UAE qualify for 2015 World Cup

Dubai: UAE qualified for the 2015 International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket World Cup. In the World Cup qualifier held in New Zealand, UAE beat Namibia by 36 runs through a splendid all-round show by skipper Khurram Khan.

Khan hit 49 runs and bagged two wickets, well supported by Amjad Javed with three wickets. UAE piled up 263 in 49.5 overs and restricted Namibia to 227 for 9. Manjula Guruge and Kamran Shazad too picked two wickets each.  It was an all-round show from UAE with Shaimon Anwar hitting a quick 47 runs and Swapnil Patil scoring 38 runs.

UAE will be playing for the second time in a World Cup after a wait of 18 years after having played in the 1996 World Cup.  UAE won the toss and elected to bat. They lost the wicket of Salman Faris for a duck, edging left arm pacer Johannes Smith to wicketkeeper Gerhard Erasmus. Skipper Khurram Khan once again reached the batting crease to face the third ball of the second over. Opener Amjad Ali and Khan put a 100 runs partnership to set the base for a strong score.  Ali fell to Namibia skipper Sarel Burger in the 24th over after cracking 46 runs off 67 balls with four boundaries.

Burger struck again to dismiss Khan who was one short of his half century. His knock came off 83 balls with three boundaries. Rohan Mustafa too departed quickly for three runs and UAE slipped to 131 for 4.

Shaimon Anwar and Swapnil Patil who had often been involved in huge partnerships in domestic cricket rose to the challenge and put on 47 runs for the fifth wicket. Anwar, known for his six hitting abilities, cracked three sixes and six boundaries to score 47 runs in just 48 balls. The knock help UAE gain a good run rate too. Vikrant Shetty hit 14 runs off 19 balls to steer UAE past the 200-run mark.

Patil who kept the run rate going fell caught and bowled by Christi Viljoen for 38 off just 36 balls. Amjad Javed through a knock of 20 off 14 balls and Mohammad Naveed, unbeaten on 19 off ten balls, ensured UAE a challenging total and a run rate of 5.27 runs per over.

Chasing the target, Namibia lost both their openers by the seventh over. Medium pacer Javed dismissed opener Xander Pitcher for 12 and Louis van der Westhuizen for 23. Burger and Craig Williams, drawing on their huge experience, settled down quickly. The pair put on 40 runs in 13.4 overs when Khurram Khan provided the breakthrough having Williams caught behind by Swapnil Patil for 15.

Nicolaas Scholtz and Burger put on 53 runs in just 9.4 overs but Javed broke that partnership by having Scholtz caught by Shetty for 33.

In the last 15 overs, Namibia needed 119 runs with six wickets in hand. Manjula Guruge bagged the prize wicket of Burger for 54 in the 39th over. This pushed Namibia to a position of 95 runs need in 10 overs. Khan produced another beauty to dismiss experienced Viljoen for a duck. Kamran Shazad by taking the last two wickets in a flash ensured the victory.