T20 World Cup 2009.......match updates !!!!

The first night of the Super Eight contests went as predicted.

In the first match of the Group F, New Zealand thrashed minnows Ireland by 83 runs in Nottingham. Aaron Redmond, a late replacement for the injured Jesse Ryder, played with gay abandon at the top of the order & scorched up a blinding 63 runs off just 30 balls. This set the pace for the Kiwis, who despite loosing McCullum cheaply went on to put up an imposing total of 198 for 5 wickets in their quota of 20 overs. Guptill put up an unbeaten 45 off 32 deliveries, while Styris gathered 42 off 25 deliveries only. The total would have been challenging for any team, & minnows Ireland had no answer to the bowling of the Black Caps. Botha & Wilson put up some resistance for the 3rd wicket, but the target was way too far for them to reach. The team finally folded up for 115 in the 17th over. New Zealand had an easy win to relish.

The second match was expected to be a tight contest between South Africa & hosts England. However, the Proteas lived upto their tag of being one of the tournament favourites & blew away the English barmy army to a 7 wickets win. Collingwood won the toss for England & decided to put up runs on board by batting first. But even before the crowd had settled in their seats for the evening, England had lost both their openers, with score reading a miserable 4 for 2. Pieterson was the man the English fans would have looked up to put up some semblence, but he too perished to a stupendous catch by Merwe in the deep, after a brief flurry of boundaries. Wickets kept tumbling one after the other, & it was Owais Shah, who stood alone amongst the ruins, scoring 38 off 33 deliveries. The final score was a paltry 111, with all wickets down. The Proteas were surprisingly cautious at the beginning & lost skipper Smith early. But next in Gibbs along with Kallis got about the business of acumulating runs without any hurry or worry. While Gibbs & later AB fell, Kallis took his team home with a polished 57 off 49 deliveries. The target had been achieved with 10 balls to spare. Throughout the match, England never looked to make any dent & the Proteas were always in control. They look good as a unit.