Cricket World Cup 2015 Tables: Updated Standings After Latest Pool A Results
Afghanistan recorded a historic first Cricket World Cup win over Scotland on Thursday, beating the Scots by a single wicket with three balls remaining. Combined with Sri Lanka's 92-run win over Bangladesh, the race to qualify from Pool A is once again wide open.
New Zealand still lead the standings but face a tough match against rivals Australia on Saturday, and while Sri Lanka are sitting pretty in second place, Bangladesh's loss means the team only has a one-point lead over Afghanistan for fourth.
England and Scotland need a minor miracle to make it out of the group stage, but while Australia and New Zealand seem like locks to advance, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are all still very much in it heading into the final fixtures. The current standings:
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| New Zealand | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | +3.586 | 602/87.1 | 498/150.0 |
| Sri Lanka | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | +0.047 | 801/148.2 | 803/150.0 |
| Australia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | +2.220 | 342/50.0 | 231/50.0 |
| Bangladesh | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | +0.130 | 507/100.0 | 494/100.0 |
| Afghanistan | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.760 | 605/149.3 | 713/148.2 |
| England | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1.415 | 657/150.0 | 651/112.2 |
| Scotland | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.735 | 536/150.0 | 660/124.2 |
| India | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | +2.060 | 607/100.0 | 401/100.0 |
| West Indies | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | +1.339 | 976/148.0 | 756/143.5 |
| Ireland | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | +0.338 | 586/95.1 | 582/100.0 |
| South Africa | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.680 | 516/100.0 | 584/100.0 |
| Zimbabwe | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.827 | 852/146.0 | 986/148.0 |
| United Arab Emirates | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0.175 | 563/100.0 | 565/97.2 |
| Pakistan | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2.260 | 384/100.0 | 610/100.0 |
Sri Lanka (332/1) beat Bangladesh (240) by 92 runs.
Sri Lanka provided a masterclass in patience with the bat, needing just three batsmen to put a total of 332 on the board, a chase Bangladesh never seemed likely to complete.
Lahiru Thirimanne (52 runs) was the only batsman to fall, courtesy of Rubel Hossain, and centuries from Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara doomed a sloppy Bangladesh side.
As shared by Cricket Record, no visiting pair had ever achieved centuries at the Melbourne Cricket Ground before:
The two also set a personal milestone, via OptaJim:
Tamim Iqbal was bowled by Lasith Malinga (nine overs, 35 runs, three wickets) on only the second delivery he faced, quickly making it clear Sri Lanka's bowling is vastly superior to Bangladesh's. Sabbir Rahman's 53 from 62 came far too late, and powered by Malinga, Sri Lanka feasted on the opposing batsmen.
Malinga continues to get better, putting his early struggles against New Zealand behind him, and with Scotland still winless in the tournament and England performing well under expectations, Sri Lanka now look like a strong candidate to advance to the next round.
An upset of South Africa or India seems unlikely, but if Malinga bowls as well as he did against Bangladesh, anything is possible.
Afghanistan (211/9) beat Scotland (210) by one wicket
It wasn't particularly pretty, but Afghanistan finally recorded their first ever World Cup win on Thursday, beating Scotland with just three balls remaining.
Samiullah Shenwari's 96 from 147 ultimately made the difference as the Afghans left it very late to chase down a target of 210. He and Javed Ahmadi were the only batsmen to score in double digits until the duo of Hamid Hassan and Shapoor Zadran at the bottom of the order.
Shenwari wasn't interested in reflecting on his team's struggles too much after the match, however—this was a historic day for Afghanistan, worthy of celebration, per FirstpostSports:
Scotland managed to put runs more consistently on the board in the first innings but failed to put an extended stand together, with Matt Machan and Majid Haq leading the team with 31 runs each.
A total of 210 looked easy enough to chase down on paper, thanks to the fantastic work of Zadran (38 runs conceded, four wickets) and Dawlat Zadran (29 runs conceded, three wickets).
Josh Davey (34 runs, two wickets) and Alasdair Evans (30 runs, two wickets) proved to be just as productive, however, and if not for Shenwari's fantastic effort, Afghanistan would likely still be chasing their first World Cup win.
India's prime minister Narendra Modi was one of many to congratulate the team:
The win puts Afghanistan back in the race for a top-four finish in Pool A, but Bangladesh still sit one point ahead of the squad and emerged victorious from their encounter earlier in the tournament.
The Afghans need some help to make it out of the group stages, and while their first ever World Cup win means the 2015 tournament should already be considered a success, fans should still prepare for an early exit.
All statistics courtesy of ESPN Cricinfo.
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