the winning target by the fourth over itself.
IND vs SA, Match 17: IND won by seven wickets
With IND opting to field after winning the toss, SA ran up a respectable score of 45/2, with the top-order scoring in the double-digits.
Unfortunately for SA, IND proved the morning’s win against AUS was no fluke as they briskly went through the overs, picking up a steady number of runs. The old pro MS Dhanraj put up a particularly impressive performance at No. 5 with a six-ball 19 laced with three boundaries and a six, helping IND seal up the win in just 3.3 overs.
PAK vs ENG, Match 18: ENG won by five wickets
PAK chose to bat first and opener Baba Azem was in his element, putting out a 16-ball 31 peppered with six boundaries. The rest of the top-order comprising Fakhar Zakir and Shoaeb Malek did not manage to get into the double-digits however.
ENG seized the opportunity to capitalise on PAK’s uneven performance, with decent showings from James Butler, Ian Morgan and Brad Stokes in particular. With two balls still left in the final over, they successfully hunted down the winning target and moved up to second in the table, below IND.
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