A career-best knock from Gareth Delany helped Ireland get their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier challenge back on track as they defeated Oman by 35 runs in Abu Dhabi.
Ireland had lost their previous game against the UAE but showed no signs of feeling the pressure as Delany’s unbeaten 89 guided his country to 183 for three from their 20 overs.
He then chipped in with two wickets, with George Dockrell and Mark Adair also taking a couple each, to restrict Oman to 148 for nine in their reply as Khawar Ali top-scored with 50.
Elsewhere in Group B, UAE followed up their success against Ireland with a dominant eight-wicket triumph against winless Hong Kong to secure back-to-back victories.
A middle-order collapse from Hong Kong saw them finish on 116 for seven, having been 93 for two in the 16th over, before Rameez Shahzad’s half-century helped UAE to their target with 29 balls to spare.
But it was Canada who finished the day on top of Group B after beating Nigeria by 50 runs for their second win as Nitish Kumar followed up his 83 against Jersey with an unbeaten half-century.
In Group A, Josh Davey held his nerve at the death to take two wickets in the final over as Scotland edged past PNG by four runs after setting a target of 147, for successive victories.
Kenya also achieved their opening win of the competition at the third time of asking with a 45-run triumph over Bermuda thanks to a brilliant unbeaten 85 from Dhiren Gondaria.
Gondaria’s effort ensured Kenya reached 138 for four from their 20 overs before Collins Obuya took four for 27 with the ball as Bermuda were knocked over for just 93 in reply.
Scotland edge PNG in thriller by four runs
Scotland recorded their second win of the tournament as Hamza Tahir’s early wickets (three for 24) and Josh Davey’s final over burst (two for 23) helped Kyle Coetzer’s side end PNG’s 11-match T20I unbeaten run – winning by four runs in a dramatic encounter.
Chasing 147 to win, Norman Vanua’s 33 including three boundaries off the penultimate over left PNG needing eight from six balls to win but Davey struck with the first two balls and conceded only four runs from the final over as Scotland restricted PNG to 142 for nine.
Coetzer had earlier hit 54 and was joined later on in the innings by Matthew Cross, who smacked an unbeaten 23-ball 40 to help Scotland recover from 80 for four to post 146 for six from 20 overs.
Scotland player Richie Berrington said: “At the halfway stage we would have probably liked a few more but I thought it was a top effort from Matthew Cross to push up towards that 140 mark and we knew we were going to have to bowl well.
“I thought our spinners did well to pick up wickets through the middle period, I would back Josh every day of the week, I think he’s been excellent in the games coming in especially at the death.
“We showed a lot of fight to get over the line and every win is important for us but we know we’ve got more in the tank as well.”
PNG captain Assad Vala said: “We believed we could win even with nine runs to win or 30 or 40 to win because we knew the firepower we have in our team but we just couldn’t get it done.
“I’m disappointed with the way we batted today, we didn’t bat well but the bowlers and the fielders did really well to restrict them to 147 after the start they had being none for 32 from two.
“We would have taken two from three, we’ve played some really good cricket in the first three games, we would have loved to take three but you win some you lose some. We’ll rest well and come back and play in three days’ time against Ireland.”
UAE demolish Hong Kong by eight wickets
UAE made it two wins in a row as Rameez Shahzad’s 54 from 37 balls guided the hosts to their target of 117 from 15.1 overs against Hong Kong.
Rohan Mustafa (two for 17) and Waheed Ahmed (two for 23) combined as Hong Kong collapsed from 93 for two to 116 for seven from 20 overs, Nizakat Khan (31) and Kinchit Shah (30) inspiring the promising start which failed to materialise into a big score.
Shahzad shared in a second wicket stand of 93 with Chirag Suri (44 not out) and hit six fours and three sixes as only Kyle Christie (two for 24) could offer any resistance.
UAE captain Ahmed Raza said: “Today was a clinical performance for us and I think there’s still room for improvement but it’s getting there.
“Nothing has changed, we’re the still the same players as we were before the first game but it was just not our day – we’ve moved on and we had a very good game against Ireland.
“Beating a Test playing nation gives you a lot of confidence moving into the tournament. Today was another good day, it’s now onto Jersey tomorrow.”
Hong Kong captain Aizaz Khan said: “It was a tough game again, we keep repeating the same mistakes.
“We didn’t hit enough boundaries again especially in the middle and last five overs so we just need to finish the innings well.
“We’ve got three games left now so we have to come back strong. With the batting side of things we have to improve.”
Ireland overpower Oman by 35 runs
Ireland returned to winning ways as Gareth Delany starred with bat and ball as he hit his own career best T20I score of 89 not out, the highest score of the competition, as well as taking two wickets for 29 runs to down Oman.
Despite losing Paul Stirling for just 11, Delany joined Kevin O’Brien in sending Oman’s bowlers to all parts as he smashed nine fours and three sixes in his 49-ball effort – Ireland finishing on 183 for three from 20 overs.
Oman’s chase started positively enough and Khawar Ali’s 50 from 34 balls gave them hope of an unlikely win until Delany and George Dockrell (two for 24) spun their way through the top and middle order and Mark Adair (two for 26) returned to polish off the tail as Oman ended their 20 overs on 148 for nine.
Ireland captain Gary Wilson said: “I think it was a pretty reasonable score from us, 184 was probably a little above par.
“It’s probably our most complete performance yet so we’re pleased, it was disappointing against UAE but we’re happy with the way we came back today.”
Oman captain Zeeshan Maqsood said: “It was a tough game today, we didn’t play well and overall our bowling, batting and fielding were all not up to the standard.
“The Irish batsmen played very well and got a good score on the board and when you’re chasing that you can’t take it easy but we gave so many wickets away.
“Our bowlers have to improve, they scored 180 so it shows we have to see where we went wrong. We have to look forward to the next games and come back stronger.”
Kenya prove too much for Bermuda by 45 runs
Kenya recorded their first win of the competition thanks to Dhiren Gondaria’s career-best T20I score of 85 not out from 67 balls as their total of 138 for four proved too good for Bermuda.
Gondaria played a lone hand as he hit six fours and one six to steer Kenya’s innings, only Kamau Leverock managing to stem the tide ever so slightly with his two wickets for 30 runs.
The chase got off to the worse possible start when Okera Bascome was caught off the bowling of Elijah Otieno to the first ball of the innings and despite Delray Rawlins’ quickfire 37, Bermuda never recovered as Collins Obuya claimed four for 27 to bowl them out for 93.
Kenya captain Shem Ngoche said: “That partnership [between Dhiren Gondaria and Rushab Patel] was very crucial and the team needed it, the way they batted was really good to get us to a score.
“To have a player the calibre of Collins Obuya is very good, the immense experience he has really helps us as a team and we’re happy he is still delivering.
“After losing the first two games we had some positives in there and we just wanted to build momentum out of the good things we did so to win today is a big morale booster for us.”
Bermuda captain Dion Stovell said: “I think we’re losing games up top, our first two batsmen, even myself, aren’t applying themselves and spending time at the wicket which makes it hard to recover.
“We need to look at something else, something different. Our batters let us down and we came up short, at this level it’s just not good enough. We gave Kenya 18 to 20 runs too much.
“At this stage it’s tough to qualify now but we go into every game positive and look to win the remaining ones.”
Canada defeat gritty Nigeria by 50 runs
Nitish Kumar’s unbeaten fifty ensured Canada maintained their perfect start to the tournament as they saw off a stubborn Nigeria side by 50 runs for their second win from two games.
Kumar was the backbone of his side’s innings, smashing 57 runs from 36 balls, before being assisted by a late cameo from Hamza Tariq (33) as Canada posted 159 for seven from 20 overs.
Dillon Heyliger then took three for 16 with the ball to reduce Nigeria to 109 for eight in reply despite the best efforts of Chimezie Onwuzulike (39) and Sulaimon Runsewe (27).
Canada captain Navneet Dhaliwal said: “I thought it was a pretty good game and I’m glad to have another two points on the board. I was especially pleased with the bowling effort.
“Our main focus is now the third game against Ireland. We are not thinking too far ahead and our first phase is to play two games, take a break and reassess the conditions and our batting unit.
“I think we have room to improve in the first six overs, we’re losing too many wickets in that. We have to focus on that but if we score good runs in the first six overs, we can put a good total on the board.”
Nigeria captain Ademola Onikoyi said: “We had our moments and we let it go. In the first innings we played ourselves into a good position but we allowed them to take charge.
“Second innings we played ourselves into a good position at some points but we lost it. We know this stage is big and we’re not giving up on it. We want to take the positives from here.
“Playing more at this level I’m sure it will keep moving cricket in Nigeria forward and keep putting Nigeria on the world map. We want to show that cricket has come to Nigeria to stay.”
Scores in brief:
Scotland beat PNG by four runs, ICC Academy, Dubai
Scotland 146-6, 20 overs (Kyle Coetzer 54, Matthew Cross 40 not out, Richie Berrington 22; Norman Vanua 1-14, Assad Vala 1-21 Damien Ravu 1-11)
PNG 142-9, 20 overs (Norman Vanua 33, Lega Siaka 31, Assad Vala 20; Hamza Tahir 3-24, Josh Davey 2-23, Mark Watt 2-23, Safyaan Sharif 2-32)
UAE beat Hong Kong by eight wickets, Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Hong Kong 116-7, 20 overs (Nizakat Khan 31, Kinchit Shah 30; Rohan Mustafa 2-17, Waheed Ahmed 2-23)
UAE 118-2, 15.1 overs (Rameez Shahzad 54, Chirag Suri 44 not out; Kyle Christie 2-24)
Ireland beat Oman by 35 runs, Tolerance Oval, Abu Dhabi
Ireland 183-3, 20 overs (Gareth Delany 89 not out, Kevin O’Brien 41, Harry Tector 28; Khawar Ali 1-28, Mohammad Nadeem 1-29)
Oman 148-9, 20 overs (Khawar Ali 50, Suraj Kumar 16; George Dockrell 2-24, Mark Adair 2-26, Gareth Delany 2-29)
Kenya beat Bermuda by 45 runs, ICC Academy, Dubai
Kenya 138-4, 20 overs (Dhiren Gondaria 85 not out, Irfan Karim 15, Rushab Patel 15 not out; Kamau Leverock 2-30)
Bermuda 93 all out, 18.5 overs (Delray Rawlins 37, Janeiro Tucker 22; Collins Obuya 4-27, Shem Ngoche 2-15, Rakep Patel 2-18)
Canada beat Nigeria by 50 runs, Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Canada 159-7, 20 overs (Nitish Kumar 57 not out, Hamza Tariq 33, Rodrigo Thomas 18; Chima Akachukwu 2-34, Abiodun Abioye 2-26)
Nigeria 109-8, 20 overs (Chimezie Onwuzulike 39, Sulaimon Runsewe 27; Dillon Heyliger 3-16, Saad Bin Zafar 2-25, Nikhil Dutta 1-23)
© ICC Business Corporation FZ LLC 2018
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