Abu Dhabi: Canada extended their unbeaten streak to third consecutive match by conquering Ireland in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Wednesday. Their 10-run victory has steered them to top slot in Group B.
Canada mustered 156 for five, through their skipper Navneet Dhallwal (69) and consistent Nitish Kumar’s innings of 53 runs. Ireland kept losing wickets at regular intervals and could manage only 146 for seven in 20 overs.
In the early game at the Tolerance Oval ground in Abu Dhabi, Oman’s 37-year-old left-arm spinner Aamir Kaleem continued to display his guile by taking four wickets for 14 runs to bowl out Nigeria for a paltry 71 runs. He had also destroyed Hong Kong with a spell of three for 14 last Saturday. The meagre Nigerian total did not pose any challenge for the Oman batsmen as they won the match by seven wickets in just seven overs. Opener Jatinder Singh hit 48 runs off 22 balls with nine boundaries and a six.
At the ICC Academy Oval ground 2, Namibia defeated Bermuda by six wickets. Winning the toss and electing to field, Namibia restricted Bermuda to 106 for nine through Bernard Scholtz’s spell of three for 17. If not for lower order batsman Okera Bascome’s 37 runs, Bermuda may not even have crossed the 100-run mark.
Namibia reached the target in just 13.1 overs after losing four wickets. Bermuda’s Kamau Leverock picked three of those four wickets but his effort went in vain.
Meanwhile, Kenya put on a spirited show to defeat Singapore by seven wickets at the ICC Academy Oval ground. Singapore had posted a challenging 157 for nine in 20 overs with opener Surendra Chandramoham topscoring with 40 runs. Kenya openers Iran Karim (71 not out) and Aman Gandhi (50) to put on a 110-run partnership and win the match with seven balls to spare.
