The third day of ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023 saw wins for Zimbabwe and Nepal.
Zimbabwe hunted down a target of 316 in merely 40.5 overs, while Nepal changed gears towards the end of their chase to finish their encounter against USA with 42 balls to spare.
Zimbabwe vs Netherlands
Tuesday’s Cricket World Cup Group A qualifier between Zimbabwe and the Netherlands ended in a comprehensive six-wicket victory for Zimbabwe thanks to Sikandar Raza’s all-rounder brilliance.
After first claiming four Dutch wickets, Raza went on to score an exciting unbeaten 102 off just 54 balls, which is the quickest century by a Zimbabwean player in a one-day international.
Netherlands posted 315 runs on the board for the loss of six wickets, thanks to the brilliants innings played by Vikramjit Singh and captain Scott Edwards who scored 88 runs and 83 runs, respectively.
After Craig Ervine and Joylord Gumbie, Zimbabwe’s openers, had scored 50 and 40 runs, respectively, Sean Williams made 91 off 58 balls to ensure their victory.
Nepal vs USA
While USA had their moments in the game, courtesy a special knock from Karachi-born wicket keeper Shayan Jahangir, Nepal proved to be the overall better side on the day.
Shayan Jahangir scored an undefeated 100 to help the US team comeback from being 18 for four wickets to 207 all out in 49 overs.
Gajanand Singh and Sushant Modani both contributed 42 runs, but the next-best total was 12, and seven batsmen failed to reach double figures.
As Nepal finished on 211/4 with 42 balls left, Bhim Sharki scored an undefeated 77, while Kushal Bhurtel and Dipendra Singh Airee each contributed 39 runs as Nepal easily won the match.
After losing to the West Indies in their initial game, the Americans suffered a second loss.
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