Another busy day in ICC Men’s T20 Qualifier saw victories for Scotland, Kenya, Canada, Ireland, and the hosts UAE.
Scotland v PNG
Scotland registered their second win with a tight 4-run victory over Papua New Guinea. Led by Kyle Coetzer’s 54 off 47 and Matthew Cross’ unbeaten 40 off 23 Scotland scored 146/6 in 20 overs. PNG started well and reached 63/1 in the first 10 overs. But once Tony Ura was gone on the first ball of the 11th they started to lose regular wickets. They started last over with nine runs required to win but two wickets on first two balls pegged them back and they could only reach 142/9.
Scotland 146/6 (Kyle Coetzer 54, Matthew Cross 40*) beat Papua New Guinea 142/9 (Norman Vanua 33, Hamza Tahir 3/24) by 4 runs.
Kenya v Bermuda
In the other match in Group A, Kenya posted their first win of the tournament by beating Bermuda by 45 runs. Dhiren Gondaria’s 67-ball 85 was the mainstay of the Kenyan innings who posted 138/4 in their 20 overs. Their bowlers then ran through Bermuda to get them all out for 93 in the 19th over with Collins Obuya continued his good form to pick up 4/27 in 3.5 overs.
Kenya 138/4 (Dhiren Gondaria 85*) beat Bermuda 93 (Collins Obuya 4/27) by 45 runs
Canada v Nigeria
Canada reached the top of Group B with an easy win by 50 runs over Nigeria. They set up a total of 159/7, thanks to Nitish Kumar’s second fifty of the tournament, a quick fire unbeaten 57 off 36 balls. Nigeria did not get going well losing two wickets in first two overs. There was a 57-run partnership between Sulaimon Runsewe and Chimezie Onwuzulike but they did not get much support from others. The African nation ended with 109/8 with Dillon Heyliger finished with 3 for 16.
Canada 159/7 (Nitish Kumar 57*) beat Nigeria 109/8 (Chimezie Onwuzulike 39, Dillon Heyliger 3/16) by 50 runs.
UAE v Hong Kong
The hosts United Arab Emirates remained in the second position above Ireland by a superior net run rate. UAE beat Hong Kong by eight wickets as they chased down the target of 117 with almost five overs to spare. For Hong Kong, Nizakat Khan (31) and Kinchit Shah (30) made significant contributions. However, a 37-ball 54 from Rameez Shahzad and unbeaten 44 from Chirag Suri helped UAE to complete the chase with ease.
UAE 118/2 (Rameez Shahzad 54, Chirag Suri 44*) beat Hong Kong 116/7 (Nizakat Khan 31) by 8 wickets.
Ireland also won their match against Oman by 35 runs. Gareth Delany’s 89 off 49 balls pushed them to a handsome 183/3 in 20 overs. Kevin O’Brien also contributed with 41. Oman tried their best including a fifty from Khawar Ali. However, the target was too much for them and they finished with 148/9 as Delany also picked two wickets in a Man-of-the-Match performance.
Ireland 183/3 (Gareth Delany 89, Kevin O’Brien 41) beat Oman 148/9 (Khawar Ali 50, Delany 2/29) by 35 runs.