ICC World Cup Qualifiers 2018 - Day 1 Round Up

For hosts Zimbabwe, Taylor got to his 100 in 91 balls, whilst Raza put on a show of destruction, blasting 123 off 66 balls, which included 7 fours and 9 sixes.

Published - 04 Mar 2018, 21:21 IST | Updated - 04 Mar 2018, 21:21 IST

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The ICC World Cup Qualifiers for the upcoming edition of the World Cup in England have begun with a few shocks on day 1 here at Bulawayo. One of the favourites to go all the way, Afghanistan suffered an untimely defeat in the hands of Scotland, which really comes in as a surprise to the entire cricketing fraternity.

Batting first, Mohammad Shahzad gave them a decent start despite losing a couple of early wickets. But their innings received a real boost when Mohammad Nabi paired up with Najibullah Zadran and added 149 runs for the 5th wicket. Afghanistan posted 255 runs before getting bowled out in the final over.

Newly minted skipper Rashid Khan failed with the bat and ball. He conceded runs heavily and for the first time in a long while, their bowlers looked incapable of picking wickets. Calum MacLeod’s sensational 157 off 146 balls separated both the sides and gifted Scotland a huge win against a side who are in great form. Mujeeb Zadran was the pick of the bowlers who returned with figures of 2/47.

Another huge game at Harare was played between the European sides Ireland and Netherlands. Batting first, the Irish contingent posted a sturdy 268 runs on board losing 7 wickets. Andy Balbirnie scored a spectacular 68 off 75 balls, whilst Niall O Brien’s quickfire 49 gave them a splendid finish and some important momentum before the second innings.

The Dutch batsmen were bamboozled by the experienced Irish bowling unit. Tim Murtagh picked up two crucial wickets in the Powerplay and the other bowlers did a fantastic job in the middle overs to restrict the Netherlands to just 149 runs. Barry McCarthy, Boyd Rankin, and Kevin O Brien returned with braces whilst Tim Murtagh picked up three wickets for the Irish.

Raza and Taylor swallow Nepal

Hosts Zimbabwe registered an outstanding win at Bulawayo thanks to breathtaking centuries from Brendan Taylor and Sikandar Raza. Batting first, Solomon Mire and debutant Cephas Zhuwawo gave them a decent start. But Taylor and Raza annihilated the bowlers in the second half off the innings. Whilst Taylor got to his 100 in 91 balls, Raza put on a show of destruction, blasting 123 off 66 balls, which included 7 fours and 9 sixes.

Sikandar Raza is one kind of payer who cannot remain quite regardless of what he’s doing. After scoring such a wonderful knock, he returned with figures of 3/48 with the ball. Brian Vitori picked up 2 wickets as well and they restricted Nepal to 264 runs for the loss of 8 wickets. Sharad Vesawkar and Aarif Sheikh registered 50s for Nepal.

In the other Group A game, Papua New Guinea Locked horns with UAE. UAE’s skipper Rohan Mustafa led from the front and scored a spectacular 95, with good support coming from his opening partner Ashfaq Ahmed. They eventually posted 221 runs as their middle order failed to accumulate the desired amount of runs. Norman Vanua picked up 4/39 for PNG.

The UAE bowlers were on fire in the Powerplay, picking up 4 wickets inside the first 5 overs. They kept losing wickets regularly and the best partnership in the innings for them was 39, which isn’t enough whilst chasing such a big total. They got bowled out for 113 runs, with Mohammad Naveed picking up a five-fer for the UAE.