adminTHERE were victories for the USA, Netherlands and Uganda on the opening day of the T20 World Cup Qualifier in Bulawayo yesterday.
USA win by eight wickets
Toss: USA opted to bowl
Jersey’s start was a slow one with the USA bowlers controlling the scoring rate in the initial overs.
Three wickets fell in the first 10 overs with the score of just 47.
No.3 batter Asa Tribe was the lone warrior for Jersey and his fiery knock powered them to a respectable total.
Taking advantage of the bad balls, Tribe dispatched as many as seven boundaries over the rope and brought up a brilliant half-century.
He remained not out on 73 off 45 as Jersey posted 154/5 in their 20 overs. Juan Theron and Nisarg Patel took two wickets apiece for USA.
For the most part, USA’s chase was a pretty straightforward affair. A modest target of 155 was no match for their batting firepower.
Despite losing their captain Monank Patel in the seventh over, the pair of Steven Taylor and Aaron Jones put up an 88-run second-wicket stand.
Taylor was the aggressor in the partnership as Jones dropped the anchor at the other end. When the second wicket finally fell in the 17th over, USA were just 25 runs away from victory.
Taylor scored an unbeaten 101 as they registered an eight-wicket win with 11 balls to spare.
Netherlands win by 52 runs
Toss: Netherlands chose to bat
Opting to bat first, Netherlands had a brilliant opening partnership of 78 between Max O’Dowd and Stephan Myburgh. PNG though clawed things back with some brilliant bowling in the middle overs. Assad Vala’s men got three wickets in relatively quick succession, including the set openers which stunted Netherlands’ scoring rate. Bas de Leede (33) and Logan van Beek (19*) would chip in some valuable runs to help their side to 163/7. For PNG, it was a collective bowling effort, with Sema Kamea and Charles Amini both scalping two wickets each.
Netherlands would defend the score expertly, never allowing PNG to settle in. PNG were also let down by the abilities of their batters to convert small starts into big scores. Only Charles Amini (21) and Sese Bau (35) made any significant contributions. For the Dutch, Logan van Beek picked up 3 wickets while Bas de Leede and Frederick Klaassen would pick up 2 wickets each.
It would be a comfortable victory for Netherlands, who bowled out PNG for 11 to win by 52 runs
Uganda win by 2 wickets
Toss: Hong Kong chose to bat
In Bulawayo, Hong Kong’s decision to bat did not yield them the exact total which they had hoped for.
Right from the very off, Uganda kept them in check by stifling the scoring rate as well as taking regular wickets. Hong Kong would lose three wickets within the first 10 overs and there would be a procession starting from the 15th over. This did not help their cause one bit as they could only register a score of 87/9 in 20 overs. Only Kinchit Shah (37) and Zeeshan Ali (11) managed to get into the double figures. For Uganda, Dineshshkumar Nakrani was the star of the show, registering figures of 4/12.
The match would turn out to be an absolute thriller, going down to the wire. Uganda too would lose wickets in regular intervals, with the match going to the final over. Mohammad Aizaz Khan would do the damage for Hong Kong, scalping three Uganda wickets. But Riazat Ali Shah would play a pivotal knock of 28* for Uganda, helping them get over the line. Ronak Patel (15) and Dineshkumar Nakrani (11), also chipped in with some valuable runs.
In the end, Uganda would chase the total down, with two wickets in hand in the final over. – ICC
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter