Australia and Pakistan claimed wins in the Cricket World Cup to set up a thrilling finale to the group stage as England’s abject title defence finally came to an end.
Adam Zampa took 3-21 in 10 overs as Australia knocked out England with a 33-run win in Ahmedabad, with the leg-spinner becoming the first player to take at least three wickets in five consecutive World Cup matches.
In Bengaluru, Fakhar Zaman bludgeoned a 63-ball century as Pakistan handed New Zealand its fourth successive loss — despite the Black Caps topping 400 runs — in a rain-hit game which Pakistan won by 21 runs under the DLS method.
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Australia’s frontline pace attack shared six wickets to rout England for 253 runs in 48.1 overs, despite Ben Stokes scoring 64 off 90 balls.
Put into bat, Australia reached 286 all out with three balls left. Marnus Labuschagne scored 71 off 83 while Cameron Green (47), Steve Smith (44) and Marcus Stoinis (35) made useful contributions.
The five-time champions moved to third in the points’ table with 10 points from five successive wins. Australia needs one win from the remaining two games – against Afghanistan and Bangladesh – to ensure it reaches the semi-finals.
After a sixth loss in seven games, last-place England is mathematically out. With two games remaining, it needs to finish eighth or higher to qualify for the 2025 Champions Trophy.
“To be stood here in this position after arriving in India with very high hopes is incredibly tough and incredibly disappointing,” England captain Jos Buttler said in the post-match presentation.
“It hurts a lot.
“We haven’t done ourselves justice.
“We feel like we’ve let ourselves down. We’ve let people down at home, the people who support us through thick and thin.”
Pakistan moved level on eight points with New Zealand, which occupies fourth place in the standings by virtue of a better net run-rate than Pakistan and Afghanistan.
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Pakistan, which also lost four games in a row at one stage, can still get into the semi-finals, with its last league game against England on Nov. 11.
Earlier, Zaman’s unbeaten 126 off 71 balls motored Pakistan to 1-200 in 25.3 overs after there had been two rain interruptions in a high-scoring match. That was enough to win under the DLS method.
New Zealand’s star of the tournament, Rachin Ravindra (108), had earlier smashed his third century in the tournament, while Kane Williamson (95) missed out on a hundred on his return as the Black Caps amassed 401-6 after being put in to bat.
New Zealand began the tournament with four consecutive wins against England, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and the Netherlands, but has now lost to India, Australia, South Africa and Pakistan in a shocking turnaround of form.
The Black Caps need to beat Sri Lanka in its last league game and hope Pakistan loses to England, or cannot come close to its net run-rate.
Pakistan’s win means second-place South Africa has gained a spot in the semi-finals. First-place India had already advanced.
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Hasibur Rahaman is a passionate sports journalist. He covers everything from cricket to field hockey, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis of sporting events, both within India and on the international stage.
