Al-Amerat (Oman), Feb 22 (SocialNews.XYZ) Canada registered a six-wicket win over Germany while Bahrain thrashed the Philippines by 91 runs in the classification round of the ICC Mens T20 World Cup Qualifier A, here on Tuesday.
Canada were pushed till the end by a determined Germany as they chased down the victory target of 132 with three balls to spare. They thrived on a valuable partnership between skipper Navneet Dhaliwal and Matthew Spoors.
Chasing a below-par target, Canada lost their opener Rayyan Pathan off the second ball of the match. Dhaliwal and player of the match, Spoors, then forged an 85-run stand to revive the team's fortunes.
Dhaliwal's (37 off 40) exit in the 14th over was a result of a brilliant catch in the deep by Fayaz Khan off Dylan Blignaut. However, Spoors stayed unbeaten on 73 off 55 and ensured that Canada completed a tense victory. Dilon Heyliger (17) and Ravinderpal Singh left in a space of 10 balls, both falling to Klein, who was the pick of German bowlers with his three-wicket haul.
The German pacer bowled three dot balls in his 19th over and had Singh caught behind on the fourth. Canada needed 12 off eight but Spoors hit a four and a six to ease the nerves and steer the side to win in the final over.
Earlier, put to bat first, Germany lost their momentum at the halfway stage to finish at 131-6. Opener Justin Broad and Michael Richardson shared a valuable 49-run second-wicket partnership.
Broad's opening partner Vijaya Shankar fell in the fourth over with the total at 16. Richardson displayed a lot of positive intent in his strokes as he cut behind square and exhibited the drives and pull shots during his 26-ball 35. Left-arm spinner Salman Nazar broke the partnership when he had Broad trapped leg before for 28. Two overs later came the turning point that tilted the scales in Canada's favour.
Skipper Dhaliwal introduced Matthew Spoors into the attack. The 22-year-old leg-spinner met with success straightaway as he cleaned up Richardson off his second ball. New batter Dylan Blignaut was run out two balls later and the double blow left Germany at 80-4. Faisal Mubashir then attempted to get quick runs on board. His innings was cut short by Salman Nazar, as he was stumped by Shreyas Movva off a wide ball.
Canada bowlers kept their line and length hard and Nazar got his third victim when he trapped Dieter Klein to end his spell with 3-27. A couple of big hits from Fayaz Khan in the 19th pushed the score after skipper Venkat Ganesan had retired hurt for twelve in the previous over.
In the other match of the day, Bahrain continued their winning momentum, after defeating the Philippines by a huge margin.
Electing to bat first after winning the toss, Bahrain's skipper Sarfaraz Ali started the powerplay in a whirlwind fashion and blitzed his way to a 17-ball 32. The fourth over saw a slight momentum shif' in the Philippines' favour, as an astounding catch from Daniel Smith ended Umer Imtiaz's innings abruptly. Sarfaraz Ali was dismissed in the very next ball.
However, with a 90-run fourth-wicket stand between Shahbaz Badar and Prashant Kurup, Bahrain regained total control. Shahbaz looked good for his 44 but was undoubtedly the support act as Prashant's effortless brilliance took centre stage. His 74 runs alongside late cameos from Sikder Billah and Veerapathiran Sathaiya meant that the Philippines entered the dressing room at half-time, faced with the daunting task of chasing 191.
Henry Tyler was the Philippines' best bowler with his bowling figures of 3/40.
In reply, the Philippines were restricted to 100/9 in 20 overs. Machanda Biddappa top-scored with a spirited 26-run knock, negotiating some top-class Bahrain bowling admirably. Gurbhupinder Chohan, Grant Russ and Jordan Alegre all chipped in, making 17, 15 and 13 respectively.
Ultimately the asking rate proved far too high, the fall of wickets proved far too frequent, and Bahrain strolled to a comfortable and well-deserved victory. Junaid Aziz and Haider Butt picked up three wickets apiece.
Victory for Canada and Bahrain set them up for a fifth-place playoff game while Germany will take on the Philippines for the seventh-place playoff spot on Thursday.
Source: IANS
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