Shaheryar Butt is stumped by Ifthikar off Shahzad Umran and Norway have beaten Belgium at the ICC Europe Division 1 Tournament in The Netherlands

Germany and Norway stay undefeated on Day 2 - WCL Europe Division 1

Shaheryar Butt is stumped by Ifthikar off Shahzad Umran and Norway have beaten Belgium at the ICC Europe Division 1 Tournament in The Netherlands

Belgium v Norway

Norway successfully defended a seemingly sub-par total of 142 in an eventful match up in Voorburg. E Ul Haq battled through 80 balls for his 35 runs, top-scoring for the Norwegians. F Khaliq was the most successful bowler for the Belgians with 4-22/10.

The Belgians put 44 runs on the board before lunch was taken. Norway came back from the lunch break with renewed energy and started taking wickets at regular intervals. Syed Waqas Ahmed was crucial for Norway, taking 6-24/10 including the scalp of opening batter A.M. Babarkhail (48). The Belgians lost their final wicket in the 29th over, with the score on 109.

Germany v Austria

Mudassar Mohammed (115) dominated on day two, putting another century to his name in an opening partnership of 176 with Daniel Weston (55). Mohammed was run out in the 34th over, the highlight for the Austrians in the first innings. Late hitting from Amit Sharma (54*) and some missed opportunities in the field contributed to the German total of 310 for 5.

Germany carried their momentum into the second innings with the early wicket of danger-man Lakmal Arachchige. Shadnan Khan (42) showed intent for the Austrians but was taken in by the German spinner Shahil Momin. Momin would go on to claim 5-40/10, leaving the Austrians stranded on 142.

Sweden v France

France came back strong on day two to defeat Sweden in a low scoring thriller. Sweden won the toss and chose to bat, losing early wickets to Usman Shahid (3-18/10) and Usman Khan (3-24/9). Abhijit Venkatesh (69*) stabilized the innings for the Swedish, putting on crucial partnerships with Sweed Ullah (29) and Rahel Khan (21) and pushed the total to 161.

Usman Shahid (106*) carried his bat through the French innings, setting up the close victory in the 45th over. Tight bowling from the Swedish and regular fall of wickets looked to decide the match in Swedish favour, until the 8th wicket partnership between Shahid and Rameez Ishan (9). Ishan came in with the score on 78 for 7 and put on a 42 run partnership with Shahid to get the score to 120 for 8. Sivaran Kannanraj (17*) continued in the same way, putting on another 42 run partnership with Shahid to win the game for the French.