CWC23 Qualifier: Sri Lanka ease past Oman, Scotland seal convincing win against UAE
Cricket
Sri Lanka brushed off Oman in their Group B encounter at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo
DUBAI (ICC) - Another gripping day of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier saw Sri Lanka win big against Oman, while Richie Berrington scored a brilliant ton to help Scotland beat UAE.
Sri Lanka brushed off Oman in their Group B encounter at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo by registering a thumping 10-wicket victory. The result meant that they climbed to the summit of Group B and put themselves in a strong position to qualify for the Super Six stage of the tournament.
Chasing a low total of 99, openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Pathum Nissanka barely broke a sweat, completing the task in 15 overs. Karunaratne was unbeaten on 61 while Nissanka scored 37* as Sri Lanka not only sealed a win but also bolstered their net run rate.
Earlier, Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka called it right at the toss at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo and opted to bowl first. His call paid immediate dividends as Sri Lanka had a brilliant start with the ball, with their pacers breathing fire on the Oman batters. The pace of Lahiru Kumara and Kasun Rajitha was too much for the Oman top-order to handle, as they found themselves in massive trouble early on.
Kashyap Prajapati was the first wicket to fall, as Kumara trapped him in front of the stumps. Aqib Ilyas followed suit, with Rajitha getting in on the act.
Kumara was in no mood to stop as he sent Zeeshan Maqsood and Mohammad Nadeem packing in quick succession, as Oman found themselves reeling at 20/4.
Ayaan Khan and Jatinder Singh then embarked on a rebuild job for Oman, putting together a 52-run stand. But it all changed again in a blink of an eye for Oman, as Wanindu Hasaranga delivered one of the overs of the Qualifier so far.
The 21st over by Hasaranga fetched him three wickets while also being a maiden. Hasaranga first trapped Jatinder Singh lbw for 21 in the first delivery. The third delivery then saw him bowl Shoaib Khan out. He completed the trifecta by getting Jay Odedra on the final delivery of the over.
Oman then found themselves in further trouble as miscommunication between Ayaan Khan and Naseem Khushi led to the latter being run out for 1 after brilliant work in the deep from Rajitha.
This left Oman reeling at 84/8 at the halfway mark.
Ayaan's gritty knock of 41 would then come to an end with Hasaranga scalping his fourth courtesy of a brilliant catch in the slips by Dhananjaya de Silva. Hasaranga would clinch his second consecutive five-wicket haul in the tournament, trapping Bilal Khan for zero, as Oman were bowled out for 98.
Scotland clinched their second win in a row at the Qualifier, with their bowlers putting them in charge after a Richie Berrington masterclass. Chasing 283, UAE already had a tall ask at hand but some brilliant bowling from the Scotland bowlers further set them back.
Chris Sole got the ball rolling with two wickets in two deliveries in the fifth over, dismissing Aryansh Sharma (8) and Vritiya Aravind (0). The double strike left UAE reeling and they never quite recovered from the early blows.
Rohan Mustafa (12) was the next wicket to fall, with Brandon McMullen knocking his stumps off. Asif Khan (17) could also not convert his start, perishing against Mark Watt.
The big wicket though came when Muhammad Waseem, who was looking good, was trapped lbw by Watt on 36. Sole would come back into the attack and scalp the wicket of Ali Naseer (19), who was looking dangerous.
At the halfway mark, UAE had a stiff challenge ahead, with the score at 117/6.
Though UAE put up a determined showing ahead, it was task too tall to overcome. Basil Hameed (30) and Aayan Afzal Khan (21), and Karthik Meiyappan (23*) tried their best but Scotland kept chipping away at the wickets.
In the end, UAE were bowled out for 171 as Scotland made it two wins in two at the Qualifier.
Earlier in a must-win game for UAE, Muhammad Waseem won the toss at the Bulawayo Athletic Club and opted to field first. Scotland were without the service of their key player George Munsey, who was ruled out of the game because of an illness.
The call proved to be a correct one from Waseem, as UAE made early inroads with the ball, rocking the Scotland top-order. Junaid Siddique was the destroyer-in-chief, wreaking havoc with the new ball.
Siddique first trapped opener Christopher McBride lbw for 5 and then bowled Matthew Cross for 13. Ali Nasser and Zahoor Khan also provided great support, scalping the wickets of Brandon McMullen (4) and Tomas Mackintosh (11) respectively.
Skipper Richie Berrington and hero of Scotland's victory over Ireland, Michael Leask, then combined to stitch together a much-needed stand for Scotland. Their unbeaten stand of 52 ensured that there were no further hiccups for Scotland, as they reached a total of 100/4 at the halfway mark.
The partnership would eventually come to an end at the 67-run mark when Leask departed for a well-made 41, off Zahoor Khan. Skipper Berrington though kept on fighting, bringing up a half-century and knitting together another stand with Chris Greaves.
Greaves would be dismissed for 22 but Berrington kept leading the charge as he notched up a fabulous ton. Berrington's knock of 127 would come in only 136 deliveries and with a helping hand from Mark Watt (44*), Scotland posted a competitive total of 282/8 in their 50 overs for UAE to chase.
