Zimbabwe, West Indies get off to winning start in Qualifiers

Zimbabwe vs Nepal

Hosts Zimbabwe sent a statement on the opening day of the tournament by chasing down 291 against Nepal. Having won the toss, Zimbabwe opted to bowl and began by sending down consecutive maidens. But the openers Aasif Sheikh and Kushal Bhurtel recovered soon to raise the half-century partnership in 12 overs. Even though Zimbabwe kept the run rate in check, the Nepal openers laid a solid foundation. With Sheikh struggling to up the ante, Bhurtel kept the boundaries coming as the openers put on a massive 171-run partnership for the first wicket. Wellington Mazakadza then removed both the set batters in successive overs, with Bhurtel missing out on a ton.

Skipper Rohit Paudel and Kushal Malla ensured Nepal didn't collapse and added a crucial 72 for the third wicket. At the end of 43 overs, Nepal were 246/2 and could have ended up with more than 300. However, the hosts staged an excellent comeback and kept chipping away with the wickets. In the process, Richard Ngarava finished with a four-wicket haul as Nepal ended up with 290. In the chase, Zimbabwe got off to a promising start with skipper Craig Ervine and Joylord Gumbie adding 45 for the opening wicket. Ervine and Madhavere then led Zimbabwe's charge with a vital 82-run stand but even at the halfway stage, the game was tantalisingly poised with Nepal slightly ahead because of the asking rate.

It was the entry of Sean Williams that actually gave Zimbabwe some much-needed momentum in the middle overs as he took little time to get going. The two veterans turned on the heat by finding the boundary at regular intervals to put Nepal under the pump. By the time Ervine moved to three figures from the 90s, Williams' boundary spree saw him jump from 24 to 56. The stunning assault caught Nepal off guard as Zimbabwe knocked off 239 runs by the end of 40 overs. From thereon, only one result appeared likely as Ervine took a backseat that allowed Williams to hammer the hapless Nepal attack and bring up a stunning 70-ball century to cap off a wonderful day for Zimbabwe.

Brief scores: Nepal290/8 in 50 overs (Kushal Bhurtel 99, Aasif Sheikh 66; Richard Ngarava 4/43) lost to Zimbabwe 291/2 in 44.1 overs (Craig Ervine 121*, Sean Williams 102*) by 8 wickets.

West Indies vs USA

A fighting century from Gajanand Singh couldn't prevent the United States from going down against the West Indies. Chasing an imposing 298, USA were put under the pump right from the start. Once Jason Holder made the breakthrough, USA lost their top order cheaply to lose four wickets for the addition of just 20 runs. Despite a brief recovery, a run out saw them lose half the side with the total yet to go past 100. At this point, the game was pretty much done and dusted. But Gajanand combined forces with Shayan Jahangir to revive the chase that gave USA an outside chance.

By the end of 40 overs, USA had just 182 on the board having lost seven wickets. Gajanand, with slim hopes, just couldn't keep the boundaries coming at the death. While there was a brief cameo from Nosthush Kenjige, Gajanand could only manage to rotate strike at the death before finally finding the boundary in the penultimate over. The game was done and dusted by then but as a consolation, Gajanand finished unbeaten on 101. Earlier in the day, West Indies got off to a disastrous start with Brandon King and Kyle Mayers combining to contribute just two runs.

Johnson Charles and Shai Hope then steadied the innings with a crucial partnership. At the end of 20 overs, West Indies had only 83 on the board before Hope and Charles flexed their muscles. Another rebuild was forced upon them when both the set batters departed after going past fifty. While Nicholas Pooran's cameo broke the shackles, his dismissal which was followed by the departure of Rovman Powell first ball, put West Indies under the pump again. Holder and Roston Chase joined forces at a crucial time with the Windies struggling at 192/6 and their 74-run stand quashed the USA's hopes of keeping their opposition to a below-par total. While Chase hit a run-a-ball 55, Holder cleared the ropes thrice in his 40-ball 56 that powered his side to a total close to 300, which proved to be enough.

Brief scores: West Indies297 in 49.3 overs (Johnson Charles 66, Jason Holder 56; Steven Taylor 3/53) beat USA 258/7 in 50 overs (Gajanand Singh 101*, Shayan Jahangir 39; Kyle Mayers 2/30) by 39 runs.