The Netherlands and Papua – New Guinea are through to the finals of the T20 World Cup Qualifier after victories in their semi-final games at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium earlier Friday
DUBAI, (Pakistan Point News - 02nd Nov, 2019) The Netherlands and Papua – New Guinea are through to the finals of the T20 World Cup Qualifier after victories in their semi-final games at the Dubai International cricket Stadium earlier Friday.
In the first of the semi-finals Ireland, winners of Group B, took on The Netherlands, runners-up in Group A. The Irish won the toss and opted to bowl.
After a bumpy start, losing two wickets for 27 runs, the Dutch picked up the pace and passed 100 with only 3 wickets down. Brendan Cooper was bowled for 37 as the score stood at 102, with 15 overs gone.. A fine partnership between Ryan ten Doeschate, 43 not out, and Roelof van der Merwe, 25 not out, in the last five overs added another 56 runs for a respectable total of 158 for 4.
In reply, the Irish reached 52 before losing their first wicket, Kevin O’Brien, with star batsman Paul Stirling falling five runs later. A third wicket didn’t fall until 84 runs were o nthe board, but steady bowling and fielding by the Dutch side took six more wickets as Ireland struggled to 108 for 9.
George Dockrell and Boyd Rankin added another 29 runs for Ireland off the last 14 balls, but were unable to chase down the target. The Netherlands won by 21 runs.
In the second match, played under floodlights, Papua – New Guinea, winners of Group A, took on Namibia, third-placed team in the Group A matches last month. PNG, winning the toss and choosing to bat, scored 130 for the loss of five wickets in their 20 overs, with Sese Bau being top scorer on 40 not out and Charles Amini contributing another 31.
Namibia got off to a bad start, losing their first wicket with only six runs scored. Jean-Pierre Kotze, 30, and Stephan Baard, 34 pushed towards a more respectable total, but with Baard caught and bowled by Damien Ravui in the 16th over, with Namibia on 81 for 4, runs became harder to get. With Gerhard Erasmus bowled by Vanua for 4, Namibia were 92 for 5. With twenty overs completed, Namibia were 112 for 5, giving Papua – New Guinea an 18-run victory.
