BULAWAYO: A collective effort from the batters before Wanindu Hasaranga’s six-for lifted Sri Lanka to thrash UAE by 175 runs before Oman registered the first upset of the Cricket World Cup (CWC) Qualifier by defeating Ireland by five wickets.
In the fourth match of the CWC Qualifiers, Oman put on a remarkable show with the bat against Ireland as the associate nation outclassed their opponents by five wickets as they chased down a 282-run total with 11 balls to spare.
Put into bat first, Ireland raised 281/7 in their set of 50 overs with middle-order batter George Dockrell leading the charge with a brilliant 91-run knock.
Dockrell put on a defiant 79-run partnership with Harry Tector, who continued his rich form to score an 82-ball 52 which featured five boundaries.
Ireland struggled in the early phase of the innings as their top-order made modest contributions, leaving the side four down for 107 runs in the 21st over.
However, the fifth-wicket partnership between Tector and Dockrell made sure the side accumulated a commendable total.
George Dockrell remained the top-scorer for Ireland with 91 off just 89 deliveries, hitting seven boundaries and two sixes.
Bilal Khan and Fayyaz Butt led the bowling attack for Oman with two wickets each while Zeeshan Maqsood, Ayaan Khan and Jay Odedra struck out a batter each.
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Set to chase a par 282-run target, Oman batters displayed brilliance to make it an easy affair for the side to pull off an astonishing victory over Ireland, who has featured in numerous World Cups.
Oman had a contrasting start to their pursuit as the side lost their opener Jatinder Singh (1) in the fourth over with just four runs on the scoreboard.
However, another opening batter Kashyap Prajapati and Aqib Ilyas anchored the run chase with a gutsy 94-run partnership and both scored half-centuries.
The duo put Oman in complete command before George Dockrell provided a much-needed breakthrough to Ireland as he removed Ilyas. He scored 52 off 49 balls, hitting eight boundaries.
Prajapati joined forces with skipper Zeeshan Maqsood and notched up yet another vital partnership for his side. The pair of Maqsood and Prajapati added 63 runs to the team’s total before Josh Little finally got rid of the opening batter.
He top-scored for Oman in the run chase with an anchoring 74-ball 72 which included six boundaries and a six.
Following Prajapati’s dismissal, Mohammad Nadeem joined his skipper Maqsood in the middle and kept the run chase alive with a 56-run stand which lasted when Little struck again to remove the Oman captain.
Maqsood remained the second-highest run-scorer for his side with a cautious 59 off 67 deliveries with the help of four boundaries and a six.
Following his dismissal, Nadeem led the run chase with a sensible knock of 46 not out and received significant support from Ayaan Khan (21) and Shoaib Khan (19*).
Josh Little and Mark Adair bagged two wickets each for Ireland while Dockrell made one scalp.
In the third fixture of the CWC Qualifier, Sri Lanka handed a thrashing 175-run defeat to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to script a winning start to their campaign.
Put into bat first, Sri Lanka piled up a massive 355/6 on the scoreboard with their top-five batters making valuable contributions.
Sri Lankan openers Pathum Nissanka (57), Dimuth Karunaratne (52), wicket-keeper batter Kusal Mendis (78) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (73) all scored half-centuries while Charith Asalanka’s brisk 48-run cameo bolstered Sri Lanka’s total at the backend.
Chasing a mammoth 356, UAE’s batting charge was rocked by Wanindu Hasaranga and were therefore bundled out for a meagre 180.
Skipper Muhammad Waseem and Vriitya Aravind remained the joint top-scorer for the UAE with 39 each in their dismal show with the bat.
Besides them, Rameez Shahzad and Ali Naseer were the other notable run-getters while the rest failed to make it big with the bat.
Wanindu Hasaranga led the bowling for Sri Lanka with 6/24 while Dhananjaya de Silva, Maheesh Theekshana and Lahiru Kumara struck out a batter each.