Bulawayo (Zimbabwe): Hosts Zimbabwe and the USA continued their winning run at the ICC Mens T20 World Cup Qualifier B after registering victories over Jersey and Singapore in their respective matches at Queens Sports Club, here on Tuesday.
Zimbabwe beat Jersey by 23 runs while the USA hammered Singapore by 132 runs on the second day of the tournament.
Zimbabwe v Jersey
Sent in to bat, Zimbabwe had a shaky start as they lost three wickets inside the powerplay, with Jersey reducing them to 39/3.
The onus was on last match’s half-centurions, Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza to revive their innings. Together they steadied the proceedings with a 52-run stand before Williams, who made his second fifty of the tournament, was bowled by Dominic Blampied for a quick 39-ball 57.
Wickets continued to fall at regular intervals for Zimbabwe, with batters failing to convert their good starts. Luke Jongwe’s fiery cameo of 29 not out from just 13 balls helped push his side’s total to a respectable 146/8.
In reply, Jersey lost opener Nicholas Greenwood early inside the powerplay, in which they made 41/1. Thereafter, Ryan Burl struck thrice in each of his last three overs, finishing with returns of 3/13. That put the pressure on Jersey who were reduced to 67/4 in the 14th over.
Opener Harrison Carlyon was leading the attack, and he found a reliable partner in Benjamin Ward. However, their 52-run stand was broken in the final over as Carlyon departed for 45. Jersey fell 24 runs short of the target with Ward unbeaten on 35.
USA vs Singapore
USA openers Steven Taylor and Monank Patel were dropped in the first and second overs of the innings respectively and they made the most of the opportunities by laying a solid foundation. At the end of the powerplay, the USA were 72 for none.
It was after the powerplay stage that Singapore made inroads with the wickets of Monank and Aaron Jones. Taylor, too, followed suit after contributing a crucial 31-ball 58. However, the fall of wickets did not affect USA’s scoring rate with attacking batter Jaskaran Malhotra taking charge.
In his 33-ball stay at the crease, he smashed 58 runs, including two fours and four sixes. USA finished on a strong 201/6 — their highest T20I team total.
In reply, Saurabh Netravalkar’s dream spell ripped Singapore’s line-up apart. First, he struck twice on the first two deliveries he bowled and finished the same over with another scalp — a triple-wicket maiden over.
In his next over, he added another wicket to his tally. While Cameron Stevenson chipped away with one wicket, leaving Singapore teetering at 22/5 by the end of the powerplay. The damage was already done as Singapore struggled to fight back, and continued to lose wickets.
They were eventually bowled out for 69 in 15.2 overs, with the USA securing their second win of the tournament. Netravalkar finished with 5/12 — the best figures in men’s T20Is for the USA.
Brief scores:
Zimbabwe v Jersey
Zimbabwe 146/8 in 20 overs (Sean Williams 57, Luke Jongwe 29 not out; Elliot Miles 2/25) beat Jersey 123/5 in 20 overs (Harrison Carlyon 45, Benjamin Ward 35 not out; Ryan Burl 3/13) by 23 runs
USA vs Singapore
USA 201/6 in 20 overs (Steven Taylor 58, Jaskaran Malhotra 58; Amjad Mahboob 3/54) beat Singapore 69 all out in 15.2 overs (Anantha Krishna 21 not out; Saurabh Netravalkar
5/12, Nisarg Patel 2/12) by 132 runs
–IANS
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