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WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM CO OM THUR SDAY, JULY 23, 2015 20 0 115 5
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AHMED SHEHZAD HELPS ELPS PAKISTAN SEAL SERIES IES
Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the fourth ODI in Colombo ombo on Wednesday to take a decisive 3-1 lead in the five-match series. Opener ener Ahmed Shehzad hit 95 off 90 balls ls as the tourists surpassed Sri Lanka’s 256 56 for 9 in the 41st over. >C3
One step away from history Oman will take on Namibia in the final qualifying play-off of the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2015 on Thursday, the winners qualifying for the
WARMING UP: Oman cricketers preparing at the North County Club in outskirts of Dublin. – Supplied photos
IN FOCUS: Oman skipper Sultan Ahmed being interviewed.
ICC World Twenty20 2016 in India
Do or die qualifier for Afghanistan and Papua New Guinea
Times News Service
DUBLIN: Following a spirited display at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, Afghanistan came into the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2015 carrying plenty of hope and expectation. It lived up to its reputation by notching up three consecutive wins — against Scotland, Netherlands and United Arab Emirates — in Group B, but a loss to Oman and rained out games against Canada and Kenya pushed it to third on the table by the end of the group stage, meaning it would have to
DUBLIN: Thursday is the blessed Renaissance Day of Sultanate of Oman and the entire nation is expecting a history-making act by the national cricket team. Oman will take on Namibia in the final qualifying play-off of the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2015 on Thursday, the winner qualifying for the ICC World Twenty20 2016 in India. Both the teams know very well that a defeat will be the end of the world as there will be know more chance. A win means the victor will play for the fifth-sixth play-off but all the more is that they can make it to the World Cup for the first time. Oman finished fourth in Group B with three wins, one no result, two losses from six matches, while Namibia also won three of its six games in Group A with one match washed out by rain. However, Namibia though having two chances, squandered one of them by losing to Netherlands,
who qualified for the prime event. Now the African team will have to put across the Gulf outfit to realise their dreams, but Oman could be a tough customer, given the way they have performed in the group matches. Top scalps for Oman had been Afghanistan and the Netherlands,
take the play-off route to qualify for the ICC World Twenty20 2016 in India. Afghanistan needed to get the better of Hong Kong on Tuesday (July 21) to seal its berth but went down off the last delivery of the game. However, it still has another shot when it takes on Papua New Guinea, which finished fourth in Group A, on Thursday (July 23), with the winner going through to India. The first of those two encounters, between Afghanistan and PNG in the third qualifying
while they also subdued Canada. The seven-run loss to Kenya has some what proved costly for the Sultan Ahmed-lead side. In addition they also lost a point in the rained-off match against United Arab Emirates. Namibia started its Group A campaign with a loss to Ireland
play-off, will be played at The Village in Malahide, Dublin, to be followed by the match between Namibia and Oman at the same venue later in the day. Afghanistan will hope for yet another good display from its batting unit and a more disciplined show from the bowlers. On the batting front, Mohammed Shahzad, the third leading run-scorer in the tournament with 199 runs, Samiullah Shenwari and Asghar Stanikzai, the skipper, are in fine fettle. Hamid Hassan and Mohammed
and a washout against Nepal, but turned the tables quickly with three consecutive wins against United States of America, Jersey and Papua New Guinea. It headed into its last league match with a chance of directly qualifying for the ICC World T20, but a big loss to Hong Kong meant
Nabi have been the pick of the bowlers and there is plenty of quality within the ranks, but Afghanistan will have weigh up its options at the death. Afghanistan has had a taste of the big stage and high-pressure games in the past, so it will look to call on all its experience to put it past PNG, for whom this is one of the biggest games. PNG can take positives from an impressing run in the group stage, but with so much hinging on this result, it will be as much about nerve as about skill. — ICC
it finished third in its group. A large part of Namibia’s success in this tournament is due to the form of its openers — Stephan Baard and Gerrue Snyman — both of whom are among the top rungetters. The bowling has revolved around left-arm spinner Bernard Scholtz, whose bowling against
the Netherlands on Tuesday, has encouraged the Oman spinners. Scholtz was able to turn the ball square on the pitch which will also be used for the Oman-Namibia qualifier. Oman must have done the homework by now and if they can strike early the game will be within grasp. Coach Duleep Mendis have not rested since they got a big break and all the players have been put to strenuous practice to keep the boys match-fit. Wednesday’s training at North County Club was all-round with importance given to all aspects and the good news was the presence of skipper Sultan Ahmed, who had left the team base briefly to attend his mother’s funeral. Teams (from): Oman: Sultan Ahmed (capt), Yousuf Abdulrahim, Zeeshan Ahmad, Amir Ali, Khawar Ali, Munis Ansari, Aamir Kaleem, Mehran Khan, Ajay Lalcheta, Sufyan Mahmood, Zeeshan Maqsood, Mohammad Nadeem, Rajeshkumar Ranpura, Jatinder Singh, Vaibhav Wategaonkar. Namibia: Nicholas Scholtz (captain), Stephen Baard, Sarel Burger, Christopher Coombe, Jason Davidson, Michiel du Preez, Gerhard Erasmus, Louis Klazinga, JP Kotze, Bernard Scholtz, JJ Smit, Christiaan Snyman, Gerrie Snyman, Raymond van Schoor, Craig Williams.