Another world class all-round performance from Shane Watson helped Australia beat South Africa by 8 wickets to all but seal their position in the semi-finals - barring a India win later today and a miraculous run-rate diversion. He followed up his 2-29 with the ball with a brilliant 70 from 47.

Along with Michael Hussey, Watson took to the South African bowling after a cautious start which saw David Warner fall to Morne Morkel. The Australian's, thus far, have looked to attack the opposition in every game and this was no exception. The pair put South Africa on the back foot and never gave them a sniff to comeback into the tie.

Earlier in the day, to much surprise, George Bailey won the toss and decided to field first. Despite having a unbeaten record they opted to include Xavier Doherty and he instantly paid dividends by picking up Richard Levi, Kallis and Duminy. South Africa kept losing wickets and the momentum in the innings never came until the last 4 overs where they had left themselves too much to do. The cameo from Robin Peterson (32* from 19) saw South Africa reach 146-5 but that was never a score that could test the Australian team firing on all cylinders.

Sri Lanka now sit on top of their group table with 4 points in the bag. However the fate of all the teams will remain undecided until Monday when Sri Lanka meet England and West Indies meet New Zealand.

It was a must-win game for England and New Zealand as both the teams had lost their first match in the Super-8s, England due to their poor batting and the kiwis due to some poor captaincy by Ross Taylor. The loser would have to win their last match in this phase by a huge margin and hope that things go their way.

A fine all-round performance from Shane Watson saw Australia beat India by 9 wickets. He followed his bowling figures of 3-34 with a show of hitting that could match the best in world cricket. Helped by seven sixes, Watson smashed 72 from a mere 42 balls to add a mind boggling 133 run stand for the opening partnership along with David Warner who finished unbeaten on 63 from 41.

India, who won the toss and decided to bat got off to a quick start with Gautham Gambhir and Irfan Pathan coming along well. Gambhir being run out triggered an collapse which India never overcome. Runs drying up along with wickets tumbling saw India reach a 141 from their allotted overs. MS Dhoni's decision to rest Sehwag and play the fifth bowler looked like a flawed decision, whereas winning with 31 balls to spare saw Australia having one foot in the next round.

A inspired performance from Umar Akmal and Umar Gul saw Pakistan clinch a memorable two wicket win over South Africa. Coming in to join the younger Akmal (43 off 41) with Pakistan on 76-7 after 14.3 overs, Gul played a innings of a lifetime to see Pakistan home with two balls to spare. Gul smashed 32 off 17 which included three sixes and two fours.

West Indies came in to the match without having either of their group-stage encounters. Both matches were hit by rain as Australia won the first one by D/L method and the second one against Ireland was abandoned. Nevertheless, the Windies looked a balanced and dangerous side. On the other hand, after having early success against Afghanistan, England’s woes against spin bowling were exposed again as the slipped to a huge 90-run defeat against India. This encounter promised to be a thrilling one.

Despite performing well himself, Stuart Broad’s poor captaincy cost England the match and they will be under huge pressure as they must win their next two games against Sri Lanka and New Zealand. England need to address their batting problems against spin as Sri Lanka won’t give them any chances. On the other hand West Indies too have a lot of work to do if they are to qualify for the Semi Finals as they too have to face Sri Lanka and New Zealand. In the end, as Nasser Hussain put it, anyone can beat anyone win these Super-8s.

After a slightly disappointing start of the tournament, the Super 8 stage was set to provide some thrilling encounters. And that was the case with the very first match, between Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Sri Lanka, the home team, were the favourites to win but the odds were closer than they seemed.

It was a great start for the Super-8 stage. New Zealand put everything in this match but just couldn’t beat the home team and one of the favourites to win this Cup. Sri Lanka are now just one win away from the semi-finals as they face West Indies on Saturday and England on Monday. New Zealand, on the other hand, now have to win both their next games, against England on Saturday and against West Indies on Monday to qualify for the semi-finals.

It has been simply a marvellous week for Pakistan fans for not only did the handsomest macho men in the cricket biz win their latest World Cup T20 match against Bangladesh, they did it with the style that only they have.

I wish to congratulate both teams on a pretty good match.  Pakistan deserves cake, and Shakib Al-Hasan deserves cake for his heroic effort.

By: Kairene Khan

Pakistan reached the final eight of the world T20 with a resounding 8 wicket win over their sub-continent rivals Bangladesh. Pakistan's batting was the cause of concern for all concerned but in the two games thus far it's been the bowling that has let the team down.

there are many question marks in amongst Pakistan's seam bowlers but when you see the bench their is no able quick bowler to come in. Being grouped with India, South Africa and Australia will show what Pakistan are made of. Pakistan need to be proactive as bowling glitches like the last two games will be heavily punished by better teams.