Ireland, UAE qualify for ICC T20 World Cup 2022

Ireland and UAE have qualified for the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 by winning their respective semi-finals in the T20 World Cup Qualifier A in Oman on Tuesday. While Ireland defeated Oman by 56 runs, UAE got the better of Nepal by 68 runs.

Oman won the toss and chose to bowl against Ireland. They made a bright start as Bilal Khan sent back Irish openers Paul Stirling (6) and Andrew Balbirnie (12) in the third over of the innings. Gareth Delany (47) and Harry Tector (35) led the fightback for Ireland. Delany hit three consecutive sixes in an over from Zeeshan Maqsood.

The 82-run partnership was broken when Kaleemullah dismissed Tector. He also sent back Lorcan Tucker (0) first-ball. Delany’s innings ended when was caught by Bilal off Khawar Ali, three runs short of a half-century. A 21-ball 36 from Andy McBrine lifted Ireland to 165/7 in the T20 World Cup Qualifier A contest.

Chasing 166, Oman lost their openers in the powerplay. Jatinder Singh and Kashyap Prajapati were dismissed for 7 each by Simi Singh and Mark Adair respectively.

Shoaib Khan (30) and Oman skipper Maqsood contributed 30 and 28 respectively. However, Oman were never in the hunt during the chase and were all out for 109. Simi Singh claimed three wickets for Ireland, while Joshua Little, Craig Young and Andy McBrine picked up two wickets each.

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UAE thump Nepal in T20 World Cup Qualifier A

UAE batted first after winning the toss against Nepal. They lost Chirag Suri early for 4 as he was bowled by Jitendra Mukhiya in the 2nd over. However, Muhammad Waseem (70 off 48) and Vriitya Aravind (46 off 23) featured in a counter-attacking half-century stand for the second wicket.

The partnership was broken in the eighth over when Sandeep Lamichhane bowled Aravind. Waseem and Muhammad Usman (17) also featured in a 64-run partnership for the third wicket. Nepal hit back as Abinash Bohara dismissed Usman and Waseem in the 17th over. Still, UAE ended up posting an impressive 175 for 7.

Nepal got off to a horror start in response as Aasif Sheikh and Lokesh Bam were dismissed for ducks in the first over. Apart from Dipendra Singh Airee (38) and Gyanendra Malla (20), no Nepal batter could put up much of a resistance.

The chasing side were bowled out for 107. UAE skipper Ahmed Raza claimed a five-fer, while Junaid Siddique finished with 3 for 27.