Afghanistan, Ireland and the Netherlands join the UAE in Super Four stage
… Seelaar, Bukhari, Hamid, Khurram and Johnston shine as ball dominates the bat on day three
AFGHANISTAN and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) continued their fairytale run in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier when they stormed into the Super Four stage where they were joined by defending joint-champions Ireland and the Netherlands at the end of the group stage matches yesterday.
Afghanistan defeated the United States of America by 29 runs in a much-awaited match in front of more than 1 000 very vocal supporters at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai Sports City while hosts UAE romped to a 42-run victory over a hapless Canada at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
In the late afternoon matches, Ireland showed steel nerves and overcame a dismal batting performance by defeating Scotland by 37 runs in the European derby in Dubai while the Netherlands routed Kenya by seven wickets in Abu Dhabi.
Yesterday’s results meant Afghanistan and the UAE topped their respective groups and will carry forward two points in the Super Four stage which will be played in Dubai today and tomorrow. In contrast, top seed Ireland and second-seed Netherlands will start on zero points.
In the feature match of the day, Afghanistan bowlers put up a disciplined performance which was backed up by some smart fielding that allowed the Asian side to defend a 136-run target as the Americans finished at 106-7.
The USA, in their run-chase, did not start as they would have liked and though they didn’t lose a wicket in the first six overs only 20 runs were put on the scoreboard which meant they needed 106 runs in the remaining 14 overs.
And when fast bowler Hamid Hassan bowled fast and straight, the USA were always struggling to keep pace and wickets before finishing 29 runs short. Hamid ended up as the pick of the Afghanistan bowlers with 3-14 while Mohammad Nabi bagged 2-24.
Hamid was delighted with his performance. He said: “We’re practically just a match away from securing a place in the ICC World Twenty20 2010. It’s an amazing feeling but we know that the tournament is still not over and anything can happen in the next couple of days.”
USA captain Steve Massiah had mixed feelings. “I think we have shown in this tournament that we deserve to be here. We started off very well with a victory against Scotland but couldn’t maintain consistency and it was largely due to the fact that we haven’t played regularly against these sides.”
The UAE, who had qualified for the Super Four stage on Wednesday, maintained their unbeaten run by defeating Canada by 42 runs.
The UAE batted first and posted 142-7 with Arfan Haider once again among the runs. He chipped in with a valuable 46 off 43 balls with five fours and a six while Saqib Ali hit four fours and a six in his 29-ball 43.
In turn, Canada were never in the hunt and kept losing wickets at regular intervals before being bowled out for 100 in 15.5 overs.
Ireland managed only 10 fours and a six in their 136-7 but the bowlers did the trick with former captain Trent Johnston showing his magic when he destroyed Scotland’s top order. They had needed to win the match in less than 15 overs to qualify for the Super Four stage.
Johnston finished with 3-20 while George Dockrell took 2-9 and Peter Connell bagged 2-17 as Scotland were bowled out for 99 with seven balls to spare.
The Netherlands bounced back after Wednesday’s loss to the UAE with a seven-wicket win over Kenya. Peter Seelaar took 4-19 and Mudassar Bukhari claimed 4-33 as Kenya were bowled out for 130 with two balls to spare.
T he Netherlands had little trouble in their run-chase as they achieved victory with five balls and seven wickets to spare. Eric Szwarczynski hit a 47-ball 45 while Alexei Kervezee belted two fours and two sixes in a rapid 33 that came off 26 balls.
Scores in brief:
Group A
Afghanistan beat the USA by 29 runs at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai Sports City.
Afghanistan 135-4, 20 overs (Nowroz Mangal 30)
USA 106-7, 20 overs (Carl Wright 28; Hamid Hassan 3-14, Mohammad Nabi 2-24)
Ireland beat Scotland by 37 runs at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai Sports City.
Ireland 136-7, 20 overs (Kyle Coetzer 2-14, Majid Haq 2-16)
Scotland 99 all out, 18.3 overs (Trent Johnston 3-20, George Dockrell 2-9, Peter Connell 2-17)
Group B
UAE beat Canada by 42 runs at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi.
UAE 142-7, 20 overs (Arfan Haider 46, Saqib Ali 43; Khurram Chohan 3-20)
Canada 100 all out, 15.5 overs (Ashish Bagai 21; Shadeep Silva 2-7, Saqib Ali 2-9, Ahmed Raza 2-17)
Netherlands beat Kenya by seven wickets at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi.
Kenya 130 all out, 19.4 overs (Jimmy Kamande 42, Collins Obuya 33; Peter Seelaar 4-19, Mudassar Bukhari 4-33)
The Netherlands 133-3, 19.1 overs (Eric Szwarczynski 45, Alexei Kervezee 33)
Fixtures for today (Super Four stage):
Afghanistan v Netherlands (1200-1500), Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai Sports City; UAE v Ireland (1600-1900), Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai Sports City