England Keep Hopes alive in World Cup T20 By beating Pakistan

England Vs Pakistan ( ICC World Twenty20 2009 ) - England kept its World Twenty20 hopes alive after beating Pakistan by 48 runs at The Oval on Sunday. Kevin Pietersen struck 58 and Stuart Broad took 3-17 as England qualified for the Super 8 stage thanks to its superior run rate.

Chasing 186 to win, Pakistan lost early wickets and fell well behind the required run rate.

England struck an early blow when Ahmed Shehzad was caught for four by a tumbling England captain Paul Collingwood off Dimitri Mascarenhas in the third over.

Pakistan must beat Netherlands convincingly at Lord's, on Tuesday, to avoid elimination.

Collingwood graceful in defeat

LONDON (ICC T20 WC, 2009): The Netherlands stole England’s thunder with a four-wicket win in the opening match of the ICC World Twenty20 at Lord’s on Friday.

England’s captain Paul Collingwood gave the Netherlands credit for the sensational win, saying that they chased down a total England thought was defendabel. "They played exceptionally well. We could have defended the total. Whenever we got a wicket we assumed that we could stop them but every Dutch batsman just came out and hit boundaries. They played better than us today,” he said.

Collingwood said that that they were looking at a total between 170 and 180 but the Netherlands put up a fine performance. Asked if it was tough for his players to control the ball when it got wet because of the rain, the skipper was candid, “We didn’t perform in pressure situations; there are no excuses for this loss. We have to pick up our chins and get ready for a better performance against Pakistan,” he said.

The Netherlands captain, Jeroen Smith was a pleased man, calling the win ‘unbelievable’. The minnows took a victory lap at Lord’s after the game, thanking supporters who came to the ground to cheer for them. “It is something very special. We believed that we could win after the first 10 overs. We knew we were right in the game”, he said.

The 36-year-old admitted that they had their share of luck as England missed a lot of run out chances but said they deserved to win. Smith said his team wanted to show what they were capable of. “We were total control of the match right from the beginning,” he said, dismissing that he was worried when two tailenders were at the crease in the last two overs.

Tom de Grooth, man of the match for his knock of 49 runs off 30 balls, said that the event was big for the players but he knew that they had to play to the best of their abilities and not let themselves crumble under pressure.

Having hit six fours in his match winning knock, he said, “Nothing was playing on my mind. I was taking up the challenge at each moment. A few months back we planned to upset a major (cricket-playing) nation and we have done just that,” he said.

Netherlands shock England with last-ball victory

LONDON (ICC T20 WC, 2009): The Netherlands simply refused to go Dutch and defeated England by four wickets in a dramatic last ball finish to give the second ICC World Twenty20 competition a memorable start at Lord’s on Friday. Chasing 163 to win, the Netherlands got home thanks to a Stuart Broad overthrow off the final ball.

It is not as if the Dutch rode on good fortune alone. It must be said they worked hard to deserve every bit of luck that went their way on the inaugural day of the tournament. England openers Ravi Bopara and Luke Wright put on a century stand in 11 overs but the team was made to lose their way in the remaining nine overs of their innings.

From 102 without loss, England finished with 162 for five, striking just one four in that inexplicable spell of sluggish scoring – and wishing that Kevin Pietersen had not pulled out of the game with an injury. The century stand was the only time that England had something going for them. In fact, a one-sided match looked on the cards.

The Netherlands kept faith and clawed their way back into the game with disciplined bowling and enthusiastic fielding. And when their turn came to bat, the Dutch continued the show of self-belief that characterised the team on Friday. Even though paceman James Anderson claimed three for 23 in his four overs, the Netherlands were always in the frame.

Tom de Grooth made 49 off 30 balls (six fours, one six) and Peter Borren made 30 off 25 balls to lead the way but opener Darren Reekers and Ryan ten Doeschate had small but significant contributions too.

Stuart Broad’s final over was eventful – he missed three run out opportunities and was unable to latch on to a catch off ten Doeschate. Edgar Schiferli had to secure a single off the final delivery to tie the match and had Broad not attempted to run him out and conceded an overthrow, the game would have gone into the Super Over.