Papua New Guinea seal 2024 Men's T20 World Cup spot

Papua New Guinea booked their place in the 2024 T20 World Cup after beating the Philippines in the East Asia-Pacific Qualifier on Friday, July 28. They became the 15th team to qualify for the showpiece event that is set to be hosted jointly by the West Indies and the USA.

Assad Vala's men had a sensational campaign in the Asia-Pacific Qualifiers as they comprehensively won all their five matches so far in the competition. Their latest win against the Philippines was a one-sided affair. After being sent into bat, enterprising fifties from Tony Ura, Assad Vala, and Charles Amini helped PNG post a formidable total of 229/6 in their 20 overs.

In reply, no Filipino batter managed to bat at a strike rate of over 100 except captain Daniel Smith. However, his 21-ball 34 only managed to delay the inevitable as the Philippines lost by a mammoth margin of 100 runs. Left-arm seamer Kabua Morea starred with the ball for PNG as he picked up a couple of wickets.

Papua New Guinea, who are the hosts of the ongoing tournament, have one more game left to play in the qualifying tournament against Japan, and it will be played in Port Moresby on Saturday, July 29.

Five more teams are set to book their places in the 20-team T20 World Cup in 2024. Two teams will come from the African qualifiers, and another two teams will come from the Asian qualifiers. From the American qualifiers, one team will make its way to the showpiece event.

The Americas Qualifier will be held in Bermuda, while the Asian and African qualifiers will be held in Nepal and Namibia, respectively.

Papua New Guinea's campaign in the East Asia-Pacific Qualifiers

Assad Vala and Co. began with a thumping win against Vanuatu on the opening day of the competition by nine wickets. Chasing only 72 for a win, PNG got to the total in just 6.3 overs. In their second game, they got the better of the Philippines by a whopping 117 runs after bowling Daniel Smith's side out for 45 runs.

Japan posted 87/8 in their 20 overs against PNG. The hosts lost four wickets during their chase but achieved the target in 15.1 overs. Prior to their most recent encounter against the Philippines, PNG got the better of Vanuatu once again as they put on 148/7 before bowling their opponents out for 109.