Afghanistan and Namibia maintain unbeaten record

Ireland stretched by Italy; Karim Sadiq's all-round performance sinks Denmark; Obanda and Allan put on 105 runs for first wicket against Oman; PNG ends Nepal's winning streak; Scotland outsmarts Uganda; Bermuda makes Dutch sweat for victory

Match reports with quotes and scorecards available here

Photographs from Namibia v USA, Ireland v Italy, Afghanistan v Denmark, Scotland v Uganda, Netherlands v Bermuda and PNG v Nepal available at ICC FTP site for free download and editorial use

Top seed and tournament favourite Afghanistan, as well as seventh-seed Namibia, have maintained a cent per cent success rate in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier UAE 2012 after both the sides won their third successive matches on Thursday.

Defending champion Afghanistan rode on an excellent all-round performance by Karim Sadiq to sink Denmark by 89 runs at Sharjah while Raymond van Schoor stroked a fine 79 as Namibia overpowered a spirited United States of America (USA) by 17 runs at the ICC Global Cricket Academy, Oval 2, Dubai Sports City.

In the other matches of the day, Canada routed Hong Kong by eight wickets, Kenya beat Oman by 35 runs and Papua New Guinea defeated Nepal by 35 runs (all in Group A) while Ireland defeated Italy by two wickets, Scotland beat Uganda by 34 runs and the Netherlands held its nerves to overcome Bermuda by four runs (all in Group B).

After three rounds, Afghanistan leads Group A with three wins each from as many matches while the Netherlands, Canada and 16th seed Nepal have two wins from three matches.

The position in Group B is, however, very exciting with Namibia leading the pack, followed by a four-way tie for the second place between Italy, Uganda, Ireland and Scotland.

All the 16 teams are currently targeting a place in the top three of each group which will keep their chances of qualifying for this September's ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012 alive.

The two sides that will top their respective groups will feature in the 1st Qualifying Final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on 22 March with the winner sealing a place for the Sri Lanka tournament to be staged from 18 September to 7 October.

The sides that finish second and third in the two groups will play cross-over matches. The two winners will progress to the Preliminary Final to be played on 23 March at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The 2nd Qualifying Final - for the second spot in the ICC World Twenty20 2012 - will take place on the morning of 24 March at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium between the loser of the 1st Qualifying Final and the winner of the Preliminary Final.

Reverting to the third day's proceedings, Afghanistan opener Karim Sadiq turned in a fine all-round performance (91 and four for 12) to steal the show in his side's 89 runs win over Denmark at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Sadiq, whose 91 came off 60 balls and included nine fours and five sixes, later said: "This was my best day in Twenty20 cricket. I love to entertain and so I love Twenty20 cricket. I am glad that I could contribute to the team's win today. We are looking good and want to keep up the winning momentum."

At the ICC Global Cricket Academy in Dubai Sports City, Namibia defeated the United States of America (USA) by 17 runs. Opener Raymond van Schoor struck a fine 79 and former captain Craig Williams chipped in with 41 as Namibia posted 177 for four. In turn, the USA fought gallantly before finishing at 160 for seven.

A delighted Namibia captain Sarel Berger said: "Obviously, it is great position to be in. We won all our three matches, including two against the more dangerous and experienced sides like Ireland and Scotland, which is something we were hoping for."

Man of the match van Schoor slapped 11 fours in a 55-ball 79 and after putting on 49 runs for the first wicket with Gerrie Snyman (29), he added 56 runs for the third wicket with Williams whose 41 came off 26 balls and included two fours and three sixes.

In turn, the USA showed a lot of grit and fight but ended up 17 runs short at 160 for eight with Aditya Mishra and Orlando Baker scoring 53 and 38, respectively.

At Abu Dhabi, Ireland claimed a tight victory by two wickets over Italy. The Italians were lucky to make 100 in their 20 overs after captain Alessandro Bonora hit two sixes on his way to making 20 to ensure the side reached triple figures for the innings. Michael di Venuto scored 23 off 44 balls.

In its chase, Gary Wilson proved to be the batsman of note for Ireland after the 26-year-old right-hander hit 30 not out to guide the team home after the top order failed against strong Italian bowling led by Damian Crowley.

Wilson later said: "I think some big lessons need to be learnt from this game but that being said I'm still delighted that we've secured a win after our disappointment against Namibia. I'm not sure we were complacent against Italy that certainly wasn't the case in the dressing room."

Points Table

Group A

Group B

Brief Scores

Group A

Canada beat Hong Kong by eight wickets at ICC GCA, Oval 1, Dubai Sports City

Hong Kong 81-8, 20 overs (Babar Hayat 36; Junaid Siddiqui 3-17, Manninder Aulakh 2-8, Rizwan Cheema 2-12)

Canada 84-2, 14 overs (Hiral Patel 40, Nitesh Kumar 22 not out)

Man of the match - Junaid Siddiqui (Hong Kong)

Afghanistan beat Denmark by 89 runs at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah

Afghanistan 172-5, 20 overs (Karim Sadiq 91, Nawroz Mangal 22; Sair Anjum 2-34, Bobby Chawla 2-36)

Denmark 83-9, 20 overs (Kamran Mahmood 25 n.o.; Karim Sadiq 4-12, Nawroz Mangal 2-14)

Man of the Match - Karim Sadiq (Afghanistan)

Kenya beat Oman by 35 runs at ICC GCA Oval 2, Dubai Sports City

Kenya 176-5, 20 overs (Alex Obanda 52, Duncan Allan 51, Rakep Patil 33; Zeeshan Siddiqui 2-20, Hemal Mehta 2-26)

Oman 141-9, 20 overs (Adnan Ilyas 35, Aamir Kaleem 22; Hemal Mehta 22 not out; James Ngoche 2-16, Collins Obuya 2- 17, Shem Ngoche 2-27)

Man of the match - Alex Obanda (Kenya)

Netherlands beat Bermuda by four wickets at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Netherlands 125-9, 20 overs (Michael Swart 53, Stephan Myburgh20; Curt Stovell 2-14, Kamau Leverock 2-28)

Bermuda 121-8, 20 overs (Stephen Outerbridge 34 not out, Janeiro Tucker 20; Timm Van Der Gugten 4-22)

Man of the match - Michael Swart (Netherlands)

Group B

Namibia beat USA by 17 runs at ICC GCA, Oval 2, Dubai Sports City

Namibia 177-4, 20 overs (Raymond van Schoor 79, Craig Williams 41, Gerrie Snyman 29)

USA 160-7, 20 overs (Aditya Mishra 53, Orlando Baker 38, Steve Taylor 21; Christi Viljoen 2-21)

Man of the match - Raymond van Schoor (Namibia)

Ireland beat Italy by two wickets at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Italy 100-7, 20 overs (Michael Di Venuto 23, Alessandro Bonora 20 not out: Boyd Rankin 3-16, Paul Stirling 2-13)

Ireland 104-8, 19.4 overs (Gary Wilson 30 not out; Damian Crowley 3-16)

Man of the match - Boyd Rankin (Ireland)

Scotland beat Uganda by 34 runs at ICC GCA, Oval 1, Dubai Sports City

Scotland 170-6, 20 overs (Calum Macleod 45, Gordon Gaudie 26, Richard Berrington 21; Jonathan Sebanja 3-29, Henry Ssenyondo 2-26)

Uganda 136-9, 20 overs (Deusdedit Muhumuza 23, Arthur Kyobe 22; Majid Haq 3-18, Preston Mommsen 3-33, Richard Berrington 2-30)

Man of the match - Calum MacLeod (Scotland)

PNG beat Nepal by 35 runs at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah

PNG 137-8, 20 overs (Chris Amini 38, Geraint Jones 32; Shakti Gauchan 2-22, Basant Regmi 2-22)

Nepal 102-8, 20 overs (Prithu Baskota 36 not out; Chris Amini 2-20)

Man of the match - Chris Amini (PNG)

Friday's fixtures

Canada v Bermuda (1000-1300), Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai Sports City

Netherlands v Denmark (1000-1300), Global Cricket Academy No.2, Dubai Sports City

Namibia v Uganda (1000-1300), Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Scotland v Oman (1000-1300), Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah

PNG v Hong Kong (1400-1700), Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai Sports City

Ireland v USA (1400-1700), Global Cricket Academy No.2, Dubai Sports City

Kenya v Italy (1400-1700), Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Afghanistan v Nepal (1400-1700), Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah