The first day of the fifth week of the Virtual Cricket Tournament 2020 saw six matches being played on Tuesday, June 30. There were some memorable performances in the simulated reality league cricket tournament, and here, we look at what transpired through the day and bring you the summary of each virtual match.
SA vs ENG, Match 1: SA won by five runs
After winning the toss, SA elected to bat and went on to put 51/2 on the board. While opener Quincy de Kock met a quick and early demise, Hanif Amla, Fabian du Plessis and JP Dominic made decent contributions.
However, it looked like that would not be enough as ENG got off to a good start but then they stalled out in the second and third innings, which put them far enough back that they never could recover in time to chase down the SA total.
NZ vs AUS, Match 2: AUS won by six wickets
NZ were put to bat first by AUS, and respectable contributions from all three openers -- Callum Munro, Markus Guptill and Ken Williamson -- saw them put up 51/1 to see out the innings.
For AUS, however, deciding to chase worked out well, thanks to openers Daniel Warner and Armand Finch putting together a stout 30-run stand for the first wicket. Despite Sam Smith, Glenn Maxwall and Pat Handscomb all getting out for a duck, Finch held up his end of the wicket till the end to max out AUS's final score to a match-winning 53/4.
IND vs PAK, Match 3: IND won by 10 wickets
PAK chose to bat after winning the toss but struggled to put together a pittance of a score at 33/6, with none of their batsmen even scoring in the double-digits.
With such an easy target before them, IND played with a free hand, with openers Rohan Sharma and Shikhar Dhaven easily winning the match in just 3.1 overs.
SA vs AUS, Match 4: AUS won by three runs
Both AUS and SA were playing their second match of the day, and unlike in their previous match, AUS elected to bat first en route to their second win of the day.
While Finch was the star of their earlier triumph, he was out for a duck this time around and it was Daniel Warner and Sam Smith who starred for their side, putting up 47/2.
SA, despite a positive opening over, saw their top order crumble in the second, followed by a lull in the scoring rate. That put them far enough back, and an unimpressive final over marked by singles and dots saw them fall four runs short of the win.
NZ vs PAK, Match 5: PAK won by 16 runs
Unlike in their earlier showing against IND, PAK shone in their innings after opting to bat first against NZ. Baba Azem anchored the innings with a 16-ball 31 and was backed up by a handy supporting performance from Fakhar Zakir to see their tally out at 55/4.
NZ opener Callum Munro, for his part, put out a decent knock of 31 from 21, but Markus Guptill and Ken Williamson were as good as absent, with not a single boundary or six from either man hampering NZ's chances and seeing them fizzle out at 39/2.
IND vs ENG, Match 6: IND won by eight wickets
IND kept their winning record on the day intact, going two-for-two by triumphing over ENG in the final match of Day 1.
ENG won the toss and elected to bat. The top-order comprising James Butler, Jackson Butler and Ian Morgan all had decent showings to put up a tally of 50/1.
However, IND's top order were even more potent, particularly Shikhar Dhaven, whose 10-ball 25 peppered with sixes and boundaries -- two of each -- easily saw them run down the winning target with four balls to spare.
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