UAE aim to shatter Zimbabwe’s hopes

West Indies seal a World Cup berth with D/L win over Scotland

With the World Cup qualifying hopes sealed well before the final match of the Super Six, UAE will be looking to play the role of a spoiler when they take on Zimbabwe at the Harare Stadium today.

For hosts Zimbabwe, this is a do-or-die match as any slipup against bottom-placed UAE would mean that it would be curtains as far as their chances of making to the World Cup in England is concerned.

The West Indies, meanwhile, snatched a spot at next year’s World Cup by edging to a fiverun victory over Scotland on DLS method in Harare today.

The two-time World Cup winners were bowled out for just 198 batting first, but rain forced an early finish with the game in the balance and Scotland on 125-5 with 14.4 overs remaining.

Zimbabwe’s loss against Windies on Monday ended the home side’s unbeaten streak in the tournament and also left them in danger of not finishing in the top two.

A win against UAE and they’ll be travelling to England next year. Lose, and they’re out. If the UAE can pull off that shock win over Zimbabwe, Afghanistan can also qualify, provided they beat Ireland on Friday. With five teams in the Super Sixes standing a chance to qualify, even the net run rate could come into picture.

Though UAE managed to retain the ODI status and marched into the Super Six with wins against Papua New Guinea and The Netherlands, it has been a struggle for them in the Super Six stage.

They have been found wanting in all departments but what has hurt them the most was their batting. Inability to chase down totals or post challenging ones made it all the more difficult to press for a win. The pacers struggled with their line and length and their performance had been in patches. Adding to their woes, were the injury worries.

Skipper Rohan Mustafa accepted that it has been a disappointing showing from his team so far in the Super Six but they would like to finish off on a high with a win against Zimbabwe.

“Yes, very much disappointing to say the least. But having said that we had some injury worries and some of them were unwell,” said Mustafa.