By Benjamin Wickham
WINDHOEK, March 31 — On the fourth day of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) suffered a loss to the United States of America (USA), while Namibia emerged victorious against Jersey.
In the match between UAE and USA, skipper Muhammad Waseem fell to Saurabh Netravalkar in the first over, which set the tone for difficult innings for UAE. However, Vriitya Aravind (57) and Aryan Lakra (26) tried to keep the scoring rate up, but USA’s Nisarg Patel put up a strong fight in the middle overs. Former skipper Rohan Mustafa and Asif Khan then helped to build a good partnership, but a run-out and a wicket left UAE struggling at 207/6 by the 40th over. Despite this, Asif Khan’s brilliant 81-ball century took UAE to a competitive total of 279/9.
In response, the USA played a steady inning, aiming to preserve their wickets and progress towards the target. Although they lost Shayan Jahangir (22) and Sushant Modani (39) early on, they were at 127/2 by the halfway mark with eight wickets still in hand. UAE needed breakthroughs, but skipper Monank Patel matched Saiteja Mukkamalla’s aggression, and USA added almost six runs an over between overs 26 to 35. UAE missed several chances, and Mukkamalla completed his century in the 45th over, with Gajanand Singh offering support from the other end. Although UAE raised their hopes by taking a late wicket, Jessy Singh hit a four off the final ball of the 49th over to give the USA the win. With this win, the USA moved up to third in the points table with a net run rate of +0.404.
Meanwhile, in the match between Namibia and Jersey, Namibia’s bowlers made an impact early on, with Ben Shikongo, Ruben Trumpelmann, and Ben Scholtz each taking wickets to leave Jersey at 32/3 after 11 overs. However, Jonty Jenner and Josh Lawrenson added 80 runs from 104 balls, bringing Jersey back to parity. But just as Jersey looked like they were gaining the upper hand, Shikongo took a crucial wicket, and Namibia’s bowlers continued to take wickets at regular intervals. Jenner’s dismissal in the 44th over left Jersey unable to reach a score of 220, which had looked like a possibility at the 40-over mark.
In response, Namibia’s skipper Gerhard Erasmus showed his form from the previous match and led his team to an easy victory. After the early losses of Shaun Fouché and Nikolaas Davin, Erasmus and Michael van Lingen took control and reached 155/2 at the halfway stage. Namibia went on to achieve victory in just 32.1 overs, with van Lingen scoring his fourth ODI hundred and Erasmus finishing unbeaten on 88.
Namibia’s big win not only earned them two crucial points but also improved their net run rate, giving them a boost in their quest for a top-two finish in the event.
