New Zealand captain Kane Williamson made a successful return at the World Cup following his injury layoff with a half-century as the 2019 runners-up beat Bangladesh by eight wickets in Chennai on Friday for their third successive victory.

India opener Shubman Gill is in the frame to return for Saturday’s World Cup blockbuster against Pakistan and the hosts are also open to playing three spinners at the Narendra Modi Stadium, skipper Rohit Sharma said on Friday.

South Africa crushed Australia by 134 runs to cruise to their second victory at the World Cup, as Quinton de Kock struck back-to-back tons and Aiden Markram made a half-century before the bowlers ripped through the five-times champions.

Afghanistan lost their second successive World Cup game on Wednesday after an eight-wicket defeat by India but coach Jonathan Trott says they are making progress and have got to grips with conditions in Delhi where they play England next.

England all-rounder Sam Curran said they were thankful to have come through Tuesday’s World Cup win over Bangladesh without picking up injuries after players struggled to keep their feet due to the state of the Dharamsala outfield.

Pakistan made it two wins from two World Cup matches as batsmen Mohammad Rizwan and Abdullah Shafique hit centuries in a record run-chase to set up a six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in Hyderabad.

India launched their home World Cup campaign with a six-wicket victory over Australia after Virat Kohli and KL Rahul guided them through a jittery run chase.

India captain Rohit Sharma is aware of Australia’s awe-inspiring record in global events and warned his team mates not to lower their guard against them in their first match of the 50-overs World Cup.

Aiden Markram smashed a 49-ball hundred, the fastest ever the men’s 50-overs World Cup, as South Africa’s rampaging top order helped them thrash Sri Lanka by 102 runs in their tournament opener on Saturday.

Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel hit identical half-centuries in an otherwise underwhelming batting effort in their World Cup opener against the Netherlands, before the bowlers sealed a routine 81-run win for the 1992 champions.

Match tickets selling for up to 50,000 Indian rupees ($600) a pop. Flights to get to a venue. Hotel bookings. Or even just a match-watching party with food and alcohol ordered in.

New Zealand crushed defending champions England by nine wickets in the opening match of the 50-over World Cup, demonstrating again their knack of punching above their weight in showpiece events.