Published: Jul 21, 2015, 02:25 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 31, 2016, 01:17 PM (IST)
Welcome to CricketCountry’s coverage of the 12th day of the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2015. Afghanistan, the team placed third in Group B face the second-placed team in Group A, Hong Kong, who are capable of decent upsets. The winner will qualify to play in the ICC World Twenty20 in India, but the loser doesn’t go out. The loser will still be able to qualify, if they win their subsequent tie with the fourth-placed team in Group A, Papua New Guinea. In the other game today, Netherlands, the second-placed team in Group B, take on Namibia, the third team in Group A. The loser of this match will get a chance to qualify if they beat Oman in their subsequent match. Both these matches take place at The Village, Dublin. Ireland and Scotland, the top teams in their respective groups, are already through to next year’s mega event. The points table of this tournament can be accessed here.
Live Cricket Score: Netherlands 137/6 | Overs 19.2 (Target 136): The urgency that has enabled an der Merwe and Max O’Dowd to run hard between the wickets and smash a few crucial boundaries, got them a win in the 20th over, made slightly jittery with an der Merwe getting bowled off the first ball of the last over, with three needed. Mudassar Bukhari smashed the second ball for four to get over the line. Earlier, van der Merwe hit a six with one knee down in the 17th over, and O’Dowd hit a four in the next to help collect nine from the over. Netherlands win by four wickets, and progress to ICC World Twenty20 2016.
Live Cricket Score: Netherlands 108/5 | Overs 16 (Target 136): Bernard Scholtz bowls yet another frugal over, and has got a wicket too, that of Borren, who hits a ball straight to long-off’s hands. And his final over also has a wicket, a caught and bowled rid of the settled Michael Swart, and on completion, he had figures of 15 for 3 in four overs. Another tight over, with a stumping appeal, have added pressure on Netherlands. Batting: Max O’Dowd 9 (11), Roelof van der Merwe 3 (4)
Live Cricket Score: Netherlands 90/3 | Overs 12 (Target 136): Bernard Scholtz’s left-arm spinners got some reward for his team, as the over went for two runs, and Cooper, the man settled in the crease with three boundaries, is bowled. His second over goes for three runs, despite batsmen looking to smash him. Borren’s hit a four in the 12th over, at the end of which the required run-rate is at 5.75. Batting: Ben Cooper 16 (14), Michael Swart 22 (21)
Live Cricket Score: Netherlands 69/2 | Overs 8 (Target 136): Stephan Myburgh, after taking responsibility to get some big hits, got out in the fifth over off a leading edge to cover. Jason Davidson, with his medium-pacers, bowled economically, and so did Craig Williams. But in the seventh over, a six and a four are by hit Michael Swart to have 14 coming off it. Batting: Ben Cooper 18 (17), Michael Swart 17 (12)
Live Cricket Score: Netherlands 38/1 | Overs 4 (Target 136): Gerrie Snyman bowls the first over, an eventful one. The wicketkeeper and opener Wesley Barressi attempted a flick off a ball going down leg, and managed a leading edge that lobbed up to be pouched by the wicketkeeper JP Kotze. Cooper, however, hit two fours in the over, a cut to third man, and a square drive. JJ Smit, the medium-fast bowler, has given away a few boundaries in both his overs. Snyman, however, is accurate and economical. Batting: Stephan Myburgh 25 (14), Ben Cooper 10 (9)
The rain has let up, and the match will start in five minutes.
The game has been delayed by rain. If the play is not able to resume today, the chase will take place tomorrow.
Live Cricket Score: Namibia 135/6 | Overs 20: Scholtz, after consuming dot balls earlier, smashed two big sixes off Roelof van der Merwe. Timm van der Gugten, who bowled the 18th over, gave away six runs off his over, via singles and doubles to various parts of the ground. Scholtz hit a reverse-sweep for a cheeky boundary, and Burger sliced the ball over the off side for another boundary, off Mudassar Bukhari’s final over. The final over, the 20th, had 10 taken off it, via a six, a straight hit by Scholtz, and four more runs run. Scholtz got out on the fourth ball, under-edging a ball through to the keeper. Not Out: Sarel Burger 27 (25), JP Kotze 0 (1)
Live Cricket Score: Namibia 92/5 | Overs 16: Another few quiet overs, and a wickets, peg Namibia back. Singles are worked off Borren and Seelaar, but no boundaries are hit. Bukhari, off the first ball of his third over, got Erasmus out caught deep in the leg side, when the batsmen had flicked the ball towards that direction. Borren’s third over had Nicolaas Scholtz being beaten outside the off stump for three balls in a row, before a run was taken, and then a four was hit. Namibia’s run-rate is still below six. Batting: Sarel Burger 18 (18), Nicolaas Scholtz 3 (7)
Live Cricket Score: Namibia 71/4 | Overs 12: The captain Peter Borren got his reward for bowling a tight line and length. His short-of-a-length deliveries were only taken for three singles, and then, Craig Williams tried to pull him to the deep midwicket boundary, but managed to provide a catch to the man positioned there. The over before this was an expensive one, with a six and a four hit. Pieter Seelaar, the left-arm spinner, got loop and accuracy in his over, the 11th, and Raymond van Schoor was unable to clear the infield when he connected ball with bat, resulting in only two runs from the over. The next over was successful, too, van der Merwe, bowling his second over, got an Schoor out stumped. Batting: Sarel Burger 6 (6), Gerhard Erasmus 1(2)
Live Cricket Score: Namibia 45/2 | Overs 8: Swart’s second over is expensive; a couple of balls are clipped to leg for a brace, and there is a four off a slog-sweep. Bukhari’s over, the one before Swart’s, is also frugal. Michael Rippon, the chinaman bowler, gives away two runs from his over. The other left-arm spinner, Roelof an der Merwe, also bowls a quality over, giving away only six runs, including a four. Batting: Craig Williams 29 (24), Raymond van Schoor 12 (16)
Live Cricket Score: Namibia 20/2 | Overs 4: A run-out on the second ball of the innings, and an attempted pull after coming down the track, have got rid of Namibia’s openers within two overs. The first over was bowled by a spinner, Michael Swart as a surprise tactic, but Swart bowls only this over there is a bowling change for the third. A slog-pull and a drive gets two boundaries off Mudassar Bukhari’s over, the third of the innings. Batting: Craig Williams 12 (10), Raymond van Schoor 5 (6)
Namibia win toss and bat in the second qualifier today against Netherlands.
What a win for Hong Kong! They have qualified to play the ICC World Twenty20 2016 with such calm under pressure! Their captain mentioned after the match that his team were ready to ‘give it everything’ as they considered it a do or die game. But what of Afghanistan? They lost a match they clearly should have won. Clumsy fielding, and a bizarre final over, which mostly featured full-tosses, allowed the game to slip away. They still have a chance to qualify to the main event next year, by defeating Papua New Guinea. But they will be demoralised with this defeat.
Live Cricket Score: Hong Kong 162/5 | Overs 20 (Target 162): The match has got tight as Mark Chapman has got loose. There are crucial boundaries from Chapman off Dawlat Zadran, to help get 12 runs off that over, and the same number of runs were got from Mohammad Nabi’s over too. There are six runs run, including a run off a silly overthrow by the captain Asghar Stanikzai. Dawlat was accurate in the penultimate over, and the pressure built despite nine runs coming off that over. Chapman was smart with planning his hits, attempting scoops and ramp shots, amid the conventional ones, to keep Hong Kong in the hunt. He got out caught in the deep in the first ball of the final over, bowled by Nabi. They needed 16 off 5 balls, but when three balls were left, only five left to be scored. This was because Nabi bowled two high full tosses that were deposited to fine-leg and deep midwicket, for a four and a six, and then there was a wide. Three runs were taken off a hit in the deep on the fourth ball, leaving Hong Kong to score two off two. But then there is another twist! Tanwir Afzal, the batsman, gets run out clumsily hitting a full toss straight to the bowler and the non-striker attempted a run. The ball was hit to extra cover off the final delivery, and two runs are taken! A poor throw helps them complete the two! Hong Kong book a berth in the ICC World Twenty20 2016! Not Out: Babar Hayat 20 (9), Aizaz Khan 0 (0)
Live Cricket Score: Hong Kong 113/3 | Overs 16 (Target 162): WICKET! Nawroz Mangal takes a tumbling catch in the deep, almost at the third man boundary, when Nizakat Khan had scythed a ball towards him. Only four runs are taken from this over, off Shapoor, and the run-rate climbed to 11.42 at the end of that over. Atkinson and Mark Chapman get fail to get the big hits against some tight bowling. Atkinson, who hit a six off a full ball from Shapoor, got out in thesame over, trying to accelerate, for 47 off 47 balls. Although Chapman got two boundaries off Nabi’s over, the 16th, the required-run rate at the end of that over is still quite high, at 12.25. Batting: Mark Chapman 13 (9), Babar Hayat 1 (1)
Live Cricket Score: Hong Kong 78/1 | Overs 12 (Target 162):Three tight overs, two from Mirwais Ashraf and one from Mohammad Nabi, with yorkers, good length balls devoid of room, slower deliveries with tight lines, made the pressure build for Hong Kong. There was a six hit, though, from Atkinson, who stayed in his crease to smoothly hit it straight own the ground. Sharafuddin, who replaced Nabi, also bowled a tight over. Batting: Jamie Atkinson 32 (35), Nizakat Khan 26 (26)
Live Cricket Score: Hong Kong 56/1 | Overs 8 (Target 162): The bowlers change, but not the consistency. Mirwais Ashraf, the man coming in at first change to bowl his medium pacers, gave just two overs from his first over, and got the wicket of Irfan Ahmed, caught at mid-on. Sharafuddin Ashraf, the other bowler, got a ball down the leg side that was lap swept to fine leg for a boundary, but in his secon over, the eighth, he was hit for a six, and then suffered a drop from Dawlat Zadran. Ashraf, however, continued to stifle. Batting: Jamie Atkinson 19 (22), Nizakat Khan 18 (15)
Live Cricket Score: Hong Kong 27/0 | Overs 4 (Target 162): The two Zadrans, Shapoor and Dawlat, maintain discipline in their lines and lengths, and apart from a four and two sixes, from Irfan Ahmed over mid-off and cover, the scoring has been quiet. Shapoor’s length has been separate from his counterpart, as he prefers to pitch it on a good length or short. Batting: Jamie Atkinson 11 (14), Irfan Ahmed 16 (10)
From Mohammad Shahzad to Mohammad Nabi, all batsmen used muscle to smash balls in the arc of long-on to square-leg, with one or two cheeky sweeps. Mangal’s 53 off 36 balls was the backbone of the innings; it was a decent but surprising innings from the rock of Afghanistan’s batting, his first significant effort in the competition. There were times in the middle when Hong Kong’s bowlers stifled the batsmen, and desperation seemed to be setting in. Haseeb Amjad was the most successful Hong Kong bowler, with three for 28 off four overs.
Live Cricket Score: Afghanistan 161/7 | Overs 20: What a catch! Najibullah stays in his crease and smashes an overpitched delivery to deep midwicket, but the man at square leg, Kinchit Shah, ran towards the ball, which was dying on him but was a bit further away from his reach. Shah dived forward to get the ball in his palms in time, to get the batsman out. After sending a ball down the ground off the same over, and reverse-sweeping Haseeb Ahmad for a boundary towards fine third man, he pulled the bowler with might, but didn’t get it out of the middle of the bat, and was caught in the deep. An urgency among the batsmen is seen as the number of balls left lessen. There are runs scampered. All balls are attempted to be sent to midwicket hard for six. The 19th over had Shafiqullah stumbling to get a reach of the overpitched widish delivery, which is sent clumsily to deep point. After three more runs are taken off two balls by Shafiqullah, Mohammad Nabi gets hold of another overpitched delivery to send a six flat to mid-off. Although the two batsmen take two singles off the last two balls off that over, the shots attempted are quite extravagant. Shafiqullah, in the final over, got leverage under a length ball with a knee down, and got a six. Nabi also chipped in, slogging the fourth ball to deep midwicket, but then he got out caught at long-on. The last ball was a dot, with the ball sent directly to the bowler, and a run out was effected when the batsman attempted a single anyway.
Live Cricket Score: Afghanistan 120/3 | Overs 16: Nadeem Ahmed, the left-arm spinner, got turn and flight in his third over, a quiet one runs-wise. Off the next over, bowled by seamer Aizaz Khan, Shenwari hit a boundary to midwicket from his crease, and Mangal swept, to get two fours off that over. Nadeem’s fourth over was targeted to be hit for good runs, as Mangal hit a six to long-on to bring up his fifty, took a couple to point, and then tried to hit the third ball for a six to long-on, but failed to get it past the fielder, who caught him out. Big shots were tried to be hit in the 16th over, but Shenwari and Najibullah Zadran get only five singles instead. Batting: Samiullah Shenwari 11 (13), Najibullah Zadran 4 (5)
Live Cricket Score: Afghanistan 91/2 | Overs 12: To break the drought, Irfan Ahmed is deposited for two sixes! Stanikzai hit the first one, a smash to deep midwicket, and Mangal the other, which hit the meat of his bat after he came down the track, and went to long-on. Medium-fast bowler Aizaz Khan was cut from Mangal to the deep point boundary, and cheekily guided behind the wicketkeeper off the next. The 11th over concede 12 runs, with a big six off the third ball from Stanikzai, and a confident pull for four by Mangal to square leg on the last ball. The aggression, however, got the better of Stanikzai as he attempted a hoick off Aizaz Khan, couldn’t connect with the ball, which hit the stumps. Mangal crashed the fourth ball of that over to the cover boundary to help collect six runs off the over. Batting: Nawroz Mangal 38 (29), Samiullah Shenwari 1 (1)
Live Cricket Score: Afghanistan 50/1 | Overs 8: Asghar Stanikzai played three dot balls before deciding to run down the pitch and slog He got the inner half of his bat meeting the ball, which ran down the fine leg boundary. Seven runs were got in the sixth over as well, by spinner Nadeem Ahmed, who was milked for two runs besides the run down the track from Stanikzai to execute a more commanding shot, this one down the ground, than the one hit in the previous over. Five singles were got in the next over, including a few to deep-set fielders, and the eighth over, from the spinner Nadeem, was also proved frugal, to have four singles taken off it. Asghar Stanikzai 15 (20), Nawroz Mangal 13 (16)
Live Cricket Score: Afghanistan 27/1 | Overs 4: Mohammad Shahzad starts his batting exploits in a typically extravagant manner, but was also almost dismissed. After swatting a short ball to the midwicket boundary, he survives an lbw appeal and almost gets run out moments later, and then, he pulls a short ball that lands in the deep out of two fielders’ reach. Nawroz Mangal, his partner and the calmer opener, tried to smash a ball by skipping down the track uncharacteristically, and got an edge to the fine third man boundary. Off the first ball of the third over, Shahzad tries to swat another shot ball, and manages to get the ball flying to the fielder at third man, who takes the catch. Shahzad’s boundaries in his 13-ball 20 have got his team a brisk start. Batting: Nawroz Mangal 5 (7), Asghar Stanikzai 0 (5)
Afghanistan have won toss and will bat.
Teams:
Hong Kong: Anshuman Rath, Babar Hayat, Irfan Ahmed, Kinchit Shah, Nizakat Khan, Jamie Atkinson (wk), Mark Chapman, Haseeb Amjad, Nadeem Ahmed, Tanwir Afzal (c), Aizaz Khan
Afghanistan: Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Nawroz Mangal, Asghar Stanikzai (c), Samiullah Shenwari, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Shafiqullah Shafiq, Mirwais Ashraf, Dawlat Zadran, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Shapoor Zadran
Malahide Cricket Club looks a picture as Afghanistan & Hong Kong get ready to play off for a place at India 2016 pic.twitter.com/f7GMXFAYp1
— ICC (@ICC) July 21, 2015
On Sunday, the final day of the group stages, Hong Kong and United States of America (USA) scored upsets over Namibia and Papua New Guinea, limited these latter teams to seven points on Group A. Coupled with Ireland’s win earlier in the day, the circumstances helped Ireland to top the group with eight points. In Group B, Afghanistan’s loss to Oman pushed them to the third position despite leading the group for the most part.
