Cricket World Cup 2015 Results: Latest Tables, Scores After Zimbabwe vs. Ireland

We’re motoring toward the quarter-finals of the 2015 Cricket World Cup, meaning the pressure is beginning to crank up on the final rounds of pool matches.

For South Africa it was a difficult day as they suffered a shock loss to a resurgent Pakistan. Even another masterclass from AB de Villiers—who made 77 from 58 balls—couldn’t save the Proteas, as they fell 29 runs short of the target needed to take victory.

In the day's later game Ireland beat Zimbabwe in one of the games of the tournament so far. The men in green clung on in defence of their total of 331/8, eventually winning by five runs and picking up their third win in four matches at this competition.

Here’s a recap of the latest action from Down Under.

Points Tables

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Pool A

Team	Played	Won	Lost	Tied	No Result	Net Run Rate	Points
New Zealand	4	4	0	0	0	3.59	8
Sri Lanka	4	3	1	0	0	0.13	6
Australia	4	2	1	0	1	1.80	5
Bangladesh	4	2	1	0	1	0.18	5
England	4	1	3	0	0	-1.20	2
Afghanistan	4	1	3	0	0	-1.95	2
Scotland	4	0	4	0	0	-1.42	0

Pool B

Team	Played	Won	Lost	Tied	No Result	Net Run Rate	Points
India	4	4	0	0	0	2.25	8
South Africa	5	3	2	0	0	1.46	6
Pakistan	5	3	2	0	0	-0.19	6
Ireland	4	2	1	0	0	-0.82	6
West Indies	5	2	3	0	0	-0.51	4
Zimbabwe	5	1	4	0	0	-0.60	2
UAE	4	0	4	0	0	-1.69	0

Upcoming Schedule

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ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 Fixtures

Pool Matches

Mar. 8 Pool A: New Zealand v Afghanistan, Napier (10 p.m. GMT, Mar. 7)

Mar. 8 Pool A: Australia v Sri Lanka, Sydney (d/n) (3:30 a.m. GMT)

Mar. 9 Pool A: England v Bangladesh, Adelaide (d/n) (3:30 a.m. GMT)

Mar. 10 Pool B: India v Ireland, Hamilton (d/n) (1 a.m. GMT)

Mar. 11 Pool A: Sri Lanka v Scotland, Hobart (d/n) (3:30 a.m. GMT)

Mar. 12 Pool B: South Africa v UAE, Wellington (Westpac Stadium) (d/n) (1 a.m. GMT)

Mar. 13 Pool A: Bangladesh v New Zealand, Hamilton (d/n) (1 a.m. GMT)

Mar. 13 Pool A: England v Afghanistan, Sydney (d/n) (3:30 a.m. GMT)

Mar. 14 Pool B: India v Zimbabwe, Auckland (d/n) (1 a.m. GMT)

Mar. 14 Pool A: Australia v Scotland, Hobart (d/n) (3:30 a.m. GMT)

Mar. 15 Pool B: West Indies v UAE, Napier (10 p.m. GMT, Mar. 14)

Mar. 15 Pool B: Pakistan v Ireland, Adelaide (d/n) (3:30 a.m. GMT)

Quarter-Finals

Mar. 18 Quarter-final 1, A1 v B4, Sydney (3:30 a.m. GMT)

Mar. 19 Quarter-final 2, A2 v B3, Melbourne (3:30 a.m. GMT)

Mar. 20 Quarter-final 3, A3 v B2, Adelaide (3:30 a.m. GMT)

Mar. 21 Quarter-final 4, A4 v B1, Wellington (1 a.m. GMT)

Semi-Finals

Mar. 24 Semi-final 1, Winner QF1 v Winner QF3, Auckland (1:00 a.m. GMT)

Mar. 26 Semi-final 2, Winner QF2 v Winner QF4, Sydney (3:30 a.m. GMT)

Final

Mar. 29 Final, Melbourne (4:30 a.m. BST)

Schedule courtesy of BBC Sport.

Ireland Cling on Against Zimbabwe in a Thriller

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Ireland (331/8) beat Zimbabwe (326) by five runs

Ireland clung on by their fingernails to secure their third win in four matches at the 2015 Cricket World Cup, notching a five-run win over Zimbabwe in a thrilling encounter in Hobart.

After losing the toss and being put in to bat, Ireland piled on the runs to score 331/8 in their 50 overs. Ed Joyce was the star of the show for the men in green as he made 112 from 103 balls; he was well-backed by a blistering 97 off 79 balls from Andy Balbirnie.

Zimbabwe’s response looked set to be a short-lived one as they lost early wickets, but an excellent 149-run partnership between Brendan Taylor—who made 121 from 91 balls—and Sean Williams (96) gave them a chance of victory. However, despite some late heroics from Tawanda Mupariwa, they were to come up just short.

Conditions were tough for the Irish openers up against the new ball, as both William Porterfield and Paul Stirling struggled to inject any impetus into their respective knocks. They were both gone inside 21 overs and when the former fell, Ireland were toiling on 79/2.

But when Joyce and Balbirnie came together Irish hopes were reignited. The former played with a real serenity to notch his third One-Day International century, as noted by BBC Test Match special:

"

A century for @edjoyce24 in Hobart. Commentary http://t.co/X8UAkM66kc & @BBC5LSX #CWC15 pic.twitter.com/zc0BR9qIJk

— Test Match Special (@bbctms) March 7, 2015"

Balbirnie was definitely the aggressor in the partnership, as his thunderous stroke-play and then intelligent manoeuvring of the strike with the tail pushed the run-rate up for the Irish. His innings included seven fours and four towering sixes, but he was run-out agonisingly short of a what would have been a well deserved century.

His superb effort helped Ireland past 300 and some sharp late cameos from Gary Wilson and John Mooney were vital in a final total of 331/8.

As noted by ByTheMin Cricket, it was a mark that was going to take some chasing down:

"

Ireland finish on 331/8. Zimbabwe, hang your heads in shame. This will take some chasing. I'm @RBeeeeeeeeeeeee , and I'm tired. Bye!

— ByTheMin Cricket (@ByTheMinCricket) March 7, 2015"

After 17 overs of their response, the Africans looked to be dead and buried in this match. Ireland’s bowlers had decimated the top order with the new ball and Zimbabwe were 74/4. But a magnificent partnership from Taylor and Williams hauled them back into contention.

As noted by BBC Test Match Special, Taylor’s century was a landmark one for myriad reasons:

"

.@BrendanTaylor86 scores the fastest ODI 100 for @ZimCricketv from only 79 balls and equals the record for the most 100's by a #Zim player

— Test Match Special (@bbctms) March 7, 2015"

But most importantly at this juncture, the Zimbabwe man had given his team a chance of victory. He was settling into a wonderful groove alongside Williams and smashed 18 off one over in an ominous sign for the Irish.

Eventually, the men in green broke this partnership and handed themselves a major fillip of momentum. Taylor was caught by Kevin O’Brien off the bowling of Alex Cusack and his replacement Craig Ervine could only make 11 before he departed, leaving Zimbabwe 259/6 and needing 73 off 45 balls to win.

Williams was still there though and he accelerated towards a century of his own. He seemed capable of hauling Zimbabwe over the line, but was eventually caught out on 96 in very controversial circumstances.

Mooney took a fine catch on the boundary, but replays seemed to show that his back foot had touched the rope. As such, a six should have been awarded, but the decision on the field stood, leaving the Zimbabwe coaching staff noticeable unhappy.

Here’s a look at how narrow the margins were, per Sky Sports Cricket:

"

WICKET: What drama. Williams caught on the boundary for 96. So close. More here: http://t.co/0M565UHeoT #CWC15 pic.twitter.com/o5saD3nQey

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) March 7, 2015"

With Williams back in the hutch, Zimbabwe’s chances looked all but done for. They lost the wicket of Tinashe Panyangara soon after, but a flurry of runs from Mupawira—including three boundaries in succession against Kevin O'Brien—left the Africans needing just seven to win off the last over.

Cusack was to bowl it and he splayed Regis Chakabva's stumps with the very first ball, before Mupawira skied one to Porterfield in the deep two deliveries later to send the Ireland players into raptures.

This Ireland team continue to impress at this tournament and this win will add to their momentum. Their batting was explosive yet again and while they came under some heavy pressure late on in the innings—just as they did in their win against the United Arab Emirates earlier in the tournament—they showcased the requisite mental strength to emerge victorious once again.

Pakistan Edge out South Africa

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Pakistan (222) beat South Africa (202) by 29 runs (D/L)

Pakistan’s turnaround in form continued in earnest at the Cricket World Cup as they beat South Africa by 29 runs in an absorbing clash at Eden Park.

After putting Pakistan into bat, the Proteas struggled to make early inroads with the ball, as a flurry of decent partnerships pushed the 1992 winners toward a total of 222 in a rain-reduced 47 overs. Captain Misbah-ul-Haq was top scorer with a dogged 56.

Chasing a target of 232 from 47 overs after Duckworth-Lewis calculations, South Africa toiled, losing big wickets via a combination of loose shots and astute Pakistani bowling. Eventually they were bowled out for 202 despite a valiant effort from captain AB de Villiers, who made a magnificent 77 while batting with the tail.

Pakistan’s batting effort stuttered along during a rain-reduced 47 overs, as wickets fell at regular intervals and a host of players failed to capitalise on decent starts. The early initiative came from opener Sarfraz Ahmed who hit 49 runs off 49 balls, but after he was run out by David Miller, it was pretty slow going.

Misbah once again got himself to a vital half-century, but his 56 from 86 balls left many questioning whether he should be trying to score at a much quicker rate.

Nonetheless, as noted by cricket writer Mazher Arshad, the captain’s latest landmark score puts him alongside some illustrious company:

"

Three consecutive 50s by captains in a World Cup: Azharuddin (1992) S Waugh (1999) G Smith (2007) R Ponting (2007) Misbah-ul-Haq (2015)

— Mazher Arshad (@cricket_U) March 7, 2015"

In truth, slow or not, the skipper’s 56 was imperative in Pakistan getting past 200. Younus Khan and Shahid Afridi were the only other two batsmen to get starts, as the Pakistani tail was blown away in the final embers of the innings. With a formidable South Africa batting line-up lying in wait, a score of 222—later revised to a target of 232—didn’t look enough.

But the early wicket of Quinton de Kock—who fell on just the second ball of the innings—gave Pakistan momentum. Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis put 67 runs on for the second wicket, but the dismissal of the latter sparked a middle-order collapse that saw South Africa lose four wickets for just 10 runs.

As noted by Jonathan Agnew of the BBC, it looked as though all the onus was going to be on De Villiers to pull this one out of the mire:

"

Pakistan turning South Africa over here. Chasing 232 = 107/6. AB or bust

— Jonathan Agnew (@Aggerscricket) March 7, 2015"

When Dale Steyn was dismissed to put the Proteas on 138/7 and Kyle Abbott fell for just 12, Pakistan were looking like massive favourites. But the South Africa captain continued to showcase his sparkling array of shots, surging to his half-century and keeping Pakistan on their toes.

As noted by BBC Test Match Special, with eight wickets down De Villiers decided to go all out for victory by taking the batting powerplay:

"

South Africa take the batting powerplay after 30 overs - understandable with just two wickets left in the hutch. 177-8, the target is 232.

— Test Match Special (@bbctms) March 7, 2015"

A few swift boundaries followed and with the South Africa captain rolling, the nervousness among the Pakistan players was becoming increasingly apparent. But they were eventually able to take advantage of De Villiers’ offensive mindset, as he feathered one behind to Sarfraz to spark scenes of major jubilation for the men in green.

With De Villiers back in the hutch and South Africa nine down, Pakistan were on the brink of victory. And they didn’t have to wait long to savour their third win of the tournament, as Wahab Riaz had Imran Tahir caught behind, leaving the Proteas all out for 202 and 29 runs short of their target.

Pakistan seem to have rediscovered their swagger as of late and moving forward they’ll be dangerous opposition to face for the remainder of this tournament. South Africa remain one of the main contenders for glory, but they will be acutely aware of the fact they need to show a lot more consistency.