By webdesk 
Singapore sprung the biggest shock on the opening day of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier in the United Arab Emirates as they held their nerve to beat Scotland by just two runs
Surendran Chandramohan hit a half century as Singapore posted 168 for six from their 20 overs before Scotland, needing eight runs from the final over, finished on 166 for nine.
Scotland had looked in good shape at the start of their reply, with George Munsey scoring 46 and opening partner Kyle Coetzer, but they were unable to maintain their momentum.
Selladore Vijayakumar was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets for the loss of 16 runs, with Alasdair Evans run out as Scotland tried in vain to reach their target off the final ball.
The other Group A encounter saw the Netherlands ease past Kenya in a 30-run win after setting a total of 166 for four from their 20 overs thanks to a half-century from Max O’Dowd.
Collins Obuya followed up his strong bowling display, which saw him finish with figures of two for 16, with a knock of 63 in Kenya’s reply but a lack of support saw his side finish on 136 for eight.
Elsewhere, Ireland opened their campaign with an eight-wicket win against Hong Kong courtesy of Andrew Balbirnie’s unbeaten 70 as they reached their target with 16 balls to spare.
Hong Kong made 153 for five off their 20 overs, with Kinchit Shah scoring 79 off 54 balls, before Balbirnie and Paul Stirling (62) combined to secure victory for Ireland in Group B.
The final game of an action-packed day saw Oman get off the mark with a seven-wicket win against the UAE, with Aqib Ilyas’ unbeaten knock of 45 getting his side over the line.
Singapore shock Scotland by two runs
Singapore pulled off a dramatic two-run victory in the opening game of the competition as Kyle Coetzer’s side fell just short of Singapore’s 168 for six from their 20 overs.
The Scots needed eight runs from the final over of the game to win but Amjad Mahboob conceded just five off it and took overall figures of two for 31 while Selladore Vijayakumar took three for 20 and Sidhant Singh two for 27.
Scotland started well in reply as George Munsey (46) and Coetzer (38) put on 70 for the opening wicket but they fell short of a Singapore score which was compiled thanks to the efforts of Surendran Chandramohan (51) and Aritra Dutta (32).
Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer said: “T20 cricket is fine margins sometimes and I think both sides missed opportunities at key times in the game, we missed a couple in the first half.
“We could have put them right on the back foot three or four wickets down, but that’s how the game goes and we seemed to have it under control there towards the end.
“But there are some good cricketers in this competition, there are no teams you can underestimate, Singapore are a very good side and in the end they deserved their win.”
Singapore captain Amjad Mahboob said: “Before the second last over I told my bowlers that we have 19 to defend and if you give me eight to ten runs I’m definitely going to win the match.
“I was full of self-belief and confidence in myself that I could do it and I managed to do it. This ground is not easy to hit a boundary on so I just had to bowl in the right area.
“It was a great feeling beating Scotland as we know they are one of the strongest teams, so we are really happy, and we want to bring that momentum for the rest of the tournament.”
Ireland overpower Hong Kong by eight wickets
Fifties from Andy Balbirnie (70 not out) and Paul Stirling (62) helped Ireland chase down their target of 154 in 17.2 overs against Hong Kong to get their challenge off to the perfect start.
Despite losing Kevin O’Brien before he had had the chance to face a delivery, run out by Nasrulla Rana, Stirling and Balbirnie added 86 runs for the second wicket as the former smashed eight fours and two sixes in his 36-ball stay to help secure victory.
Earlier, Kinchit Shah (79) hit his first T20 international half-century to form the backbone of a Hong Kong innings punctured by regular wickets from Mark Adair, two for 22, Gareth Delany, one for 23, and Stuart Thompson, one for 27.
Hong Kong captain Aizaz Khan said: “It’s disappointing to be on the losing side. I think we were around 15-20 runs short after we got off to a good start in the first 15 overs.
“We lost our way in the last five overs and we didn’t finishing the innings off well. Bowling-wise we didn’t stick to our plans, we didn’t read the wicket well, we just bowled too wide.
“We just couldn’t finish it off. It’s still early in the tournament and we still have a few games left, so we are going to come back stronger in the next couple of games, they will be crucial.”
Ireland captain Gary Wilson said: “I’m not sure we played our best cricket. I thought we were good but not as good as we have been with the ball, there are areas we can work on.
“We were maybe slow to react to bowling the right lengths. I thought we were a bit too full early but having said that we dragged it pretty well. The pitch was slower than we would have liked.
“Every team is here on merit and every team is capable of beating anyone on their day, it just takes one or two players to come off. Whoever we play we need to be right on our game.”
Netherlands ease past Kenya by 30 runs
Netherland’s got their campaign underway with a 30-run win over Kenya, inspired by a half-century from Max O’Dowd (53) as they hit 166-4 in their 20 overs.
O’Dowd’s score came from 46 balls with four fours and one six while Ben Cooper (36) also chipped in, Collins Obuya ranking as the pick of the Kenyan attack with figures of two for 16.
Obuya (63) starred again in the chase with a half-century but he had little support and Paul van Meekeren took the game away from the Kenyans with figures of three for 27 with the ball.
Netherlands captain Pieter Seelaar said: “I thought it was a hard-fought game. We batted quite well in those first ten overs but I think we were about 12-15 short of where we wanted to be.
“In the end, the bowlers fought back extremely well and a very good Powerplay set us up. They mixed their pace up really well with the two spinners and Collins Obuya with his leg spin.
“I think if you see Singapore beating Scotland and Kenya running us close, there are no favourites in this tournament. Everyone can beat everyone and in these conditions everyone is equal.
Kenya captain Shem Ngoche said: “I thought it was a good day of cricket, both of the teams gave their all but our side I think we gave away 20 extra runs in the end.
“Unfortunately we came up short by 30 so all in all it’s just for us to learn why we made the mistakes and try and rectify them in our next game as there is no time to do anything.
“We have to sit down as a team, as a unit, and know where we went wrong and to quickly adjust to those things, but I’m pretty happy with the way the middle order batted.”
Oman edge out United Arab Emirates
Oman overcame the hosts in their opening game of the competition as an unbeaten knock of 45 from Aqib Ilyas helped his side secure a comfortable seven-wicket win.
Muhammad Usman top scored for the United Arab Emirates with 27 while skipper Rohan Mustafa added 24 as Fayyaz Butt and Bilal Khan took three wickets each to restrict the hosts to 108-9.
In reply, Oman openers Khawar Ali and Jatinder Singh gave their wickets away cheaply before Ilyas steadied the ship with Aamir Kaleem (27) as captain Zeeshan Maqsood finished the job.
Oman captain Zeeshan Maqsood said: “It is great to start the tournament like this against a good side and we played good cricket. We got the key wickets of their top order.
“From then on the wicket was nicely suited to our spinners. The UAE can do better than this though and they are a good side but on the day whoever plays better wins the game. We like to chase when we play good teams and we have the bowlers to restrict teams and that is what we did today.”
UAE captain Ahmed Raza said: “I think we lacked a little bit of intent in the middle overs and we got a few 30s and 40s that could have been 60s and 70s but that is part and parcel of the game.
“I think the wicket was a little slow and it was a touch harder to bat first on that wicket. If you lose three wickets in the first six overs then the batsmen coming in can’t come in and go all guns blazing.
“It is better that the games are coming so thick and fast because after a loss you don’t want to have three or four days off to think about it. The morale is still high.”
Scores in brief:
Singapore beat Scotland by two runs, ICC Academy, Dubai
Singapore 168-6, 20 overs (Surendran Chandramohan 51, Aritra Dutta 32, Manpreet Singh 26; Josh Davey 2-26, Safyaan Sharif 2-28, Hamza Tahir 1-26)
Scotland 166-9, 20 overs (George Munsey 46, Calum MacLeod 44, Kyle Coetzer 38; Selladore Vijayakumar 3-16, Sidhant Singh 2-27, Amjad Mahboob 2-36)
Ireland beat Hong Kong by eight wickets, Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Hong Kong 153-5, 20 overs (Kinchit Shah 79, Haroon Arshad 20, Aizaz Khan 16; Mark Adair 2-22, Gareth Delany 1-23, Stuart Thompson 1-27)
Ireland 155-2, 17.2 overs (Andy Balbirnie 70 not out, Paul Stirling 62, Harry Tector 21 not out; Aizaz Khan 1-31)
Netherlands beat Kenya by 30 runs, ICC Academy, Dubai
Netherlands 166-4, 20 overs (Max O’Dowd 53, Ben Cooper 36, Pieter Seelaar 24 not out; Collins Obuya 2-16, Shem Ngoche 1-21, Nelson Odhiambo 1-40)
Kenya 136-8, 20 overs (Collins Obuya 63, Rakep Patel 26; Paul van Meekeren 3-27, Fred Klaassen 2-23, Roelof van der Merwe 1-15)
Oman beat United Arab Emirates by seven wickets, Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
United Arab Emirates 108-9, 20 overs (Muhammad Usman 27, Rohan Mustafa 24, Chirag Suri 16; Fayyaz Butt 3-16, Bilal Khan 3-23, Khawar Ali 1-15)
Oman 109-3, 18.2 overs (Aqib Ilyas 45 not out, Aamir Kaleem 27, Zeeshan Maqsood 16 not out; Junaid Siddique 1-24; Ahmed Raza 1-23, Sultan Ahmed 0-13)
© ICC Business Corporation FZ LLC 2018
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Zainab Shafiq 
Madhavam