England, 2014: Australia and South Africa took a large step towards the semifinals while Pakistan finally turned up to compete as Bangladesh landed the surprise of the day on the second day of the group stages of Red Bull Campus Cricket World Finals.
The first set of matches of the day both turned out to be one-sided contests. In Group 2, at the Wormsley Cricket Ground, South Africa’s Assupol TUKS rolled over an average Leeds Bradford MCC of England as they continued their impressive performance from Day 1. On the back of right arm pacer Corbin Bosch’s four-wicket haul for 27 runs, the TUKS set themselves a target of 110. A 57-run opening stand in less than nine overs and the outcome of the game was never in any doubt. South Africa went on to win with 7 wickets to spare and narrowly missed out on that bonus point.
At the same time, in a Group 1 game, Australia was playing a Sri Lanka side that was low on confidence. The University of New South Wales might’ve lost an early wicket but they raced to 62 in eight overs before they lost seven wickets for 55 in 12 overs. They finished with an underwhelming return of 120 for 7 in their innings. ICBT thought they had a chance to chase down a run-a-ball but a steady fall of wickets meant they didn’t even come close and eventually were bowled out for 67, with their tournament over as the Aussies secured a bonus point as well.
In the second half of the day, it was Bangladesh that produced the performance of the day with a commanding seven-wicket win over West Indies. The Jamaica Intercollegiate scored 148 in 20 overs powered by Pete Salmon’s half century which would have given them a lot of confidence. However, Bangladesh rode high on their own star batsmen, Avishek Mitra, who smashed 53 off 45 balls and Hasan Uzzaman, who won the man of the match for his 76 to take the University of Liberal Arts home. A win against the host team, Leeds Bradford MCC on day 3 and a bit of luck in terms of results might yet earn the Bangladeshis a last four spot.
Pakistan however is on its way home after they lost to rivals India. However, it was a tense game as Karachi University team took it right down to the wire against Rizvi College. The Indian representatives battled their way to 132 for 8 after recovering from a position of 22 for 3. Shashank Singh came to the rescue with a mature 54 off 39 balls. The rest of the Indian batsmen apart from Manish Rao were unable to resist some quality bowling from Mir Hamza and Junaid Ilyas who both took 3 wickets. Just as India seemed to be running away with a win, a late charge from Shahzaib Khan, who scored 22 from just 13, put the boys from Karachi within reach. However, India held their nerve to bowl out Pakistan for 127 to win by five runs and secure a last four spot.
With one semifinal spot in Group 2 still to play for, and with Bangladesh, England and West Indies all mathematically in with a chance, it should be an absorbing day three in a tournament that has produced some fascinating cricket so far.