Muscat, Feb 22: UAE and Ireland on Tuesday confirmed their big tickets to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia after reaching the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier A, at Al Amerat.
UAE stopped the three-match winning run of Nepal with a 68-run victory while Ireland beat Oman by 56 runs. At the Oman Academy ground 1, UAE exhibited a clinical performance to reach the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup for the second time.
The last time UAE made it to the global showpiece event was in 2014. For Ireland, the only Full Member nation in Qualifier A, it will be their seventh appearance at the global showpiece event.
The two winning teams took the 13th and 14th spots for the tournament in Australia later this year, with the last two places to be decided at the Qualifier B in July.
Chasing an imposing victory target of 176 to win, Nepal was rocked by the early strikes of UAE pacer Junaid Siddique.
The quick, was in top gear, removing the top-three Nepal batters in his three-over spell.
Batting first after losing the toss, Ireland posted a total of 165/7. Gareth Delany top-scored with a masterfully constructed 32-ball 47.
Bilal Khan was Oman’s star performer with the ball, ending the day with figures of 3/23.
In response, Oman was bowled out for 109 in 18.3 overs. Shoaib Khan was the top scorer with 30.
Simi Singh was their top performer with the ball, recording figures of 3/20 in 3.3 overs, but all the bowlers chipped in. Josh Little, Craig Young, and Andy Mcbrine claimed two wickets apiece.
Canada, Bahrain win
Canada defeated Germany by six wickets while Bahrain beat the Philippines by 91 runs in the classification round of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier A, at Al Amerat on Tuesday.
Canada was pushed till the end by a determined Germany as they chased down the victory target of 132 with three balls to spare.
In the other match, Bahrain continued their winning momentum, notching up their second win in a row. They defeated the Philippines by a huge margin after beating UAE in the Group B league match on Monday. (ANI)
