PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka: Brendon McCullum blasted the highest individual score in Twenty20 Internationals to fashion New Zealand’s comprehensive 59-run victory over Bangladesh in the Group D opener of the Twenty20 World Cup yesterday.
The swashbuckling batsman hammered a 58-ball 123 to become the first player with two centuries in Twenty20 Internationals as New Zealand posted 191 for three wickets at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.
The batsman, who turns 31 next week, hit seven sixes and 11 fours in a highly entertaining innings to better the record of South African opener Richard Levi whose unbeaten 117 earlier this year against New Zealand was the highest individual score in this format.
Bangladesh simply crumbled under the run mountain and managed 132 for eight wickets, largely because of Nasir Hossain’s gritty 50.
McCullum cleared the boundary at will and one of his sixes came when he came dancing down the track to swat a short delivery from Mashrafe Mortaza over long-off boundary in a shot that looked more like a tennis forehand.
“I was trying to maximize in the last couple of overs,” M cCullum told reporters when asked if h e was chasing any milestone.
“We need ed to put on partnership and make sure we try to maximize ourselves and certainly not records of anyone, ” he said.
Put into bat, New Zealand lost Martin Guptill (11) in the fourth over but McCullum and James Franklin (35) added 94 run in the next 10 overs to lay the foundation for a big total.
McCullum, batting on 92, was lucky to get a reprieve when Mortaza dropped him at extra cover off Elias Sunny.
The batsman celebrated by hitting the left-arm spinner for two boundaries and a six in that eventful over to complete his century.
McCullum said the knock was special owing to the nature of the tournament.
“It ‘s because the uncertainty around playing only two games ... to make sure that you give yourself t he best opportunity of qualifying.” McCullum, a regular opener, batted at number three in the match as Frankin was promoted as an opener.
“Franklin up in top of the order, I think, gives us the freedom of left-hand-right-hand combination,” said McCullum.
Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim said his team started well, but M cCullum took the g ame away.
“Brendon batted superbly and showed why he is the number one ranked batter in T20 cricket. Our quicks and spinners did not bowl to the field. Also our fielding let us down,” he said.
Bangladesh struggled early in their chase, losing their scoreless opener Tamim Iqbal to the third ball of the innings sent down by Kyle Mills (3-33) who claimed two more top order wickets to derail the chase.
His new ball colleague Tim Southee (3-16) removed the other opener Mohammad Ashraful (21) and returned to claim two more as Bangladesh finished well short of their target.
New Zealand meet Pakistan in their next Group D match on Sunday, two days before Bangladesh play the same team. Two top teams from the group will proceed to the super eight.
Record McCullum ton powers New Zealand to easy win
Record McCullum ton powers New Zealand to easy win
Al-Qadsiah’s SPL match postponed as Damac clinch victory in relegation six-pointer
- Damac secure 3-0 victory against Al-Riyadh in Abha
- Al-Kholood vs. Al-Qadsiah postponed until March 7
DAMMAM: Much has changed since the conclusion of Matchday 24 in the Saudi Pro League last Saturday. Several nations across the Middle East have postponed their leagues indefinitely, with the war in the region even threatening West Asia’s participation across all levels of AFC competitions for the upcoming knockout stages.
The Saudi Pro League was one of the few to continue without pause, with Matchday 25 scheduled to kick off on Thursday as Damac welcomed Al-Riyadh and Al-Qadsiah travelled to Qassim to face Al-Kholood. Or, so Saudi Pro League fans thought.
Hours before Al-Kholood and Al-Qadsiah were set to kick off, the hosts announced that they had received a notification from the Saudi Pro League confirming their match was postponed Saturday, March 7, due to the cancellation of Al-Qadsiah’s flight to Qassim.
That meant that Thursday featured the sole encounter between Damac and Al-Riyadh, with Friday and Saturday set to host four matches each.
Both Damac and Al-Riyadh have endured difficult seasons. They two sides were level on 16 points prior before the meeting in Abha, and both had suffered similar 1-0 defeats to Al-Ahli in recent weeks — matches in which each felt unlucky not to come away with at least a point.
That said, it was Damac who controlled proceedings for most of the evening. Mauricio Dulac set the visitors up in their traditional 5-4-1, with Mamadou Sylla leading the line.
Damac, meanwhile, looked to break them down centrally, operating in a 4-3-1-2 that gave Valentín Vada freedom behind Yakou Méïté and Mohammad Al-Salkhadi. They were aided by Jonathan Okita’s dangerous runs from deep, which ultimately changed the course of the match.
After initial attempts to find the in-form Méïté in the air through a series of crosses, Damac shifted their focus to one of their other strengths: attacking through the middle.
A calculated long ball from Jamal Harkass found Okita breaking into the space in the Al-Riyadh defence, as the Congolese midfielder controlled the ball with a fine touch before firing past Milan Borjan in 35th minute.
Damac extended their dominance after the interval. In the 53rd minute, another Harkass long ball created danger — this time with Méïté holding the ball up before Al-Salkhadi threaded a pass through to Vada, who calmly finished to double the lead.
At the hour mark, Sanousi Al-Hawsawi effectively sealed the match as he met Abdulrahman Al-Obaid’s corner with a towering header, giving Damac a crucial victory and lifting them three points away from the relegation zone.
Saudi Pro League action resumes on Friday, with Al-Hilal hosting Al-Najma, Al-Khaleej facing Al-Hazem, Al-Taawoun taking on Al-Fateh, and the Sea Derby between Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad kicking off at 10:00pm.
