Qualifier A: UAE, Ireland qualify for ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022
After opting to bat first, UAE suffered an early blow as Chirag Suri was bowled by Jitendra Mukhiya in the second over for just 4 runs. However, the wicket did little to deter UAE as Vriitya Aravind continued his superb form.
Aravind picked up 18 runs from Mukhiya's subsequent over, and continued to plunder runs off the other bowlers as Muhammad Waseem expertly negotiated the strike. The half-century stand was finally broken in the eighth over, when Sandeep Lamichhane cleaned up Aravind for 48. Waseem was then joined by Muhammad Usman and the pair added another half-century partnership.
Nepal struck back in the 17th over, with Abinash Bohara removing both Usman and Waseem while Mukhiya came back into the attack to dismiss Basil Hameed and Zawar Farid in the next over. Despite the late wickets, UAE posted a competitive 175 thanks to the solid foundation laid by Aravind.
In reply, Nepal struggled from the get go. Aasif Sheikh and Lokesh Bam went for ducks, losing their wickets in the first over. Kushal Bhurtel could not hold on for long either and fell in the third over.
At 18/3 with Junaid Siddique accounting for all three wickets, Nepal looked in all sorts of trouble. Dipendra Singh Airee then helped them regroup, partnering with Aarif Sheikh to push them past 50. The rebuilding didn't last for long as Aarif was seen off by Rohan Mustafa in the eighth over.
Nepal limped to 76/4, but capitulated soon after. UAE skipper Ahmed Raza removed both Airee and Gyanendra Malla in the 13th over and picked up two more wickets in his next. With wickets falling regularly and the asking rate climbing, Nepal finally folded for 107, Zahoor Khan picking up the last wicket in the 19th over. Raza finished with an impressive 5/19.
The win meant UAE booked one of the four remaining spots up for grabs in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022.
Oman's decision to bowl was vindicated as they struck early with Bilal Khan removing the Irish openers in the third over. It should have slowed Ireland down but Gareth Delany and Harry Tector had other plans.
While Tector eased into the game, Delany took it upon himself to attack. In one Zeeshan Maqsood over, he hit a hat-trick of sixes. However, the 82-run stand was broken in the 13th over with Kaleemullah picking up the wickets of Tector (35) and Tucker (0) in back-to-back deliveries.
Delany followed suit when he was caught by Bilal off Khawar Ali in the next over, falling three runs short of a fifty. Despite the quick blows, a quick-fire 36 from Andy McBrine helped Ireland post 165/7.
Chasing 166, Oman did not have the best start, losing their openers in the Powerplay and reaching 37/2 in six overs. Zeeshan Maqsood and Shoaib Khan added 31 more runs before Joshua Little struck to dismiss Shoaib (30) and Khurram Nawaz (0) in the 11th over.
Khawar Ali (10) too departed after hitting a six. Oman's situation worsened when Craig Young saw off Naseem Khushi (1) and Zeeshan Maqsood (28) in the same over. The wickets continued to fall, and at 98/9 in 16 overs, all was lost for Oman.They were bundled out for 109.
Ireland's brilliant 56-run victory meant they've booked one of the two spots up for grabs for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022, alongside UAE.
Put to bat first by Canada, Germany lost Vijay Shankar early before Justin Broad and Michael Richardson consolidated the innings. Richardson was the aggressor, with five fours in his 26-ball 35.
The wickets of the two set batters meant Germany, who at one point were 65/1, were reduced to 99/5. Fayaz Khan's cameo at the end helped Germany put up a respectable total of 131/5.
Canada were in trouble early after they lost Rayyan Pathan for a duck off just the second ball. The second-wicket pair of Matthew Spoors and Navneet Dhaliwal were forced to take the cautious approach and it was their 83-run stand that took Canada close to a win.
They lost a couple more wickets along the way but Spoors, who remained unbeaten at the end on 73, ensured that Canada got across the line in the last over.
Bahrain carried on their form from their win over UAE to their game against the Philippines. Despite losing an opener early, Bahrain ensured it didn't hamper their innings, with captain Sarfaraz Ali scoring a quickfire 32 off 17.
Prashant Kurup and Shahbaz Badar stitched a 90-run stand for the third wicket, with Kurup batting all the way till the final over. He finished on 74 off 48 as Bahrain posted a daunting total of 191/5 in 20 overs.
The Philippines fell behind in their chase early on, with Imran Anwar removing the openers inside the first three overs. Machanda Biddappa and Jordan Alegra steadied the ship but couldn't keep up with the required rate.
Once Junaid Aziz dismissed both the set batters, the rest of the side collapsed. Both Haider Butt and Aziz picked three wickets each as the Philippines fell short by 91 runs.
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