The second day of the Virtual Cricket Tournament 2020 saw six matches being played on Wednesday, June 3. There were some memorable performances in the simulated reality league cricket tournament, and here, we look at what transpired throughout the day and bring you the summary of each game.
AUS vs NZ, Match 7: NZ won by 9 wickets
The opening game of the second day was an absolute run-fest, with both AUS and NZ scoring 147 runs between them in just 9.3 overs.
Having won the toss and elected to bat, table-toppers AUS rode on the back of Daniel Warner and Armand Finch’s partnership to put 73/1 on board after five overs. The target initially looked out of sort, but both Callum Munro and Markus Guptill gave NZ a blistering start, putting up a 42-run stand inside three overs. With two overs left and more than 30 runs to win, captain Ken Williamson smashed 21 in just seven deliveries to guide NZ to glory.
ENG vs PAK, Match 8: ENG won by 11 runs
The spectators bore witness to another high-scoring encounter as ENG locked horns with PAK in the second match of the day.
Winning the toss turned out to be a decisive decision as ENG’s James Butler went on to smash 54 off just 19 balls. His knock included seven fours and four sixes as ENG registered 76/2 in five overs.
PAK had a relatively slow start as they lost Baba Azem to Jofra Archibald in the first over itself. A late blitz by Shoaeb Malek and Sarfaraz Ahmad did steady their ship, but they eventually fell 11 runs short as they finished their innings at 65/2.
IND vs SA, Match 9: SA won by 17 runs
In an another hard-hitting encounter, SA – who were put to bat by IND – scored 75/1 in five overs, riding on the back of Hanif Amla’s 15-ball 45 and Fabian du Plessis’ late contribution of 13 runs in eight deliveries.
In turn, IND were restricted to 58/2 by a bowling brilliance of Irfan Taher, who dismissed both Rohan Sharma and Shikhar Dhaven in the very first over. Captain Viraj Kohli went on to score 36 in 16 balls, but that was just too little too late for his team.
AUS vs PAK, Match 10: AUS won by 9 wickets
In what was the day’s lowest-scoring encounter, AUS registered an easy nine-wicket win over PAK.
AUS, who elected to field, restricted their opponent to just 48/2 in five overs, with captain Sarfaraz Ahmad scoring the most for his team (22 off 10 balls). In turn, both Warner (13 off 10) and Finch (26 off eight) gave AUS a brilliant kickstart with the bat, as AUS reached their target within 3.3 overs.
SA vs NZ, Match 11: NZ won by 14 runs
For the second time in a day, NZ crossed the 70-run mark, having posted 72/1 in five overs after they were put in to bat by SA in match 11 of the simulated reality league cricket tournament. Both Munro and Guptill seemed unstoppable as the pair played an impeccable 53-run stand in just 3.3 overs before Williamson played his part in the hammering.
SA, on the other hand, lost Hanif Amla in only the second over. Quincy de Kock (33 off 21) and Fabian du Plessis (19 off six) did try their best, but the likes of Ted Southee, Michael Sentner and Lance Ferguson managed to keep them at bay, restricting them to 58/1 in five overs.
IND vs ENG, Match 12: ENG won by six wickets
Having elected to bat this time around, no one apart from Shikhar Dhaven (14 off seven balls) and KL Rajul (45 off 13 balls) even managed more than one run as IND finished their innings at 66/5, with Adil Rashed and Moin Alee both picking two wickets apiece.
Viraj Kohli’s men failed to assert any kind of authority even with the ball as ENG managed a narrow victory with only one ball to go.
That is it from the day. Join us again on Thursday, June 4 at 900 IST (0330 GMT) for more exciting action.
Meanwhile, head over to Sportsbet.io where you can enjoy live streams of the Virtual Cricket Tournament 2020 matches while raising the stakes!
