Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in driving seat as CWC23 Qualifier moves into Super Six

Victory for Sri Lanka strengthens their chances of securing one of the two qualification spots for the tournament in India later this year.

And while Ireland already knew that their chances of making the 2023 CWC had gone, Paul Stirling’s phenomenal century helped them to the second-highest total in the team’s history.

Match Centre and Scorecard

Spin dominated in Bulawayo as Sri Lanka beat Scotland by 82 runs to carry maximum points through to the Super Six stage.

Both teams had already qualified for the Super Six and knew that the result in this game could have significant implications for the final result of the tournament, with the points to be carried forward.

And Scotland’s spinners gave themselves a terrific chance of pulling off a shock win, with Chris Greaves and Mark Watt superb with the ball to bowl Sri Lanka out for 245.

But, with Maheesh Theekshana taking 3/41 and Wanindu Hasaranga bagging 2/42, Sri Lanka denied Scotland in the second innings to secure a win that leaves them as one of the favourites to secure qualification to the Cricket World Cup later this year.

Wickets fell all-too-frequently for Scotland in their run chase, with opener Christopher McBride the only batter to make a significant out of the top six with his 29.

A collapse of four wickets for just 19 runs left Scotland in a heap of trouble at 74/6, but the lower order stepped up to restore some pride.

Mark Watt stopped the rot as he and Greaves got Scotland up towards triple figures. And, after Jack Jarvis departed without scoring, Chris Sole added a useful 17 before being run out going for an optimistic second run.

It was Greaves who had briefly given Scotland hope of pulling off a miracle, but he was left stranded and unbeaten on 56* from 41 balls when Alasdair Evans was run out to end the inning son 163, still 82 runs short.

Earlier, Sri Lanka had been put in to bat after naming an unchanged XI once again, with the same side playing all of four of the team’s Group Stage matches.

But Scotland struck with the new ball as Chris Sole cleaned up Dimuth Karunaratne for 7 via the slightest inside edge, and Sole was at it again to remove the dangerous Kusal Mendis for 1.

With Pathum Nissanka laying a platform with a fine 75 from the top of the order, Sri Lanka’s middle order all contributed to lay a solid platform.

Sadeera Samarawickrama’s 26 and Dhananjaya de Silva’s 23 helped lift the sore to 203/4 with 11 overs still remaining.

But the brilliance of Scotland’s spinners saw the final six wickets fall for just 42 runs as Sri Lanka slipped up in the final ten overs.

De Silva was first to go, bowled by Greaves, with captain Dasun Shanaka falling to the very next ball.

Greaves missed out on his hat-trick, but Scotland didn’t have to wait long for the next wicket, with the impressive Charith Asalanka departing for a tidy 63 from 65 balls when he was caught behind off Mark Watt.

And it was left to Greaves and Watt to clean up the tail, with the former finishing with leading figures of 4/32 and Watt taking 3/52 as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 245 in the final over of their innings.

Match Centre and Scorecard

Ireland produced a stunning performance with the bat to beat UAE by 138 runs in Bulawayo.

Paul Stirling was the star, smashing an outstanding 162 off 134 balls to help his side to a huge 349/4 – the second-highest in Ireland men’s ODI history.

Solid contributions from Andy McBrine (24 from 28) and Andy Balbirnie (66 from 88) helped set up the big total.

And some huge hitting saw Ireland add 124 in the last 12 overs.

Stirling played a large part in that, whacking 15 fours and eight sixes in his remarkable knock, the second-highest ever in Ireland’s ODI history, behind his own effort of 177 against Canada back in 2010.

And Lorcan Tucker’s 11-ball 19* and George Dockrell’s seven-ball 15* lifted Ireland to a score that UAE were always going to struggle to chase.

Sanchit Sharma returned the best figures of 3/46, and he excelled with the bat too as UAE fell short in their reply.

A decent top-order return from Muhammad Waseem 45 helped get UAE off to a decent start, with Aryansh Sharma (18) and Vriitya Aravind (10) helping set a platform despite not maximising decent starts.

But it was the dismissal of captain Waseem that took the wind out of UAE’s sails after his dominant role in the 58-run opening partnership.

The UAE skipper was run out in unusual circumstances, leaving his crease after being hit in the glove and signalling for a physio, but doing so before the ball had gone dead, with Andrew Balbirnie hitting the stumps to run him out.

Decent knocks from Basil Hameed (39) and Sharma (44) kept the game going, but Ireland squeezed UAE hard, with Josh Little, Andy McBrine, George Dockrell and Curtis Campher all taking two wickets apiece.

And the final wicket fell with UAE on 211 and still well short.

Both teams already knew they had missed out on qualification to the Super Six stage prior to this match, having each lost their previous three games in the Group Stage.

But victory for Ireland will be a morale booster after a tricky recent record in One Day Internationals.

These two sides will now head into the play-offs to determine final finishing standings in the tournament.

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