Rameez Shehzad’s second ODI century went in vain as the UAE went down by 60 runs to the rampaging West Indies in the World Cup qualifiying tournament
harare— Rameez Shahzad’s second ODI century went in vain as the UAE went down by 60 runs to the rampaging West Indies in their second World Cup qualifiying tournament match on Tuesday at the Old Hararians Sports Club.
The West Indians didn’t have a decent start to their trip to Harare when they lost a warm up game to Afghanistan and survived a close match against the UAE. However, they kicked off their qualifiers with a bang, hitting 19 sixes against the hapless UAE attack. Chris Gayle set the tone when he slammed 11 sixes and seven fours in his 91-ball 123. His knock set them up for the eventual total of 357 for 4 in 50 overs. Playing only in his third match for the West Indies, Shimron Hetmyer (127, 93 balls, 14 4s, four 6s) struck his maiden ODI hundred.
Gayle started his by carting UAE’s most successful seamer Mohammed Naveed for three consecutive boundaries in the seventh over and followed it with two fours off offspinner Rohan Mustafa in the next over.
In all, Gayle hit 35 runs off 25 balls from Mustafa, including three sixes. Evin Lewis added 31 in an 88-run opening stand before being pinned lbw by left-arm spinner Ahmed Raza in the 17th over. Gayle and Hetmyer plundered 103 runs at a run-rate of just over nine to set their side up for a tall score. After bringing up his first fifty off 47 balls, Gayle vaulted to his second off only 32 balls. He then celebrated the milestone with a hat-trick of sixes against Mustafa.
The West Indies camp, however, will have to worry about Marlon Samuels’ form as he laboured to 15 off 34 balls. In the warm-up match against the same opposition, he had managed only 15 off 32 balls. Five out of six UAE bowlers con- ceded more than six runs an over. Naveed gave away 53 runs in nine overs but could not find a wicket.
The UAE, however, did not go down without a fight. Rameez was in his element scoring runa-ball from the start of his innings and went on to get 112 from 107 balls. He hit nine fours and four sixes as the UAE batsmen also hit nine sixes as they went as close as 60 runs against the twice World Cup winners. Shaiman Anwar hit 64 off 62 balls and he reached the ropes five times and went over it three times. Adnan Mufti played a cameo of 45 in 36 balls with three fours and a six but their efforts were not enough.