World T20 Today: England clean up after strong Gayle

LAST NIGHT

England were on the receiving end of a classic match-winning performance from West Indies maestro Chris Gayle, who hammered his 16th Twenty20 century to steer the Windies to a six-wicket win.

Report & Highlights: Gayle blows England away

England had every right to feel like they'd scored enough when their middle order powered them to 6-182, thanks to 48 from Joe Root and more than useful cameos from Jos Buttler, Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes.

But the England bowlers were no match for Gayle, who hit 11 sixes while posting his century in just 47 balls as the Windies won with 11 balls to spare.

Earlier, Shahid Afridi shrugged off a week of controversy to put in a man-of-the-match performance and lead Pakistan to a 55-run thumping of Bangladesh at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Pakistan's enigmatic skipper had been dragged through the mill by fans and media after comments about Indian support for the Pakistan cricket team inflamed the fragile relationship between the neighbouring countries. 

None of that mattered when he elevated himself up the order where, thanks to a 95-run partership between Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez, Afridi had the perfect platform to explode.

Explode he did - 49 runs in 18 balls before he was caught on the rope trying for another big shot. For good measure, Afridi picked up two key wickets with his leg-spin.

Mohammed Amir also had two wickets, and sent Bangladeshi stumps cartwheeling in the first over in an excellent all-round performance from Pakistan.

Report & Highlights: Afridi steers Pakistan past Bangladesh

For Bangladesh, Shakhib Al Hasan's innings help mitigate some of the damage to their net run rate, but their best highlight came from Soumya Sarker's outstanding effort on the boundary line that saw him dismiss Hafeez.

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Image Id: ~/media/C1CFC95D27414A13B9825BF00C2F28A1 Image Caption: Bangladesh's Soumya Sarker stretches for catch over the boundary // Getty

TONIGHT'S MATCHES (LIVE on Fox Sports 4 from 12.30am AEDT)

It will be a tale of two form guides in Kolkata tonight when Sri Lanka take on Afghanistan at Eden Gardens in their Group 1 clash.

Afghanistan, who topped Group B in the qualifying stage, have won nine of their past 10 T20 internationals while Sri Lanka have been struggling and have recorded wins in just two of their past 10 matches.

Sri Lanka will likely be without their injured skipper Lasith Malinga while Afghanistan could leave out cult hero Hamid Hassan if they opt for another spin option over his pace.

AUSTRALIA'S MEN

The pre-match verbals between Australia and New Zealand ahead of their clash on Friday have begun with Shane Watson saying he will remind the Black Caps of Australia's imperious record against them in global limited-overs tournaments.

Quick Single: Trans-Tasman build-up heats up

New Zealand are in Dharamshala full of confidence after humbling tournament favourites India in Nagpur on Tuesday to keep their five-match unbeaten run against MS Dhoni's men alive.

But they face a different prospect in Australia, a team they have lost to 11 times in 15 appearances in the two major global 50-over competitions – the World Cup and Champions Trophy.

"There’s still quite a few people, players, who are still there in that New Zealand team who know that history and have been involved in the history as well,' Watson said.

"So we’ll certainly be letting them know of that because they’re going to have to be at their absolute best to beat us."

The weather in Dharamshala could also be a factor, with the India Meteorological Department predicting "thunderstorm with rain" for Friday. The match gets underway 3pm local time.

AUSTRALIA'S WOMEN

The Southern Stars travelled from Chennai to Nagpur yesterday ahead of their tournament opener against South Africa on Friday.

The Australians would have watched with interest the men’s clash between India and New Zealand on Tuesday – with their spinners no doubt licking their lips at the prospect of playing on the same Nagpur pitch that saw the Black Caps spin India into disarray.

Meg Lanning’s troops will go through their paces in Nagpur on Thursday in their final training session before they play the Proteas – and cricket.com.au will be there to cover all the action.

Quick Single: Southern Stars - a tale of three titles

In Wednesday’s only Women’s WT20 match, West Indies survived a scare to see off Pakistan by four runs.

The Windies, expected to be locked in a tight battle with England and India for semi-finals berths, would have breathed a sigh of relief as they successfully defended their total of 8-103 in Chennai. 

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INNINGS OF THE TOURNAMENT

England thought their 182 in Mumbai was about par. Chris Gayle made it look decidedly short. The big-hitting Jamaican smashed 11 sixes, set a new world record for the number of T20 international career sixes, became the first man to score two World T20 centuries and put England's future in the tournament in grave doubt. After 48 balls, Gayle danced off a winner with an unbeaten century to his name.

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