The ICC ODI World Cup Qualifiers are all set to kick off on Sunday, June 18 with the hosts Zimbabwe taking on Nepal at the Harare Sports Club. Heading into the Qualifiers, the teams played warm-up matches, to gear up for the tournament. Zimbabwe, Ireland, West Indies, UAE and Sri Lanka got off to winning starts in the warm-up matches. They will be keen to continue the winning momentum ahead in the second warm-up game as well as the Qualifiers.
Aaqib Ilyas, Ayaan Khan’s effort goes in vain
Zimbabwe put on a mammoth 367 runs on tha board, as Sikandar Raza hit an unbeaten century. He slammed 109 runs from 66 deliveries, before retiring. Sean Williams and Ryan Burl scored the fifties to take the team to a great total. In response, Aaqib Ilyas scored a century, while Ayaan Khan scored 92, but they couldn’t take the team home. Oman was bowled out for 339 runs, as Brad Evans and Sikandar Raza picked up three wickets each.
Spinners lead West Indies convincing win
Meanwhile, West Indies defeated Scotland by 91 runs. They scored 264 runs in the first innings, with Shai Hope scoring 57 runs. Romario Shepherd’s also smashed a quickfire 57 from 46 balls. Their spinners came to the party, as Scotland was bowled out for 173 runs. Yaanic Cariah took four wickets for 46, with Chase contributing three wickets. Brandon McMullen top-scored with 38 from 57 balls for Scotland.
UAE’s thrilling win against Nepal
The United Arab Emirates secured a thrilling victory over Nepal in their first warm-up match. They bowled Nepal out for 175 runs in the first innings. Aasif Sheikh slammed 52 runs from 78 deliveries, while Kushal Malla scored 45 runs. In response, Rohan Mustafa who complied a half-century, led the chase for UAE. Rameez Shahzad also played a fine hand of 43 runs as UAE snatched victory off the penultimate ball of the innings.
Dasun Shanaka powers Sri Lanka’s win
Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka powered the team to a three-wicket win over the Netherlands in the warm-up match in Bulawayo. He slammed an unbeaten 67 as Sri Lanka chased down 215 runs easily. Dimuth Karunaratne missed out on his fifty in the innings. Earlier in the match, Kasun Rajitha picked up a three-wicket haul. Saqib Zulfiqar was the leading run-scorer for the Netherlands with 56 runs in the match.
Ireland gets the better of the USA
Batting first, the USA put on 312 runs on the board. Aron Jones top-scored in the innings with 89 runs. Meanwhile, Monank Patel scored 77 runs. There were valuable contributions from other batters, like Sushant Modani and Saiteja Mukkamalla. In response, Ireland faltered at seven for two runs on the board. However, Paul Stirling steadied the ship, with 55 off 53 balls. Harry Tector took up from Stirling and blasted 149 runs from 123 balls to steer Ireland home with 10 fours and seven sixes.
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