A fine century from Brandon King fired the West Indies to a seven-wicket victory over Oman in their penultimate match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023.
Defeat to Scotland in their last match ended the Windies’ hopes of reaching the World Cup in India, but they responded in style in Harare.
Romario Shepherd took three wickets as Oman were restricted to 221 for nine from their 50 overs, and King led from the front in reply as the Windies got home with 10.2 overs to spare.
Windies bounce back with big win
Brandon King hit exactly 100 from 104 deliveries to set the West Indies on their way to a comfortable seven-wicket win over Oman.
Set a target of 222, the Windies eased to victory in 39.4 overs, as they ended a run of three straight defeats, skipper Shai Hope sealing the win with an unbeaten half-century.
West Indies will now look to finish their campaign with another win against Sri Lanka, even though their qualification hopes were ended by Scotland.
After winning the toss, the Windies elected to field and made early inroads as Romario Shepherd (3/44) removed Jatinder Singh (8) with a short ball before Kyle Mayers bowled skipper Aqib Ilyas for one.
Some fine work in the field from Roston Chase saw Kashyap Prajapati run out for 31 before another run out accounted for Mohammad Nadeem (20).
When Shepherd then dismissed Ayaan Khan (30), with Sandeep Goud (5) following soon after, Oman found themselves in real strife at 116 for six.
Shoaib Khan (50) and Suraj Kumar (53 not out) started to rebuild, adding 85 for the seventh wicket only for another miscommunication to lead to a third run out of the innings.
Suraj kept going, taking Oman to 221 for nine from their 50 overs, but it soon became clear that it would not be enough.
Even though Johnson Charles was bowled by Kaleemullah in the second over for four, the Windies were always in control of the chase thanks to King.
He and Keacy Carty (29) added 80 before catching Oman’s running bug, Carty paying the price for trying to run on a misfield.
That brought skipper Hope to the wicket, and he and King settled any nerves with a 96-run stand, the opener bringing up his century with the target in sight.
While he was caught behind immediately after reaching three figures, it came with just 39 still needed from 15 overs.
Hope and Nicholas Pooran quickly saw their side home, needing just five overs to complete the victory, with the captain fittingly finishing the job on his way to an unbeaten 63.
Scotland and Netherlands chase final qualification berth
The identity of the team joining Sri Lanka in qualifying for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 will be revealed on Thursday when Scotland take on the Netherlands in Bulawayo.
Scotland’s victory over Zimbabwe eliminated the hosts from contention, leaving it as a straight shootout with the Dutch for the final spot.
Should Scotland avoid defeat, they are guaranteed a top two spot and a place in India, while the Netherlands need to win, while overhauling Scotland’s superior net run-rate, to qualify at the expense of their opponents.
The other game of the day takes place in Harare as the USA and UAE face off with both teams still seeking a first win of the competition in the ninth-place play-off.
Scores in brief
Oman v West Indies at Harare Sports Club, Harare by seven wickets
Oman 221/9 in 50 overs (Suraj Kumar 53*, Shoaib Khan 50; Romario Shepherd 3/44, Kyle Mayers 2/31)
West Indies 222/3 in 39.4 overs (Brandon King 100, Shai Hope 63*; Kaleemullah 1/49, Bilal Khan 1/54)
Thursday 6 July – Fixtures
Super Six
Netherlands v Scotland at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo
Play-offs
UAE v USA at Takashinga Cricket Club, Harare
Weldmaster
India is the only nation to win three different world cups.
FLAK Angel
India and Pakistan are considered the biggest rivals in cricket. This sports feud is supposed to have begun in 1947 after Pakistan became independent from India. The rivalry is good for viewership, however. It is estimated that around 300 million people from different countries would tune in to watch the two nation’s intense matches.