European final in store as Scotland and Netherlands make it through

“As a bowler in the powerplay you always know that there is a small margin of error and there’s always a risk that you will concede runs. You need to have a proper plan. Our plan was to hit just back of a length hard, even when we were changing the pace we wanted to hit the deck, not float it up. That was the plan and it worked.”

Looking ahead to the final, Bukhari added: “This whole tournament we came with the plan that we wanted not only to qualify but to win it. So we are happy to beat Ireland but we’re not done yet. We will enjoy this win but we will come back strong tomorrow. I think it’s definitely going to be a great game tomorrow. Both teams are playing good cricket. Scotland have played well in the last few games, and so have we so we are looking forward to a good game.”

In the fifth-place play-off in Clontarf, Najibullah Zadran (44) and Samiullah Shenwari (40 not out) were heroes of the hour as Afghanistan recovered from 7-3 to pass Oman’s meagre total of 127-9 with the loss of only two further wickets. The victory will be some consolation to the Afghans, who had expected to be involved in the semi-finals but were beaten in the play-offs by Hong Kong.

Tomorrow’s final at Malahide will be preceded by the third-place play-off between Hong Kong and Ireland with play in that game starting at 1000 local time. The final is then scheduled to get underway at 1415.

Today’s scores:First semi-final
**At Malahide:**Hong Kong 116 all out, 19.4 overs (Aizaz Khan 31; Rob Taylor 3-17, Alasdair Evans 3-17, Safyaan Sharif 3-29)
Scotland 117-5, 12.2 overs (Matthew Cross 39, Kyle Coetzer 33; Irfan Ahmed 2-26)
Scotland won by five wickets

Fifth-place play-offSecond semi-finalAt Malahide: Ireland 128 all out, 19.5 overs (Kevin O’Brien 33, Andrew Balbirnie 31; Mudassar Bukhari 4-28, Paul van Meerkeren 2-14, Timm van der Gugten 2-16)
Netherlands 129-5, 18.1 overs (Ben Cooper 43, Peter Borren 36 not out; Kevin O’Brien 3-26)
Netherlands won by five wickets

**At Castle Avenue:**Oman 127-9, 20 overs (Dawlat Zadran 2-21, Aftab Alam 2-23, Mirwais Ashraf 2-32)
Afghanistan 130-5, 18.5 overs (Najibullah Zadran 44, Samiullah Shenwari 40 not out; Rajeshkumar Ranpura 2-17, Munis Ansari 2-38)
Afghanistan won by five wickets

Tomorrow’s fixtures:
Sun, 26 July – Third place play-off, Hong Kong v Ireland, Malahide, Dublin (1000-1310); Final, Netherlands v Scotland, Malahide, Dublin (1415-1725)