ICC World Cup Qualifiers warm-up matches, 2018 round up - Day 1

Pacer Dawlat Zadran took a hat-trick as Afghanistan came from behind to beat two-time former world champions Windies by 29 runs in an ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018 warm-up match at the Harare Sports Club on Tuesday.

Zadran claimed the wickets of Shimron Hetmyer (caught at gully by Najibullah Zadran), Rovman Powell (caught at the wicket by Mohammad Shahzad) and Carlos Brathwaite (lbw) on successive deliveries of his fifth over as the Windies, chasing a revised target of 140 in 35 overs by the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern Method, slipped from 99 for five in the 20th over to 99 for eight before being bowled out for 110 in 26.4 overs.

Zadran, who had earlier accounted for Shai Hope, finished with outstanding figures of 7-1-26-4. Left-arm spinner Sharafuddin Ashraf and wrist-spinner Rashid Khan picked up two wickets apiece, while Mohammad Nabi and Shahpoor Zadran bagged a wicket each.

For the Windies, Evin Lewis was the top scorer with 36, while Marlon Samuels scored 34. Chris Gayle (9), Shai Hope (1), Jason Mohammed (0), Hetmyer (1) and Powell (9) all missed out on useful batting practice on a good surface.

Earlier, a rain-break helped Afghanistan to recover from a precarious 82 for eight in 25.4 overs to a competitive 163 for nine in 35 overs. When play resumed, Gulbadin Naib and Samiullah Shenwari came out all guns blazing and added 81 runs in the remaining 9.2 overs to give their bowlers with something to bowl at.

Gulbadin Naib hit a 38-ball 48 with three fours and two sixes, while Samiullah Shenwari returned not out on 42 from 55 balls. For the Windies, fast bowlers Sheldon Cottrell, captain Jason Holder and Kesrick Williams bowled with a lot of aggression and fire to share seven wickets between them.

While Afghanistan and the Windies were able to hit the ground running, albeit, in a reduced overs game, Ireland and Zimbabwe were not that lucky when their match at the Queens Sports Club was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to a wet outfield following morning rains.

Elsewhere, the Netherlands defeated Hong Kong by eight wickets, defending champions Scotland overpowered Papua New Guinea (PNG) by seven wickets and Nepal surprised the United Arab Emirates by five wickets.

Brief scores

Afghanistan beat Windies by 29 runs

Afghanistan beat Windies by 29 runs, Harare Sports Club (target revised to 140 runs in 35 overs by the DLS method)

Afghanistan 163-9, 35 overs (Gulbadin Nain 48, Samiullah Shenwari 42 not out; Sheldon Cottrell 3-43, Jason Holder 2-27, Kesrick Williams 2-34)

Windies 110 all out, 26.4 overs (Evin Lewis 36, Marlon Samuels 34; Dawlat Zadran 4-26, Rashid Khan 2-7, Sharafuddin Ashraf 2-21)

A brief overview of other games on Day 1

Netherlands beat Hong Kong by eight wickets

Netherlands beat Hong Kong by eight wickets, Old Hararians, Harare (target revised to 153 runs in 46 overs by the DLS method)

Hong Kong 157 all out, 41 overs (Babar Hayat 85, Shahid Wasif 24, Nizakat Khan 15, Tanwir Afzal 15; Paul van Meekeren 4-17, Pieter Seelaar 2-17)

Netherlands 155-2, 35.5 overs (Wesley Barresi 47, Max O’Dowd 45, Ben Cooper 40 not out)

Scotland overpower PNG by seven wickets

Scotland beat PNG by seven wickets, Bulawayo Athletic Club, Bulawayo

PNG 196 all out, 46.2 overs (Sese Bau 53, Assad Vala 39, Lega Siaka 29; Mark Watt 3-22, Tom Sole 3-32)

Scotland 197-3, 36.4 overs (Matthew Cross 101 not out, Kyle Coetzer 46, Craig Wallace 32 not out; Assad Vala 2-12)

Nepal beat the UAE by five wickets

Nepal beat UAE by five wickets, Kwekwe Sports Club, Kwekwe (match reduced to 29-over-a-side)

UAE 171 all out, 28.5 overs (Ashfaq Ahmed 42, Adnan Mufti 37, Ghulam Shabbir 32, Mohammad Usman 26, Shaiman Anwar 16; Lalit Bhandari 4-40, Karan KC 3-38, Lalit Rajbanshi 2-30)

Nepal 172-5, 28.2 overs (Dipendra Airee 41, Sharad Vesawkar 41 not out, Paras Khadka 28, Arif Sheikh 23 not out; Amir Hayat 2-15)

Zimbabwe v Ireland, Queens Sports Club – match abandoned without a ball being bowled due to wet outfield