T20 World Cup: Canada, Namibia, Oman win warm-up matches
Dallas (USA): Canada, Oman, and Namibia won their respective warm-up matches ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, gaining some advantage in their buildup to the mega event to be played in the USA and Caribbean. Canada defeated Nepal by 63 runs at the Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium, Dallas; Oman handed Papua New Guinea a 3-wicket win while Namibia got the better of fellow African side Uganda by five wickets at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba.
Electing to bat first, Canada rode on a half-century by Nicholas Kirton and a blazing unbeaten 41 off 17 balls as Canada posted 183/7 in 20 overs on Tuesday. Opener Navneet Dhaliwal gave them a decent start with 32 off 27 balls, hitting four boundaries while Kirton struck a 39-ball 52, studded with four boundaries and two sixes. Ravinderpal Singh hammered one four and four maximums as he contributed a vital 17-ball 41 to help Canada post a challenging total.
In response, Nepal were bundled out for 120 runs in 19.3 overs with Dilon Heyliger claiming 4-20 in 2.3 overs. Jeremy Gordon and Saad Bin Zafar both claimed identical 2-25 each for Canada. For Nepal Kushal Malla scored a 30-ball 37 while Aasif Sheikh and Anil Sah contributed 22 and 24 runs respectively. Six Nepalese batters were out for single figures.
Electing to field first, Oman restricted Papua New Guinea (PNG) to 137/9 in 20 overs thanks to a three-fer by Aqib Ilyas (3-22) and 2-20 by Bilal Khan. Lega Siaka top-scored with 28 runs off 24 balls, hitting three boundaries.
Chasing 138, Oman rode on a 42-ball 45 by Zeeshan Maqsood, who blasted four boundaries and one six, while Khalid Kail (27 off 26 balls) as they reached 141/7 in 19.1 overs.
In another match played at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba, Uranda could manage only 134 in 20 overs despite a half-century by Roger Mukasa, who struck six boundaries and one six off 41 balls.
Robinson Obuya scored 38 off 27 balls, hitting five boundaries and two sixes, and shared a 34-run partnership for the third wicket. Namibia rode on a 34-ball 54 by opener Nikolaas Davin, who struck three boundaries and five maximums to mount a successful chase. Davin added 85 runs for the second wicket partnership with Jean-Pierre Kotze (29 off 31 balls) as they virtually put Namibia on course to victory.