The day 6 of ICC World T20 qualifiers saw Namibia defeated Bermuda and Kenya registering their first win over Singapore in Group A.
In Group A, Oman decimate Nigeria by a massive margin. Canada stunned Ireland in another Group A match to continue their winning touch winning their 3rd successive match . Hong Kong also registered their first win of the tournament beating Jersey by 8 runs.
Group A
Namibia versus Bermuda
Namibia defeated Bermuda by 6 wickets to register their second successive win of the tournament played at ICC Academy Ground No 2, Dubai. Namibia captain MG Erasmus won the toss and decided to field first. The decision paid for Namibia as they reduced Bermuda to 48 for 7. O Bascome came to the crease and scored 37 off 31 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes. Brangman remained not out on 23 off 21 balls to help Namibia post 106 for 9 in 20 overs. BM Scholtz was the pick of bowlers for Namibia with 3 for 17, JJ Smit and Viljoen took 2 wickets each.
Chasing down 107 runs to win, Nikolaas Davin and Stephen Baard provided a flying start adding 39 runs in just 2.3 overs. Davin scored a quickfire 37 off 12 balls while Baard made 27 off 23 balls. Despite flurry of wickets, Namibia won the match by 6 wickets with 41 balls to spare. Bernard Scholtz was the man of the match for his 3 for 17.
Kenya versus Singapore
Kenya registered their first win of the tournament defeating Singapore by 7 wickets played at the ICC Academy Ground No 2, Dubai. Singapore captain Ajmad Mahboob won the toss and decided to bat first. It was not a great start as they lost an early wicket of Rezza Gaznavi in the first over. Tim David played with aggressive intent and scored quickfire 29 off 19 balls. David and Chandramohan added 32 runs for the 2nd wicket. Surendran Chandramohan and Anitra Dutta added 56 runs for the 3rd wicket. Chandramohan scored 40 off 30 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes. Dutta 33, Manpreet Singh 24 off 21 balls and Param 21 off 10 balls helped Singapore post 157 for 9 in 20 overs. Otieno and Olouch took 3 wickets each for Kenya, Ngoche took 2 wickets.
Chasing down the target of 158 runs to win, Aman Gandhi and IA Karim put the Singapore bowlers under pressure putting on 110 runs for opening wicket. After reaching his fifty Aman Gandhi was dismissed by Amjad Mahoob. Despite 2 more quick wickets fell, IA Karim remained not out on 71 and helped Kenya win the match by 7 wickets with 7 balls to spare.
Group B
Oman versus Nigeria
After losing to Ireland, Oman crushed Nigeria by 7 wickets at Tolerance Oval, Abu Dhabi. Nigeria captain Onikoyi won the toss and decided to bat first. Apart from few good starts by opener Ajekun scoring 16, Runsewe 14, Okpe 12, the Oman bowlers kept the pressure on and bowled Nigeria out for 71 in 19.5 overs. Aamir Kaleem was the pick of bowlers for Oman with 4 for 14, Bilal Khan 3 for 7.
Chasing down the paltry total of 72 runs to win, Jatinder Singh played a blinder of an innings scoring 48 off 22 balls and helped Oman chase down the target with 7 wickets remaining and 78 balls to spare.
Canada versus Ireland
Canada stunned the higher Ireland side by 10 runs played at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi. Canada captain Navneet Dhailwal won the toss and decided to bat first. Rizwan Cheema went cheaply for 5 runs. Navneet and Nitish Kumar played with caution to take Canada to 35 for 1 at end of 6 overs.
After the power play overs, Dhaliwal and Nitish put the pressure on the Ireland bowlers with aggressive stroke play. Canada captain Navneet played the Ireland bowlers well to reach his fifty off 37 balls and continued to take on Ireland bowlers. Nitish Kumar played an important role with Dhaliwal to add on 111 runs for the 2nd wicket. Dhaliwal was dismissed for a well made 69 off 51 balls. Nitish Kumar also reached his fifty off 34 balls and got out immediately. Canada posted 156 for 5 in 20 overs.
Chasing down 157 runs to win, Kevin O Brien went cheaply for in the first over. Paul Stirling and Delany steadied the Ireland innings adding 38 runs for the 2nd wicket. Gareth Delany and Andrew Balbirine went in successive deliveries to be in trouble at 44 for 3. At the end of 6 overs, Ireland were 52 for 3.
After the power play overs, Paul Stirling also was dismissed for 23. The Canadian bowlers never allowed the Ireland batsmen to score runs easily and picked wickets at regular intervals. Stuart Thompson and Geroge Dockrell gave Ireland a glimmer of hope with good hitting. With 19 runs required off final over, Canada gave away just 8 runs and won the match by 10 runs. Thompson and Dockrell added 40 unbeaten runs for the 8th wicket but was not enough for Ireland to register a win.
With this win, Canada have moved to the top of Points table with 6 points.
Hong Kong versus Jersey
Hong Kong registered their first win of the tournament defeating Jersey by 8 runs played at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
Hong Kong captain Aizaz Khan won the toss and decided to bat first. Nizakat Khan was explosive with his stroke play taking on Jersey bowlers. Ben Stevens got the breakthrough for Jersey dismissing Ahsan Abbasi for 7. At the end of 6 overs, Hong Kong raced to 52 for 1.
It was a good bowling effort by Jersey bowlers who kept picking wickets at regular intervals and also did not allow Hong Kong batsmen to score runs. Scott McKehine and Waqas Barqat came together for Hong Kong with an important 61 runs stand for 7th wicket. McKehine remained not out on 40 off 30 balls and helped Hong Kong post a competitive 144 for 7 in 20 overs. Benjamin Ward was the pick of bowlers for Jersey with 3 for 19.
Chasing down the target of 145 runs to win, Kinchit Shah dismissed Nick Ferraby and Carlyon in the same over to reduce Jersey at 13 for 2. Ben Stevens and Jonty Jenner steadied the Jersey innings taking singles and hitting occasional boundaries. At the end of 6 overs, Jersey were 41 for 2.
Jonty Jenner and Ben Stevens continued their good intent adding 58 runs for the 3rd wicket. Hong Kong captain Aizaz Khan got the breakthrough dismissing Jonty Jenner. Ehsan Khan got big wickets of Ben Stevens and Benjamin Ward in successive deliveries to reduce Jersey to 86 for 5. Bisson played cameo knock remaining not out on 30. Nick Greenwood struggled to score runs as he made 18 off 24 balls. With 15 runs required off final over, Aizaz Khan 6 runs and restricted Jersey to 136 for 6.
Ehsan Khan and Kinchit Shah took 2 wickets each, Aizaz Khan and Waqas Barqat took 1 wicket each for Hong Kong.
In today’s match, Netherlands will face Papua New Guinea while Bermuda will take on Scotland at Dubai in Group A.
United Arab Emirates will face Nigeria and Canada to take on Hong Kong at Tolerance Oval, Abu Dhabi in Group B.
