Shakib reaches 6000 runs

Martin Guptill played a full ball on leg stump from Jofra Archer to deep midwicket. Two runs were needed off the last ball of the Super Over and he put in a desperate dive -- the second fateful one in less than half an hour -- to complete the second, but there was too much ground between his bat and the World Cup trophy calling to him from just beyond the crease. Jos Buttler gathered the throw, which was well wide of the stumps, but there was enough time to whip the bails off, which he did and started running towards the gallery in ecstasy, followed by his teammates and fuelled by possibly the loudest roar ever heard at Lord’s.

England had won their first ever World Cup, had won it at home -- the third successive home victory in World Cups after India’s in 2011 and Australia’s in 2015.

But runs could not separate New Zealand and England in the greatest World Cup final yesterday, even though the teams had two chances to get ahead. The match saw two ties -- one in normal play and one in the Super Over. Buttler celebrated immediately because he knew that England, having hit more boundaries -- 22 fours and two sixes to New Zealand’s 14 fours and two sixes -- in the 50-over portion, had edged the tie-breaker to a tie-breaker.

England had sent Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes -- the man who made the Super Over possible with his last-over heroics -- and the duo hit two boundaries while scoring 15 runs off Trent Boult, who nearly defended 14 runs in the last over of normal time.

The pacey Jofra Archer came in to bowl for England and New Zealand had nominated Jimmy Neesham and Guptill to score the 16 runs that would give them their first World Cup. Archer started with a wide, conceded two the next ball and Neesham hammered a six off the third ball. With seven required off four balls Neesham scampered a pair of doubles before getting just a single off the penultimate ball. That set the stage for the last ball, after which there was heartbreak for New Zealand and elation for most of the 30,000 gathered at Lord’s.

Before the high-octane two-over finish, there was a pulsating 100-over contest that led up to that point. New Zealand bowled brilliantly to defend 241 for eight, and England’s Ben Stokes hit a nearly perfectly-paced 98-ball 84 to take England level after they were at one stage 86 for four.

It was nearly perfectly paced because he needed fortune to end up as the player-of-the-match. There was another despairing dive before Guptill’s, this one during the last over of normal play when England needed nine runs from three balls. Stokes, having just hit a six after playing two dot balls from Trent Boult, whipped a ball away to deep midwicket and dove to beat the throw -- from none other than Guptill -- and the ball deflected off the bat and ran away for four. That effectively brought six runs from the fourth ball. With three more required from the last two balls, Adil Rashid was run out at the non-striker’s end after Stokes had hit to long off. With two more needed off the last ball, last man Mark Wood was run out trying to take the match-winning second, bringing on the Super Over in a World Cup final that will go down in folklore as one of the greatest matches -- let alone World Cup finals -- ever played.

Before that, Buttler and Stokes had put on 110 runs for the fifth wicket to fish England out of trouble. Buttler was the dominant partner, scoring 59 off 60 balls. When the last 10 overs started England needed 72 runs with Buttler and Stokes at the crease. But that is when the Kiwis started turning it around as Jimmy Neesham and Lockie Ferguson bowled to their fields and dried up the boundaries. Buttler departed in the 45th over with 45 still left to win, caught in the deep off Ferguson trying to re-lease the pressure. Chris Woakes departed for 10 in the 47th over, caught behind off a fiery Ferguson. England needed 24 off the last two overs. Liam Plunkett holed out off Jimmy Neesham, caught at long off by Boult. In another stroke of luck for Stokes, Boult nearly pulled off a stunner off the fourth ball of the over when he caught the ball at the boundary, but his feet had touched the ropes before he could throw it back for a combination catch. Neesham then accounted for Jofra Archer, bowling him for a first-ball duck with a slower ball. With two wickets left and 15 runs to get, it seemed New Zealand’s match, but that is when the match turned from a classic to a thriller of epic proportions.

Earlier, the crunch battle was England’s belligerent opening pair of Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow taking on New Zealand’s incisive new-ball duo of Trent Boult and Matt Henry.

The left-handed Boult almost accounted for Roy in the very first ball of the innings, rapping the right-hander with a sharp inswinger that seemed headed for the stumps. New Zealand reviewed the not-out decision, but the decision stayed with the umpire as just a part of the ball was hitting leg stump.

While New Zealand brought Test-match ethos by trying for wickets with early movement, Roy repre-sented England’s limited-overs motto by going hard at anything that was slightly off line or length. He hit three boundaries in that process, but Henry also had him playing and missing on numerous occasions with perfectly pitched outswingers. Eventually, Roy got close enough to one of those and edged through to the keeper in the sixth over with the score on 28.

If New Zealand’s bowling was in Test-match mode, their fielding was very much of the cutting-edge limited-overs variety, scampering after every ball and throwing themselves at every ball to support Boult, Henry, the pacey Lockie Ferguson and the variety-laden Colin de Grandhomme. Roy’s dismissal saw just 31 runs in the next 65 balls and it was the pressure built up through that concerted effort that induced Joe Root to go for an airy drive and edge behind to the keeper in the 17th over off de Grandhomme.

Bairstow departed next when he played on to a fast Ferguson lifter in the 20th over with the score reading 71 for three and the required run rate nudging six an over. That set the stage for New Zealand’s comparative weak link of Jimmy Neesham to come on and England skipper Eoin Morgan, perhaps trying to release the pressure, went early at a long hop off the first delivery and Ferguson took a superb catch running in from deep point and diving forward to send Morgan on his way.

Earlier still, ages ago it seemed by the end of the match, New Zealand were restricted to 241 for eight by a strong bowling performance from England. Liam Plunkett took three for 42 and Chris Woakes three for 37 as England successfully managed to deny New Zealand’s danger men Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor meaningful contributions, which they had done throughout the World Cup. Opener Henry Nicholls top-scored with 55. Even after Taylor and Williamson’s departures, New Zealand played within their means and concentrated on getting just enough runs on the board to put pressure on England in the biggest match of their lives in front of a partisan crowd. They put faith in their bowling lineup to dial up that pressure, and that is exactly what they did.

At the end, however, England proved equal to the task and their boundary count, and a stray deflection, saw them crowned champions at home.

In front of a raucously partisan crowd in Edgbaston, England ensured that the 2019 World Cup will see first-time champions crowned with a dominant eight-wicket defeat of five-time winners Australia in the second semifinal yesterday.

After a superb bowling performance that found every Australian batsman bar Steve Smith wanting, England chased a sub-par 223 with little fuss. Skipper Eoin Morgan hit Jason Behrendorff over mid on to secure the win with 17.5 overs to spare, setting off fireworks and uproarious applause.

England have never won a World Cup despite playing three previous finals, and will face New Zealand -- who have also never won the mega event and have reached their second successive title decider -- in the final at Lord’s on July 14.

England’s chase was built around an explosive opening stand between Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy that realised 124 runs in just 17.2 overs and negated any sting in Australia’s attack. Roy was second to depart in the 20th over with the score on 147, but Morgan (45 off 39) and Joe Root (49 off 46) maintained England’s dominance with an unbroken 79-run stand.

It was Roy who dominated the match-shaping opening partnership by scoring 85 off 65 balls. Those runs were worth their weight in gold because, as evidenced in India’s defeat to New Zealand in the first semifinal the day before, a World Cup knockout carries pressure of its own and a slow start or early wickets would only have let Australia back into the contest.

Roy started his carnage with two cover-driven boundaries in the fourth over off Mitchell Starc, who was later to become the highest wicket-taker in a single edition of the World Cup by trapping Bairstow in front for his 27th wicket of the edition. It was otherwise not a happy outing for Starc as he bore the brunt of Roy’s onslaught, leaking 70 runs from nine overs. Roy brought up his 50 off his 50th delivery in the 15th over, after which England were on 95 without loss. If Australia were thinking that a fightback was still a possibility, the next over would have crushed that hope. Aaron Finch brought on the part-time leg-spin of Smith, and Roy launched him for three successive sixes, with the last one bouncing off the roof of the five-story tall media stand behind the sightscreen. Bairstow departed two overs later and Roy himself was denied a century when umpire Kumar Dharmasena adjudged him caught-behind off a Pat Cummins bouncer when replays showed that the ball was nowhere near his gloves as he played and missed the pull. Roy protested, but England did not have a review as Bairstow had used up their lone unsuccessful one when challenging a pretty plumb leg-before decision -- perhaps England’s lone mistake in an otherwise perfect performance.

Earlier, Australia had come into the semifinal with a world of confidence, having beaten England in their league game on June 25 and boasting an all-win record in six previous World Cup semifinals. England, whose defeat at Lord’s against the old enemy formed part of a two-game dip that threatened their semifinal chances, had rallied with victories in their last two league games and yesterday, burst Australia’s bubble inside the first seven overs after losing the toss by taking three wickets with just 14 on the board.

Skipper Aaron Finch departed for a golden duck in the first ball of the second over, playing around an inswinger from the fiery Jofra Archer to be trapped plumb in front, although he wasted their single unsuccessful review. Smith had then entered as the crowd booed loudly.

In the next over, Chris Woakes accounted for David Warner -- Australia’s highest scorer in the World Cup with 636 runs leading into the match -- with a ball that reared from short of a good length and caught the edge of a hopping Warner’s bat on way to second slip.

The pitch was offering early-morning movement with a good helping of pace, and allied with accurate and incisive bowling from Archer and Woakes, Australia found the going tough and limped to 14 in the sixth over. That was when Woakes got one to nip sharply back off the seam and bowl Pete Handscomb.

Then followed the only partnership of note between Smith and Alex Carey as the duo put on 103 for the fourth wicket. Australia reached 27 for three after the first 10 overs and while Carey in particular tried to cut loose, excellent ground fielding from England ensured that Australia were kept on a tight leash. Smith took 34 balls to score his first seven runs, but started making up for lost time with a pulled boundary off Ben Stokes in the 16th over. He was soon on 33 off 50 balls and with the introduction of leg-spinner Adil Rashid, the run rate picked up as Australia’s recovery seemed underway with the score on 103 for three after 25 overs. However, in the 28th over, Carey let the advantage slip by skipping down to Rashid and holing out at deep midwicket. Marcus Stoinis lasted just a ball before he was trapped in front by a perfectly pitched googly. In between, Smith brought up his half-century to another chorus of boos.

Glenn Maxwell then raised hopes of a second recovery when he hit Rashid for a six over long on in the 32nd over. But that is also when the new pace challenge started for Australia in the form of the returning Archer. The right-arm pacer mixed 140kph-plus deliveries with 120kph slower balls and Maxwell was undone by the latter, checking a drive and being caught at cover for 22.

Pat Cummins did not last long, falling victim to another Rashid googly that he edged to slip to leave the score on 166 for seven. Mitchell Starc stayed with Smith during a 51-run eighth-wicket stand that carried the score to 217 for seven, but just when it looked like Australia may make a match of it with a score nearing 250, Smith was run out brilliantly by wicketkeeper Jos Buttler, whose direct hit at the non-striker’s end in the 48th over found Smith just short of his stumps, forcing the brave innings to be cut short on 119-ball 85. Starc was caught behind for 29 off the next ball bowled by Woakes. Mark Wood then bowled an inch-perfect yorker to bowl Behrendorff in the next over to bowl Australia out for a sub-par 223 with an over to spare.

Such has been Shakib Al Hasan's brilliance in this World Cup that after a whimpering end to their campaign, Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza kept naming the all-rounder when speaking of the positives. Shakib's performance -- 606 runs and 11 wickets -- actually transcended the results of the team he played for, and Mashrafe said the only regret was that Bangladesh could not take Shakib further.

"I should talk about Shakib; he has been absolutely beautiful. Batted at three, did what he could do. I feel very bad for Shakib," Mashrafe said after the match. "The tournament he had, he deserved to be in the semifinal. Really feel sorry for him. I think it was one of the best performances not just in this World Cup, but in all editions. It is disappointing that a player who played like that is not in the semifinals.

"Mushfiqur [Rahim] batted so well," Mashrafe continued about the positives. "We could not do the right things at the right times. We could not take catches when we needed to, and when we needed to bowl well, the bowlers could not step up."

With this being Mashrafe's last World Cup, there was little to do than look forward to Bangladesh's next World Cup in India in 2023, even though he would not be there. He wished that the core of the team would survive and there would be new players who could step up in favourable conditions.

"When we play in the next World Cup, I am sure if there are new players who come in, the team will go forward even more," Mashrafe said. "I wish and pray that Shakib, Tamim [Iqbal], Mushfiqur and [Mahmudullah] Riyad will be alive and well for the next World Cup so that they can guide the newer players. Since it is in India, I of course cannot say that we will win, but Bangladesh will have a chance.

He was more positive about the next tournament because it would be played in Asia and he believed that a bowling attack that was exposed in England would be more impressive in Asia.

"If you ask me after this tournament, when we play in this part of the world, bowling is a big issue. But if we play in Asia we are a far better bowling side."

With there being much speculation surrounding Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza's future, there was some tension in his post-match press conference yesterday. He had already announced that this was to be his last World Cup, but there was an outside chance that the 35-year-old -- no stranger to impulsive decisions -- would make a surprise announcement in his last press appearance.

However, he doused all that with a straight-batted answer when asked what his future plans were after Bangladesh closed their World Cup campaign with a 94-run loss to Pakistan at Lord's yesterday.

"My future plan is obviously going home from here, and I will have a rethink," was the anticlimactic answer delivered with a straight face.

Mashrafe had said before that he did not want to think about his future during the World Cup and would go home and discuss with his family about his future.

Bangladesh have a tour of Sri Lanka later this month, and much of the interest following the World Cup will be around whether Mashrafe is on the plane to Colombo.