Pakistan, West Indies, USA secure semifinal spots in MCW Over 40s Cricket Global Cup

Sep 28, 2023 Sports

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Kaieteur Sports – KARACHI: Pakistan, West Indies and United States of America (USA) confirmed their places for the semifinals of the inaugural MCW Over 40 Cricket Global Cup 2023 while Australia, Hong Kong and Canada remain in the hunt for a spot in the top four at the end of the penultimate round of league matches on Wednesday.

Hosts Pakistan extended its unbeaten run by whipping Hong Kong by 157 runs at National Bank Stadium, Australia came back into the reckoning by whacking United Arab Emirates (UAE) by 226 runs at NBP Sports Complex, West Indies consolidated its position by whipping Canada by 103 runs at Karachi Gymkhana while USA stayed afloat by demolishing Nepal by nine wickets at Moin Khan Academy.

Opener Junaid Khalil Nainitalwala and left-arm spinner Abdul Qadir starred in Pakistan’s emphatic 157-run victory over Hong Kong. Junaid (81 off 87 balls) was named Man of the Match as he added 133 for first wicket in 21 overs with Muhammad Ilyas (66 off 64 balls). Amjad Ali (68 off 59 balls) sustained the momentum while Waqas Ahmed (41 off 25 balls) provided a late flourish to take the total to an imposing 328 for eight in the allotted 45 overs.

Hong Kong succumbed to the scoreboard pressure, getting bowled out for 171 in 40.4 overs. They had no answer to the left-arm spin of Abdul Qadir, who returned the impressive figures of five for 17 off nine overs in which three were maidens. Opener Naveed Tariq Khwaja (45 off 61 balls) top scored for Hong Kong with Bodhisatya Guha (38 off 60 balls) and Khan Zar (32 off 36 balls) contributing their bit down the order.

Captain Narsingh Deonarine, once again, won the toss and decided to take first strike. Openers Shazan Babwah and Hemraj Garbarran were both back in the pavilion with the score on 19 for 2. Devon Clements had a rare failure with the bat playing over a delivery to be bowled with West Indies precariously poised at 36 for 3. Randy Thomas was promoted to number 4 and was then joined by Lawrence Farnum who together sought to repair the damage. At the first 15 overs interval they had reached 64 without further loss and added 112 runs partnership before Thomas departed at 148 when he had just completed his first half century of the tournament just before the 30 overs drinks break. Thomas’s innings contained 6 boundaries. Farnum was then joined by Dary Balgobin who had featured in several cameos in the previous matches and now had an opportunity to bat for a full 15 overs. He added 69 in partnership with Farnum who had just passed his 50 when he joined him with Farnum bringing up his century in the 37^th over after completely dominating the partnership with Balgobin. Farnum then retired hurt at after completing his century (13 boundaries) which then paved the way for captain Deonarine to join Balgobin. Together they added 63 in quick time before Dary departed at 280 for another cameo of 46 off 33 balls with 3 x 4s and 3 x 6s with 2 overs to go. Sanjiv Gooljar then came in and thrashed 21 off 8 balls with 2 @ 4s and 2 @6s to guide West Indies to their highest ever ODI score (311 for 7) in masters’ cricket history. Captain Narsingh contributed a masterful 38 off 21 deliveries with 1@ 4 and 3 @ 6s.

Canada started off very well rattling up 77 off the first 15 overs when the first wicket fell. Beesham Seepersaud’s four-wicket haul left the Canadians wobbling at 79 for 4 in the 19^th over.  Thereafter they never recovered, and WI earned an emphatic 103-run victory against Canada.The 77-run opening stand in 15 overs between Shaikh Nasir (100 off 107 balls) and Ayaz Ali (41 off 46 balls) kept the Canadian hopes of chasing down 312 alive but they were derailed after losing four wickets for just one run. The collapse was engineered by left-arm spinner Seepersaud which put West Indies in decisive control of the proceedings.

Australia, fighting for survival after hiccups in their earlier matches, managed to put their acts together to thrash UAE by a colossal margin of 226 runs. Batting first, after winning the toss, they posted a healthy total of 288 for eight in the stipulated 45 overs as openers Martin Raadschelders (33 off 37 balls) and Craig Mackay (26 off 31 balls) provided a solid start. Useful contributions from Luke Johnson (36 off 29 balls) and Justin Poole (43 off 36 balls) kept the scoreboard ticking and the timely little cameo by Mark Leard (39 off 31 balls) helped their cause immensely.

UAE lost wickets upfront and couldn’t recover to build any kind of partnership. None of their top eight batsmen reached double figures and the whole team was bundled out for a paltry 62 in 18.4 overs. Off-spinner Tim MacDonald (5-36), who shared the new ball with Chris Dickson (2-18) caused the main damage to ensure a huge win for the Aussies.

USA encountered no problems in taming Nepal, who remained the only team without a point in the tournament. Opener Robin Joshi (67 off 105 balls) once again remained the standout batter for Nepal as he was denied support by his teammates once more. They could barely get to a below-par total of 157 for nine in the allotted 45 overs with the spin quartet of Ameeq Khan (2-19), Muhammad Farrukh (2-25), Ajay Sharma (2-29) and Irfan Rabbani (2-35) coming up with yet another clinical performance.

USA needed just 21.1 overs to overhaul the target of 158, with Jan Nisar Khan (70 off 54 balls) and Muhammad Farrukh (65 off 60 balls) adding 134 for their unbroken second wicket stand. Both returned undefeated with skipper Farrukh earning Man of the Match for his all-round efforts.

The league phase will be concluding with the seventh and final round on Thursday in which Pakistan will take on UAE at National Bank Stadium, West Indies will clash with Hong Kong at Karachi Gymkhana, Australia will lock horns with Nepal at Moin Khan Academy and USA will be pitted against Canada at NBP Sports Complex.

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• Cricket Global Cup, Pakistan, Semifinals, USA, West Indies

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