Debutants Canada delivered a stirring performance on the first day of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 warm-up matches.
Canada defeated Nepal in Dallas, winning by 63 runs with Namibia triumphing in an all-African battle against Uganda by five wickets.
Oman left it late to beat Papua New Guinea by three wickets requiring some quick hitting from Mohammad Nadeem to get them over the line.
Heyliger helps Canada to win
Four wickets from Dilon Heyliger saw Canada defeat Nepal by 63 wins in the first warm-up match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
Nepal elected to bowl and saw Aaron Johnson return to the hutch early on before Rayyan Pathan retired hurt having faced one ball.
Canada were not daunted however as Navneet Dhaliwal and Nicholas Kirton put on a half-century stand for the second wicket.
Heyliger ended not out with 13 runs from seven balls as he and Ravinderpal Singh put on 48 in an unbroken stand, the latter scored 41 off just 17 balls in an electric display.
The right-arm medium pacer Heyliger came on as first change for Canada in the bowling innings, taking a wicket with his first ball before going for 17 off the next five balls of his first over.
The 34-year-old soon settled ending with match-best figures of four for 20 from just 15 balls as Nepal were dismissed for just 120.
Kushal Malla top-scored with 37 off 30 as Nepal struggled to build partnerships, with seven batters posting scores in the single digits.
Oman get past PNG
Oman chased down Papua New Guinea’s total of 137 with five balls to spare to win their warm-up match by three wickets.
Having been put into bat, Papua New Guinea found scoring tough going with Lega Siaka posting their highest score with 28 off 20 balls before being dismissed to leave his side at 55 for three.
A late cameo of 17 from 10 balls from Alei Nao pushed Papua New Guinea to 137 from their 20 overs as captain Aqib Ilyas disrupted the middle order with three wickets for 22.
Having already delivered with the ball, Zeeshan Maqsood then impressed with the bat.
The all-rounder had conceded just one boundary off his three overs of left-arm spin before making 45 from 42 balls.
Nepal’s scoring was not fast however, and Mohammad Nadeem provided some much-needed impetus.
With four boundaries off the penultimate over he ended with 22 from 11 before Mehran Khan hit the winning runs with a four.
Davin delivers for Namibia
An unbeaten half-century from Roger Mukasa was not enough to see Uganda over the line as Namibia triumphed by five wickets thanks to 54 from Niko Davin.
In the battle between two African teams, Uganda were put into bat with opener Robinson Obuya leading the charge.
He made 38 from 27 before Mukasa took over, posting 51 from 41 balls including six fours and one six.
Bernard Scholtz was the pick of the Namibian bowlers, going for just 16 runs from his four overs also picking up two wickets.
Davin expertly steered the chase of 134, compiling a masterful half-century including five sixes.
He and JP Kotze put on the highest partnership of the day with 85 before Namibia wobbled with Davin’s dismissal immediately followed by a duck for Merwe Erasmus.
However, JJ Smit saw off the remaining total to end on 21 not out and hand Namibia the victory.
Scores in brief
Canada v Nepal at Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas
Canada 183/7 in 20 overs (Nicholas Kirton 51, Ravinderpal Singh 41 not out; Abinash Bohara 2/27, Lalit Rajbanshi 1/20)
Nepal 120 all out in 19.3 overs (Kushal Malla 37, Anil Sah 24; Dilon Heyliger 4/20; Jeremy Gordon 2/25)
Result: Canada won by 63 runs
Papua New Guinea v Oman at Brian Lara Stadium, Tarouba, Trinidad
Papua New Guinea 137/9 in 20 overs (Lega Siaka 28, Sese Bau 18; Aqib Ilyas 3/22, Bilal Khan 2/20)
Oman 141/7 in 19.1 overs (Zeeshan Maqsood 45, Khalid Kail 27; Alei Nao 2/12, Charles Amini 2/19)
Result: Oman won by three wickets
Uganda v Namibia at Brian Lara Stadium, Tarouba, Trinidad
Uganda 134/8 in 20 overs (Roger Mukasa 51 not out, Robinson Obuya 38 not out; Bernard Scholtz 2/16, Merwe Erasmus 2/24)
Namibia 135/5 in 18.5 overs (Niko Davin 54, JP Kotze 29; Henry Ssenyondo 2/14, Cosmas Kyewuta 1/13)
Result: Namibia won by five wickets
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