Sri Lanka stuns England; Australia further dents hosts

Hosts England were expected to roll over their opponents during the World Cup. But after Pakistan smashed 348 to beat them by 14 runs, a batting line-up capable of blasting 400 easily fell short of chasing 233 against Sri Lanka, one of the least fancied sides in the tournament. Senior pro-Lasith Malinga stepped up with 4 for 43 - including the entire top order - after Angelo Mathews made a defiant 85* to stun England by 20 runs at Headingley. Five days later, it was arch-rivals Australia who reminded England of their class. Despite a collapse, they posted 285 at Lord's courtesy of 100 from Aaron Finch. England never got going in the chase, with only Ben Stokes making 89 - after 82* in vain against Sri Lanka - as Jason Behrendorff took 5 for 44 to skittle them out for 221. As a result, England - who have India and New Zealand to play - face severe pressure of qualifying for the semi-final.

Mohammad Shami takes hat-trick; Afghanistan nearly pips India

In a cracking contest, an Afghanistan side full of quality spinners edged past tournament favorites India - almost. On a slow, spin-friendly track at Southampton, India labored to 224 as the four Afghan spinners tallied 34 overs and gave away just 119 runs for 5 wickets. Virat Kohli made 67 but others - especially veteran MS Dhoni - had little clue about the ideal way to bat, though Kedar Jadhav got 52. When Afghanistan was 106 for 2 in the twenty-ninth over, the biggest upset in the history of the tournament loomed large. But big man Jasprit Bumrah removed two set batsmen inside three deliveries to dent the Afghanistan chase. However, Mohammad Nabi kept them in the game, with 12 to get off 5 deliveries, but Mohammad Shami then took a hat-trick - only the second Indian to do so in a World Cup after Chetan Sharma in 1987 - to bowl Afghanistan out for 213 and finish off a tense encounter for India.

Carlos Brathwaite does it again - nearly; Pakistan ends NZ's unbeaten streak

Carlos Brathwaite nearly pulled off another drastic win in a World Cup, after giving West Indies their second World T20 title in 2016. At Old Trafford, New Zealand put up 291 out of which Kane Williamson hit 148. West Indies were 164 for 7 before he got into action. With 40 required from 24 balls, Brathwaite opened the can of boundaries - one six off Lockie Ferguson and three successive ones and a four off Matt Henry. Suddenly, 6 was required from 7 with a wicket in hand, by which time Brathwaite had raced to a maiden hundred. He chose to finish with a maximum but found Trent Boult at long-on and West Indies fell short by 5 runs. But Pakistan soon ended New Zealand’s unbeaten run, comfortably chasing down 238 at Edgbaston as young Babar Azam led the way with a 101*. Haris Sohail hit 68 after Jimmy Neesham’s 97* helped New Zealand to 237 on a slow, turning pitch. But Pakistan kept their campaign alive and bagged two crucial points.

Shakib al Hasan continues his dream run

One reason why Bangladesh managed to beat better sides like South Africa and West Indies was due to consistent performances from their senior statesman Shakib al Hasan. He was already among the top run-getters in the tournament, had slammed consecutive centuries against England and West Indies - the latter fashioned a chase of 322, the second highest in World Cups - and often struck with the ball. But against Afghanistan at Southampton, he did a double - a composed 51 in Bangladesh's total of 262 batting first and a career-best 5 for 29 during the defense, in which Afghanistan managed only 200. That meant he was third on the run-getters list and the leading wicket-taker from Bangladesh so far in the World Cup. Shakib also joined an elite list of players - like Kapil Dev and Yuvraj Singh - with a century and a five-for in the same World Cup and became only the second after Yuvraj to a fifty and a five-wicket haul in the same World Cup match.

South Africa, West Indies crash out in group stages

Two very skillful sides suffered a bad fate at the worst possible time. Both South Africa and West Indies crashed out of the World Cup with two matches remaining in the group stage. Out of seven, they only managed a solitary win - South Africa defeated Afghanistan while West Indies' victory came over Pakistan - as with just three points from seven games, their elimination in the first round was confirmed. While injuries and lack of contributions from senior players haunted South Africa - who bowed out after a loss to Pakistan at Lord's - the story was similar for West Indies, whose youngsters performed below potential while the seniors lacked form. Both Dale Steyn and Andre Russell were ruled out of the World Cup, though the latter played a few games with a knee injury. JP Duminy and Imran Tahir are set to retire from the format, while though Chris Gayle had announced the same earlier, he recently hinted otherwise before West Indies lost to India at Old Trafford to end their semi-final hopes.