Denmark Win a Thriller; Qatar Confine Vanuatu to Bottom Two Finish |
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08/12/2022POSTED BY Malaysian Cricket Association Admin |
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Nicolaj Laegsgaard’s 61 and 2-31 powered Denmark to a tense two-wicket win against Singapore, while Qatar chased down Vanuatu’s 173 courtesy Muhammad Tanveer’s unbeaten 66. Qatar vs. Vanuatu After winning the toss and choosing to bowl first, Qatar struck early as Gayan Munaweera trapped Nalin Nipiko plumb in front for 4. Jarryd Allan fell soon after with Ronald Tari following him back to the dugout when he was struck in front by Yousuf Ali. Junior Kaltapau and Patrick Matautaava then peppered the cover region for a series of boundaries to push Vanuatu’s score to 85 in the 21st over. Left-arm spinner Mohammad Nadeem then dismissed the pair in quick succession, leaving Vanuatu reeling at 116 for 5 in the 29th over. Joshua Rasu held strong, launching Akash Babu over long on for one of the biggest hits of the tournament on the way to 47 of 66 balls. Yet, with wickets falling around him, he was unable to prevent Vanuatu being dismissed for 172 in the 44th over. In the second innings, debutant Godfrey Mangau picked up his maiden wicket when he bowled Akash Babu with a ball that swung in late. Imal Liyanage and Kamran Khan then combined to hit a few boundaries in the proverbial “V.” Mangau brought Vanuatu back in the game after Kamran Khan nicked an attempted drive into the hands of Jamal Vira behind the stumps. Qatari skipper Mohammed Rizlan and Liyanage were next to depart, being trapped in front by Williamsing Nalisa and Rasu, respectively. At 64 for 4, and with 109 still required for victory, Qatar needed a partnership. Enter player-of-the-match Muhammad Tanveer. His controlled aggression was central to a Qatari recovery that saw him stitch together a 56-run stand with Assad Borham. After the latter missed a Simpson Obed delivery that kept low, Vanuatu still harboured hopes of a come-from-behind victory. Tanveer, however, dropped anchor as Dharmang Patel and Muhammad Ikramullah batted around him to deliver a four-wicket win with more than six overs to spare. Mohammed Rizlan made no excuses for being reduced to 64 for 4, while heaping praise on his bowlers. “The pitch was good for batting. Our fast bowlers did really well and the spinners came and tightened it up,” he said at the post-match presentation. Patrick Matautaava was disappointed with Vanuatu being confined a bottom two finish and having to play in the Challenge League Playoff to fight their way back into the next Challenge League tournament. “Obviously we need to improve our batting. I think the bowling is good but we have two more games in Malaysia,” he said. “Firstly, thanks to the almighty. Coach gave us a plan, which was to play positive cricket and that’s what we did. It was quite simple, and by the grace of God, we were able to win,” said Tanveer when asked about his mindset during a tricky phase of the chase. Brief Scores: Qatar 173 for 6 in 43.5 Overs (Tanveer 66, Simpson Obed 2-20) beat Vanuatu 172 ALL OUT in 43.2 Overs (Rasu 47, Tanveer 2-4, Munaweera 2-19) by 4 wickets with 37 balls to spare Player of the match: Muhammad Tanveer (Qatar) Denmark vs. Singapore Winning the toss and choosing to bowl, Denmark had to wait a while before their first breakthrough. After Surya Anand dismissed Avi Dixit, who was caught by Shangeev Thanikaithasan, Aman Desai walked to the crease to partner Aritra Dutta. Having got his eye in, Dutta cashed in, launching two maximums and ten fours in a belligerent knock. Despite losing Aman Desai, he paired up with Manpreet Singh to push Singapore’s score to 154 for 2 after 33 overs. Surya Anand then returned to the bowling crease and changed the course of the game. He trapped Singh in front before getting Dutta caught behind for 99 by Abdul Hashmi. Singapore, who were eyeing 250 at one stage, fell well short of their expectations, limping to 217 for 9 at the end of 50. In the second innings, Aryaman Uchil, as he so often does, struck early, dismissing Hamid Shah, who was caught by Sidhant Srikanth. Unperturbed, Nicolaj Laegsgaard took the attack to Uchil and the rest of Singapore’s bowlers, pummelling four maximums and as many fours in a belligerent knock of 61 in 58 balls. However, when Singaporean skipper Amjad Mahboob dismissed him caught behind in the 20th over with the score on 110, Singapore had a chance at coming back into the game. In the very same over, Mahboob took a return catch to dismiss Saif Ahmad before Taranjit Bharaj was trapped in front by left-arm spinner Vinoth Bhaskaran, to leave Denmark struggling at 112 for 4. When Ishaan Swaney trapped Musa Shaheen LBW, Denmark still needed 84 runs with just four wickets in the bank. Yet, it was Surya Ananad who returned to act as a thorn in Singapore’s flesh, striking 33 in partnership of 73 with Zameer Khan, who ended up on 49. After Khan was adjudged to be LBW off the bowling of Mahboob, Denmark still needed 9 runs to win with just two wickets in the bag. Oliver Hald, however, walked to the crease and charged down the track to loft Akshay Puri over the off side for a maximum before Abdul Hashmi pushed a single into the off side to seal victory for Denmark. Brief Scores: Denmark 218 for 8 in 46.2 overs (Laegsgaard 61, Mahboob 3-36) beat Singapore 217 for 9 in 50 Overs (Dutta 99, Surya Anand 4-33) by 2 wickets with 22 balls to spare Player of the match: Nicolaj Laegsgaard (Denmark) |
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