ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier: Khurram Khan ton sees UAE defeat PNG and move to the top of the table

Khurram Khan of UAE celebrates as he reaches his century against PNG at Hagley Oval

Captain Khurram Khan led from the front with a century as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) recorded a comprehensive 150-runs victory over Papua New Guinea (PNG) on the first day of the Super Six stage of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier New Zealand 2014 (CWCQ) at Hagley Oval, Christchurch, on Sunday.

In other Super Six matches played on Sunday, Kenya’s Lameck Onyango starred with a four-wicket haul to lead his side to victory over Hong Kong, while rain stopped play in the Scotland-Namibia fixture before a result could be achieved.

At Hagley Oval, Christchurch, a captain’s knock from Khan (138) sealed victory for the UAE and the top spot in the Super Six table ahead of PNG on net run-rate, with four points each.

After being sent in to bat, the UAE lost both its openers within four overs before the skipper scored at almost a run a ball in his knock of 138 to help his side post a competitive total of 280. Khan found the boundary 17 times and struck two sixes in his 145-ball innings, and is now the leading run-scorer of the tournament (413). Vikrant Shetty (35) and Swapnil Patil (29) also contributed with the bat.

Pace bowler Willie Gavera (three for 39) claimed the skipper’s wicket in the 44th over before snaffling the last two wickets in the penultimate over to see the UAE all out for 280.

PNG never recovered from a shaky start, reeling at five for 45 from 11.1 overs. Charles Amini top-scored for his side with 49, but a four-wicket haul for Amjad Javed (four for 26) saw PNG dismissed well short of its target, reaching 130 in 28.3 overs.

UAE skipper and Mn of the match Khan was thrilled that his team secured victory in such an important match. “That was a very important two points because PNG came into the Super Six stage with four points and most of the other teams came with two points. This stage of the competition you just have to beat every team, and we really respect PNG, they are an awesome team and have been doing very well but our guys did a wonderful job today.”

Reflecting on his own performance, Khan said: “I played better today. The last few innings I got out on 88 and 87 and 78 but I wanted to bat for all the overs and tried my best today.”

PNG Coach Peter Anderson remained upbeat about the loss. “It’s kind of what we expect sometimes, we’ve had a bit of a roller coaster ride, guys can play fantastic cricket but that is a challenge for us, we don’t have anything in between. We’re learning and we’ve got to remain positive. It starts again on Tuesday and we are certainly not ready to go home yet.”

At Rangiora Oval, Christchurch, Kenya notched up its first points on the Super Six board with a six wicket win over Hong Kong.

When rain finally forced the players from the field with just 4.4 overs left to be bowled, Kenya had reached 223 for four in pursuit of Hong Kong’s 254 for eight, securing a ten run win under the Duckworth-Lewis Method (D-L Method).

Hong Kong’s innings was built around captain Jamie Atkinson’s 85, with number six Babar Hayat adding an unbeaten 45 off 48 balls. Kenya’s Lameck Onyango was named man of the match for his bowling efforts, taking four wickets for just 29 runs. He was ably assisted by veteran Steve Tikolo who took three for 54, while Hiren Varaiya bowled a tight 10 overs for just 25 runs.

Opener Irfan Karim anchored Kenya’s innings with 82 off 98 balls, while captain Rakep Patel scored an unbeaten 69 off 70 balls to ensure his team stayed ahead of the run rate required under the D-L.

Kenya skipper Patel said it felt good to get points on the board. “We have good momentum. The winning habit makes a big difference. The team is happier and things come easier when you’re winning. But you still have to do the basics right.

Kenya must win its remaining two Super Six matches to stay in the running for a spot in the ICC CWCQ final, and the captain says his side will need to be tighter with its bowling. “The next two games are crucial. But we have to take it game by game. We’ve got UAE next, and our bowlers need to step up. We’ve been chasing 250 plus. If we can keep it a bit tighter we will make it easier on our batsmen.”

Hong Kong captain Jamie Atkinson was reasonably satisfied with his team’s total, although

he felt his bowlers did not create enough dot-ball pressure. “We just gave the Kenyans too many boundaries in the end.”

With two points on the board, the skipper felt his side would not buckle under the pressure of needing to win the remaining two matches. “To have any sort of chance to qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup we now have to win our next two games quite convincingly and hope other results go our way.”

“We are now in a do-or-die situation, and our players will play accordingly. I think that makes us a dangerous opponent,” he said.

Scotland and Namibia will return to Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Lincoln, on Monday after rain forced the end of the day’s play before a result could be achieved. Scotland completed its 50 overs, reaching 279 for nine thanks to a quick-fire 78 from 22-year-old Matt Machan. Richard Berrington (51), Preston Mommsen (46) and Freddie Coleman (32) ensured that the Scotland scoreboard kept ticking over.

Bernard Scholtz and Nicolaas Scholtz were the main wicket-takers for Namibia, claiming five wickets between them.

When rain stopped play in the 13th over of the Namibia innings, Namibia had reached 59 for two in 12.1 overs. Opener Stephan Baard was still at the crease on 28 not out, while left-armer Rob Taylor claimed both Namibia wickets for 35 runs.

In the two play-off matches played on Sunday, Netherlands defeated Nepal by 150 runs and Canada defeated Uganda by 59 runs (D-L Method).

Netherlands sealed victory at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui. following a half-century from Eric Szwarczynski (56) and an unbeaten knock of 45 from 32 balls from captain Peter Borren, after earlier restricted Nepal to 171 for nine. Sharad Vesawkar’s patient knock of 42 was the highest for Nepal.

Canada defeated Uganda by 59 runs (D-L Method) at Bay Oval 2 after the Canada bowling attack dismissed Uganda for 149. The day belonged to man of the match Parth Desai, who claimed four wickets for 29 runs before Canada posted 119 for the loss of one wicket in 29 overs thanks to Ruvindu Gunasekera (52 not out) and Jimmy Hansra (43 not out).

Netherlands and Canada will now lock horns in the 7th/8th place play-off match on Tuesday, while Nepal and Uganda will play in the 9th/10th place play-off.

Scores in brief:

At Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Lincoln, South Island

Scotland 279 for nine, 50 overs (Matt Machan 78, Richard Berrington 51, Preston Mommsen 46, Freddie Coleman 32, Matthew Cross 27; Bernard Scholtz 3-55, Nicolaas Scholtz 2-53) Namibia 59 for two wickets, 12.1 overs, rain stopped play (Stephan Baard 28 not out; Rob Taylor 2-35)

Play will resume on Monday

At Hagley Oval, Christchurch, South Island

UAE 280 all out, 48.3 overs (Khurram Khan 138, Vikrant Shetty 35, Swapnil Patil 29; Willie Gavera 3-39, Norman Vanua 2-41, Pipi Raho 2-56)

PNG 130 all out, 28.3 overs (Charles Amini 49; Amjad Javed 4-26, Mohammad Naveed 2-13, Manjula Guruge 2-25, Kamran Shazad 2-32)

Result: UAE won by 150 runs

Man of the Match: Khurram Khan (UAE)

At Rangiora Oval, Christchurch, South Island

Hong Kong 258 for eight, 50 overs (Jamie Atkinson 85, Babar Hayat 45 not out, Mark Chapman 30; Lameck Onyango 4-29, Steve Tikolo 3-54)

Kenya 223 for four, 45.2 overs (Irfan Karim 82, Maurice Ouma 69 not out, Ragheb Aga 28; Irfan Ahmed 2-50)

Result: Kenya won by 10 runs (D-L Method)

Man of the Match: Lameck Onyango (Kenya)

At Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui, North Island

Nepal 171 for nine, 50 overs (Sharad Vesawkar 42, Paras Khadka 29, Shakti Gauchan 26; Ahsan Malik 3-21, Vivian Kingma 2-18)

Netherlands 172 for three, 31.5 overs (Eric Szwarczynski 56, Peter Borren 45 not out, Wesley Barresi 31, Michael Swart 27 not out; Basant Regmi 2-50)

Result: Netherlands won by seven wickets

Man of the Match: Eric Szwarczynski (Netherlands)

At Bay Oval 2, Mount Maunganui, North Island

Uganda 149 all out, 49.5 overs (Hamza Saleh 33, Brian Masaba 29; Parth Desai 4-29, Harvir Baidwan 2-26, Khurram Chohan 2-26)

Canada 119 for one, 29 overs (Ruvindu Gunasekera 52 not out, Jimmy Hansra 43 not out)

Result: Canada won by 59 runs (D-L Method)

Man of the Match: Parth Desai (Canada)

Points Table – Super Six