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Cricket World Cup 2015: Australia beat Pakistan to reach semi-finals

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steve_smith

by Sam Sheringham, BBC Sport

Australia withstood a pulsating spell of fast bowling from Pakistan’s Wahab Riaz to set up a meeting with India in the World Cup semi-finals.

Australia’s hopes of chasing 214 looked in peril when Riaz removed David Warner and Michael Clarke to leave them 59-3.

But Steve Smith countered with a measured 65 and Shane Watson capitalised on a dropped catch to steer Australia home with an unbeaten 64.

Earlier, Josh Hazlewood took 4-35 as Pakistan slid from 97-2 to 213 all out.

Australia’s victory keeps them on course for a fifth World Cup victory and sets up a chance to avenge their 2011 quarter-final defeat by India in Sydney next week.

For a short period, however, their progress was in serious doubt as Riaz rattled their top order with a hostile spell of left-arm fast bowling that had Kevin Pietersen and Allan Border purring in the Test Match Special commentary box.

Sending the ball down at over 90mph, Riaz had Warner caught off a mistimed uppercut before Clarke was undone by a throat-high bouncer that lobbed up off the splice into the hands of Sohail Maqsood at short midwicket.

With Pakistan on top, Watson was given a working over by the fired-up Riaz, who also took every opportunity to direct verbal barbs at the struggling batsman.

He almost became Riaz’s next victim when he top-edged a pull shot to fine leg where Rahat Ali got right underneath the ball only to let it slip through his grasp.

It looked a pivotal moment at the time and so it proved as Watson grew in confidence and began to drive and pull Pakistan’s less pacey bowlers to the boundary.

At the other end, Smith was calmness personified as he stroked his way to a run-a-ball fifty.

His dismissal, trapped lbw by Ehsan Adil, briefly gave Pakistan another sniff of an upset but once again their outfielding let them down as Sohail Khan dropped Glenn Maxwell on five.

Australia did not look back after their second reprieve as Maxwell bludgeoned 44 off 29 balls before Watson drove Khan down the ground for the winning runs.

Hazlewood had earlier justified his selection ahead of Pat Cummins with four wickets as Pakistan wilted after winning the toss.

After both openers fell to sharp slip catches, captain Misbah-ul-Haq and Haris Sohail added 73 for the third wicket before Maxwell’s spin made the breakthrough.

Having twice planted the spinner into the stands, Misbah attempted a slog-sweep but got a top edge to Aaron Finch at deep midwicket.

A combination of disciplined bowling and reckless shots followed as several Pakistan batsmen were unable to capitalise on good starts.

Their total looked well short of par, only for Riaz to briefly bring the contest to life before Smith and Watson’s telling riposte.

India beat Bangladesh to reach Cricket World Cup semi-finals

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rohit_sharma

by Stephan Shemilt, BBC Sport

Defending champions India coasted into the World Cup semi-finals with a 109-run win over Bangladesh in Melbourne.

Opener Rohit Sharma made a composed 137 from 126 balls and Suresh Raina 65 from 57 as India recovered from 115-3 to post 302-6 at a boisterous MCG.

Bangladesh lost two wickets in the seventh over of their reply and eventually limped to 193 all out in 45 overs as India’s bowlers dominated.

India meet either Australia or Pakistan in a Sydney semi-final on 26 March.

They will go there on the back of 11 successive World Cup victories, a run that stretches back to their success on home soil four years ago.

Their six-match winning streak in this competition has come after a horrible tour of Australia, where they failed to win any of their 10 games across all formats.

But the resurgence in a limited-overs tournament is typical of MS Dhoni’s team, who not only hold the World Cup, but also the Champions Trophy and won the 2007 World Twenty20.

India made the last four by outclassing a Bangladesh team that eliminated England on their way to a first World Cup quarter-final.

Initially, the Tigers were not overawed, despite being made to field first on a very good pitch as some accurate bowling and tight fielding stifled India in the first half of their innings.

However, the rebuilding done by Rohit and Raina in a stand of 122 ensured that India were able to accelerate as Bangladesh became ragged. The batting powerplay yielded 50 runs and the final 15 overs a total of 147.

They came together after Ajinkya Rahane miscued Taskin Ahmed to mid-off and a period when India failed to find the boundary for 11 overs.

Rohit, who drove the first ball of the match for four, had already seen Shikhar Dhawan stumped off Shakib Al Hasan and Virat Kohli caught behind from Rubel Hossain.

He and Raina steadied, then they timed their attack, though Bangladesh can have reason to feel aggrieved after Rohit survived being caught on the leg-side boundary when on 90 because a Rubel full-toss was wrongly deemed too high.

The right-hander completed a seventh one-day hundred and, despite Raina top-edging to the wicketkeeper, unfurled his full range of strokes.

Strong on the back foot throughout, Rohit was now sweetly timing through the covers and brutally pulling on the leg side.

Though he was yorked by Taskin, India still inched past 300 on a ground where no more than 297 has been reached to win a one-day international.

Bangladesh’s bid to pull off both the highest Melbourne chase and win a first World Cup knockout match was derailed when two wickets fell in successive deliveries.

Tamim Iqbal edged Umesh Yadav to wicketkeeper Dhoni and Imrul Kayes was run out in a mix-up with new man Soumya Sarkar.

From there, Bangladesh never looked like threatening as the impressive India attack picked up regular wickets, the highlight being Dhawan’s juggled catch on the fine-leg boundary to hold Mahmudullah off Mohammed Shami.

The enthusiastic crowd ensured a raucous atmosphere throughout, but the match drifted to an inevitable conclusion.

Cricket World Cup 2015: South Africa ease into semi-finals

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South Africa

by Stephan Shemilt, BBC Sport

South Africa cruised into the World Cup semi-finals with a one-sided thrashing of a sorry Sri Lanka in Sydney.

Off-spinner JP Duminy took a hat-trick and leg-spinner Imran Tahir 4-26 as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 133.

The Proteas then eased to their target for the loss of only one wicket in 18 overs, with Quinton de Kock making an unbeaten 78.

They go on to a last-four meeting with New Zealand or West Indies in Auckland on Tuesday.

South Africa’s first knockout victory in 23 years of playing World Cup cricket takes them to a first semi-final since a famous defeat by Australia in 1999.

In reaching their target with 32 overs to spare, AB de Villiers’ side also completed the fastest successful run chase in a World Cup knockout match as Sri Lanka, finalists in the previous two World Cups, wilted.

Their lacklustre display was not befitting what turned out to be the final international match for Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara’s last ODI. The duo have scored 117 international centuries between them.

After the Proteas’ pace bowlers made early inroads, the spin pair of Duminy and Tahir took advantage of a succession of loose shots, while South Africa were excellent in the field throughout.

Sangakkara, on the back of four successive hundreds, made a painstaking 45 and Lahiru Thirimanne a counter-attacking 41, but no other batsman reached 20.

To cap South Africa’s day, wicketkeeper De Kock, who had managed only 53 runs in his six previous innings, returned to form with a string of cover drives.

Still, their victory was built on a brilliant bowling performance after losing the toss on an excellent pitch.

New-ball pair Kyle Abbott and Dale Steyn took the edges of Kusal Perera and Tillakaratne Dilshan respectively before Sangakkara and Thirimanne steadied with stand of 65.

While Thirimanne was fluent through the off side, Sangakkara was stodgy, taking 16 balls to get off the mark and, at one point, having six from 42 balls.

When Thirimanne became the first of the seven wickets to fall to spin, Sangakkara was forced to watch from the other end as the middle and lower order fell around him.

With the ball holding in the pitch, Thirimanne patted back to Tahir and Jayawardene lobbed the same bowler to short mid-wicket.

Duminy, filling the fifth bowler slot which has caused South Africa problems during the tournament, then got to work to become the first Proteas player to take a World Cup hat-trick.

Angelo Mathews was caught at mid-on and, in Duminy’s next over, Nuwan Kulasekara feathered behind before debutant Tharindu Kaushal was pinned leg before.

For 19-year-old Kaushal, it was a golden duck on his ODI debut having being added to the Sri Lanka squad on the morning of the match.

Sangakkara was left to play a lone hand, but his attempt at aggression was ended with a slash to third man off Morne Morkel.

He departed with 14,234 runs, a tally second only to Sachin Tendulkar, in 404 matches. This was the 150th one-dayer in which he batted with Jayawardene, who has 12,650 runs.

The ruthless South Africa chase ensured that they will not share another international partnership.

Cricket World Cup 2015: West Indies win to reach quarter-finals

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chris_gayle

by Sam Sheringham, BBC Sport

West Indies secured a place in the World Cup quarter-finals with a comfortable, if unconvincing, victory over the United Arab Emirates.

The UAE crumbled to 26-5 in Napier as Windies captain Jason Holder took 4-27.

But Nasir Aziz and Amjad Javed exploited some ragged bowling to add a record-tying 107 for the seventh wicket and lift the associates to 175 all out.

Johnson Charles and Jonathan Carter struck fifties as the Windies eased home by six wickets in 30.3 overs.

In reaching their target inside 36.2 overs, West Indies went through on net run rate, although their passage was not confirmed until Pakistan beat Ireland by seven wickets in Sunday’s final Pool B contest in Adelaide.

West Indies’ performance did little to suggest they will be a match for Brendon McCullum’s unbeaten New Zealand side in Wellington on 21 March.

The inconsistency that has blighted their campaign was again in evidence as a wayward spell from Kemar Roach helped the UAE get back into the game after Holder and Jerome Taylor had blown away their top order with some high-class pace bowling.

There was also a show of dissent from former captain Darren Sammy when he reacted badly to being pulled from the attack after one over and earned himself a talking-to from Holder.

By that point, the UAE were in the midst of an impressive recovery in which Aziz and Javed equalled their own team’s record for the highest World Cup seventh-wicket stand, set against Ireland in Brisbane in February.

Aziz top-scored in his first one-day innings, while Javed reached 50 for the first time with seven fours and a huge six, when he planted Taylor into the stands over long-on.

Their partnership was finally ended in the 41st over and the Windies wrapped up the tail efficiently as Taylor dismissed captain Mohammad Tauqir for his third wicket of the day.

With Chris Gayle sidelined by a back injury, Charles was handed an opportunity at the top of the West Indies order, and he kick-started the run chase with a four and a six in the first over on his way to a 34-ball half-century.

Although Dwayne Smith and Marlon Samuels once again posted low scores, and the experiment of moving Andrew Russell up the order did not pay off, Carter found some fluency to guide them home with his maiden ODI fifty.

West Indies captain Jason Holder: “The ball came out really well for me at the start. The pitch was a bit slow but it swung and bounced a bit for me.

“I’m extremely pleased with the way the guys came out and played. We needed to win by a certain margin. We had to show positive intent. We knew we had to finish the game inside 36 overs and we did it.

“New Zealand would be a big test. They are playing some very good cricket.”

UAE captain Mohammad Tauqir: “When West Indies put us in to bat first, they took good advantage of the bowling conditions.

“At 46-6 it was difficult to recover but it was a good effort by Amjad Javed and Nasir Aziz. Amjad been very consistent throughout the tournament and has been a positive for us.

“It was a decent performance for us in this tournament, a good learning experience and it has been very enjoyable.”

Cricket World Cup 2015: England beat Afghanistan in final game

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by Stephan Shemilt, BBC Sport

England’s miserable World Cup ended with a low-key nine-wicket victory over Afghanistan in Sydney.

After rain reduced England’s target to 101 from 25 overs, Ian Bell made an unbeaten 52 to complete the chase with 41 balls to spare.

Afghanistan had earlier been limited to 111-7 from 36.2 overs when the weather intervened for the third time.

England finish fifth in Pool A having beaten only the Afghans and Scotland in their six matches.

Winning just twice is England’s joint-worst return from a World Cup, matching the 1996 tournament. On that occasion, they did at least make it to the quarter-finals.

In Australia and New Zealand, they have suffered heavy defeats by the co-hosts and Sri Lanka, while a loss to Bangladesh in Adelaide confirmed their exit.

That rendered their first one-day international meeting with Afghanistan as a dead rubber, played out in front of a sparse crowd at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

The rain, two short intervals and one that kept the players off the field for two and-a-half hours, sucked much of the meaning from an already nondescript contest.

And it was in a match with little riding on it that England found some of the skills they have lacked for most of the tournament – consistency of length with the ball, few mistakes in the field and top-order aggression with the bat.

With cloud cover and a green-tinged wicket providing assistance, England’s seamers worked through an Afghan top order that showed collective uncertainty outside off-stump.

James Anderson and Stuart Broad had catches held at first slip to dismiss Nawroz Mangal and Javed Ahmadi respectively, before Chris Jordan enticed Afsar Zazai to edge behind and Samiullah Shenwari to flash a cut shot to point.

From 34-4 Afghanistan were in danger of capitulation, but the middle-order steadied, without threatening to damage the England attack.

Shafiqullah’s patient 30 was compiled in the company of Nasir Jamal Ahmadzai and Mohammad Nabi, the former edging to wicketkeeper Jos Buttler after the second rain break, the latter well caught by James Tredwell at mid-on, both off Ravi Bopara.

Then, when Shafiqullah was brilliantly held at deep square leg by a diving Bopara from the spin of Tredwell, it was the last major action before the longest rain delay.

Puddles formed around the square and out the outfield, but the rain relented for play to get under way at 20:45 local time.

When the players returned, Hales and Bell took advantage of the inaccuracies of the feisty Afghanistan pace bowlers.

Hales, twice dropped by Najib Zadran at point off the bowling of Shapoor Zadran, pulled a six in the second over and continued to go after anything short.

Bell, more fluent than at any other time in the competition, unfurled pulls and drives as an opening stand of 77 ensured a swift conclusion and no hint of an upset.

Hales’ poke to wicketkeeper Zazai was reward for the lively Hamid Hassan, leaving James Taylor to complete the job with Bell.

Still, it was Afghanistan who had the louder fans at the conclusion. In their historic first World Cup campaign, they have finished one place and one win behind England.

Cricket World Cup 2015: Unbeaten New Zealand defeat Bangladesh

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martin_guptill

by Michael Emons, BBC Sport

New Zealand recorded their sixth successive win at the 2015 World Cup as they beat Bangladesh by three wickets.

Chasing 289 to win, the co-hosts reached 290-7 with seven balls to spare, with Martin Guptill scoring 105, Ross Taylor 56 and Grant Elliott 39.

Bangladesh had earlier posted 288-7 from their 50 overs in Hamilton, with Mahmudullah making an unbeaten 128 for his second century in two matches.

New Zealand, who remain unbeaten, had already secured top spot in Pool A.

The Kiwis, who have lost six World Cup semi-finals, will face either Pakistan, Ireland or West Indies in the quarter-finals in Wellington on Saturday, 21 March.

And they showed why they are one of the favourites to win the competition with a hard-fought victory after they had won the toss and elected to bowl first.

In an excellent, hostile opening spell, Trent Boult claimed the wickets of Imrul Kayes and Tamim Iqbal as Bangladesh struggled to 29-2 after 10 overs.

New Zealand should have quickly taken a third wicket but Mahmudullah was dropped on 0 by Guptill and, in the following over, on one by Corey Anderson.

Those missed chances proved costly as Mahmudullah, who scored 103 against England in his last match, hit the highest one-day score of his career.

He was helped by Soumya Sarkar’s 51 for his maiden one-day international half-century, before Sabbir Rahman blasted 40 off 23 balls to help set a challenging total.

The Kiwis looked in trouble at 33-2 after Shakib Al Hasan dismissed Brendon McCullum and Kane Williamson.

However, Guptill, who will play for Derbyshire in this year’s County Championship before New Zealand begin their tour of England, put his side in control by scoring 11 fours and two sixes in his 100-ball knock.

In a thrilling finish, New Zealand fell from 210-3 to 269-7 as Shakib ended with 4-55, but Daniel Vettori (16 not out) and Tim Southee (12 not out) saw them home after a rapid 39 from Anderson.

Defeat means Bangladesh finish fourth in Pool A and will play India in the quarter-finals in Melbourne on Thursday, 19 March.

Bangladesh captain Shakib said: “It was a tough day. We batted, bowled and fielded well. They bowled well in the first 10 overs when it was swinging, but we adjusted to the conditions and put a decent total on.

“These games will help us improve our confidence and I hope we have a very good game in the quarter-finals.”

Man of the match Guptill said: “We have a lot of belief and the way we are executing our skills is pleasing. We just need to keep that up over the next few weeks.”

Cricket World Cup 2015: South Africa ease into quarter-finals

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ab_de_villiers

by Michael Emons, BBC Sport

South Africa moved into the World Cup quarter-finals with a routine 146-run victory over United Arab Emirates.

Proteas captain AB de Villiers top scored and was dismissed on 99 after useful contributions from Rilee Rossouw (43) and David Miller (49).

Farhaan Behardien blasted 64 off 31 balls to take South Africa to 341-6, a total UAE never looked like reaching.

Swapnil Patil scored an unbeaten 57 and Shaiman Anwar made 39 but UAE were bowled out for 195 in 47.3 overs.

The victory means South Africa, who have never reached a World Cup final, will finish second in Pool B and, barring shock results, will probably face Sri Lanka in the quarter-final in Sydney on 18 March.

South Africa dominated against a UAE side that has never beaten a Test-playing nation in a World Cup but who surprisingly opted to bowl first after winning the toss.

That decision backfired as South Africa made the eighth highest total of the tournament with De Villiers again leading the way.

He scored the fastest 150 in one-day cricket off 64 balls on his way to an unbeaten 162 against the West Indies earlier in the World Cup and hit six fours and four sixes in his 82 ball-knock on Thursday.

However, he missed out on his 21st ODI century when he sliced the ball to short third man Amjad Javed off Kamran Shazad’s bowling. De Villiers then showed his ability with the ball, taking 2-15 from three overs.

“It’s never just a given you are going to make the quarter-finals of the World Cup, we have a lot of people we are representing back home and we have a great opportunity,” said De Villiers.

“They made it difficult so I was very happy with the way we fought, which is what I want to see as a captain.”

The only disappointment for South Africa was another failure from opening batsman Quinton de Kock, who made an unconvincing 26 off 45 balls before being caught behind. He has only scored 53 runs in their six pool games.

In reply, UAE struggled to cope with the pace of the South African attack, as both Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander claimed two wickets each.

The associate side fell to 45-3, although Patil and Anwar gave their score some respectability. With Fahad Alhashmi unable to bat after suffering a knee injury while bowling, Patil was left unbeaten on 57 as UAE suffered their fifth successive defeat.

Despite another loss, UAE captain Mohammad Tauqir was pleased with his side’s performance. He said: “We bowled well until 44-45 overs when things went a bit wrong. We almost batted 50 overs which is very positive for our batters.

“It has given us a lot of confidence, they have some amazing bowlers. There is a huge difference between our domestic level and this level so the more we play against these nations, the better it is for our cricket.”

Karnataka overwhelm Tamil Nadu to retain Ranji title

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ranjii

Mumbai: Karnataka successfully defended their Ranji Trophy title in emphatic style as they trounced Tamil Nadu by an innings and 217 runs in the final at the Wankhede Stadium here on Thursday.

Tottering at 113 for three overnight in their second innings after conceding a 628-run first innings lead, Tamil Nadu were bowled out for 411 runs to add to their first innings score of 134.

Baba Aparajith (68) and Vijay Shankar (103) put up a brave fight. After Aparajith’s departure with the scoreboard reading 191/4, it was veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik who tried steadying the sinking Tamil Nadu ship.

Right-hander Karthik notched up a 115-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Shankar and was fluent in his stroke-making.

But then it was Karnataka skipper Vinay Kumar (2/43) who broke the partnership getting rid of Shankar holding onto a return catch.

Karthik continued in his merry ways, but the batters around him fell prey to Shreyas Gopal’s (4/126) spin and Sreenath Aravind’s (2/52) movement and pace.

Earlier in the match, Karnataka had put on a monumental total of 762 runs in their first innings. Right-hand middle-order batsman Karun Nair scored 328 — the highest in a Ranji Trophy final in the 92-year history of the country’s premier domestic cricket tournament.

Nair, 23, went past Baroda batsman Gul Mohammad’s 319 made against Holkar in the 1946-47 season final. Nair got good support from India Test Opener Lokesh Rahul (188) and the duo forged a 384-run stand for the sixth wicket.

Skipper R. Vinay Kumar also scored a ton (105) to ensure they amassed a monumental total of 762 all out. Vinay became the first captain to pick up a five-wicket haul and score a century in a Ranji final. He was only the second cricketer to achieve the feat after Vijay Hazare’s heroics in 1946-47 final.

After conceding the mammoth lead, Tamil Nadu went down by an innings and 217 runs, allowing Karnataka to lay their hands on their second consecutive and eighth Ranji Trophy title.

“It is a big moment for us. I would like to thank all the players, they have worked hard to achieve this milestone. I am very happy with my own performance,” skipper Vinay said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

“Ultimately, winning the Ranji Trophy is important. As I said last year, we have a good bunch of players. If we keep performing we will dominate the Indian domestic circuit. Next we will play the Irani Trophy and will try to win that.”

Losing captain Abhinav Mukund said: “We really did well in the first day. We could have batted better, but its history now. Rahul and Karun Nair took the game away from us.”

Mukund, however, was satisfied with the performance throughout the season.

“It has been a great season. After a poor start we have made to the finals. We will go back to the drawing board. We have competed well, I made around 800 runs. I could have carried on, but we ran into a good side.”

Brief scores: Tamil Nadu 134 all out, 411 all out (Dinesh Karthik 120, Vijay Shankar 103; Shreyas Gopal 4/126; Vinay Kumar 2/43)) lose to Karnataka 762 all out. Karnataka win by an innings and 217 runs.

(IANS)

Cricket World Cup 2015: Sangakkara scores fourth successive century

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Kumar Sangakkara

by Adam Williams, BBC Sport

Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara became the first player to score four successive one-day international centuries as his side beat Scotland at the World Cup.

The 37-year-old hit 124 in a total of 363-9 in Hobart, to go with his previous tons in the tournament against Bangladesh, England and Australia.

Sangakkara passed 500 ODI dismissals as Scotland were bowled out for 215.

Captain Preston Mommsen and Freddie Coleman scored half centuries but Sri Lanka finish with four wins in Pool A.

They look set to face South Africa in the first of the quarter-finals in Sydney on Wednesday.

Although they posted their best ever total batting second against a Test-playing nation, a fifth defeat means Scotland remain without a win. They will play co-hosts Australia in their final match on Saturday in Hobart.

On a day of records at Bellerive Oval, left-hander Sangakkara recorded his fifth World Cup century and is now one behind the record of six held by India’s Sachin Tendulkar.

He has now scored 14,189 ODI runs and only Tendulkar (18,426), who retired in 2013, has more runs for their country in the 50-over format.

Sangakkara, who became the first ever player to score four centuries at a World Cup, has previously suggested he will retire from ODI cricket at the end of the tournament.

The wicketkeeper has enjoyed a prolific spell in the last 12-18 months, becoming the fastest player to reach 12,000 Test runs in January in the same match in which he scored his 11th double century, moving him one behind the record held by Australian great Don Bradman.

His 124 against Scotland in Hobart followed earlier scores of 105 not out against Bangladesh, 117 not out against England and 104 against Australia.

Batting first, Sri Lanka’s total owed much to a 195-run partnership for the second-wicket between Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan (104).

They reached their respective centuries in consecutive balls before being dismissed in the space of two balls by Scotland seamer Josh Davey.

Davey’s figures of 3-63 moved him to the top of the World Cup wicket-takers with 14, one ahead of New Zealand pair Trent Boult and Tim Southee.

A 20-ball half century from Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews, which included four successive sixes off the bowling of Matt Machan had put them on course for a score of more than 400.

But a flurry of late wickets and some impressive catching meant Scotland restricted their tail enders.

Scotland’s reply got off to the worst possible start when Kyle Coetzer presented a simple return catch to Lasith Malinga second ball of the innings.

Captain Mommsen (60) and Coleman (70) ensured the chase had respectability with a 118-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

But once they had departed, only all-rounder Richie Berrington (29) could make a score of any note.

Cricket World Cup 2015: Ireland dealt qualification blow by India

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Ireland-India

by Phil Dawkes, BBC Sport

Ireland’s hopes of reaching the World Cup quarter-finals suffered a blow as India sealed top spot in Pool B with a fifth straight win in the tournament.

Ireland came into the match knowing that a point would see them qualify.

Despite an opening stand of 89 between William Porterfield and Paul Stirling and 75 from Niall O’Brien, their 259 total was never likely to be enough.

So it proved as Shikhar Dhawan (100) and Rohit Sharma (64) helped India to a comfortable eight-wicket victory.

The margin of defeat is a reality check for Ireland, who have performed well above expectation in this tournament, claiming three wins (two against Test-playing nations) to give them six points and genuine hope of reaching the last eight.

They can still do so, but they will need to beat Pakistan in their final pool game or gain a point should the fixture be rained off.

Much like their game with South Africa, in which they conceded 411 runs before being bowled out for 210, the gulf in class between the sides in Hamilton was vast.

They started well, with Porterfield (67) and Stirling (42) using the pace of the opening bowlers well to amass an encouraging opening stand and suggest a competitive total over 300 was a possibility.

But India’s switch to spin bowling halted their progress as Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravinda Jadeja and Suresh Raina frustrated the top order and claimed the important wickets of Ed Joyce (bowled by Raina) and Andy Balbirnie (caught by Mohammed Shami off Ashwin).

Niall O’Brien offered resistance and hit well but when he and brother Kevin both fell to Shami, Ireland’s hopes of a decent score disappeared, with the returning Indian pace bowlers cleaning up the tail.

It was the fourth time India had bowled out a team in this high-scoring World Cup but Ireland’s consolation is that they made the highest total against MS Dhoni’s side.

Ireland had two opportunities to gain a foothold early in the India innings as Dhawan twice presented difficult catching chances off the bowling of John Mooney but the bowler was unable to hold on to the first and the second eluded the grasp of Porterfield at square leg.

After that, India were ruthless as Dhawan and Sharma amassed 174 before the latter chopped on to his own stumps from World Cup debutant Stuart Thompson.

Thompson, whose first over went for 18 before he was hastily withdrawn, also claimed the wicket of Dhawan, who miscued one to Porterfield at deep cover, but these were the only high points of the innings for Ireland as Virat Kohli (44) and Ajinkya Rahane (33) saw the reigning champions home with 79 balls to spare.

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