Bermuda secure first win in ICC T20 qualifiers

Bermuda on Monday registered their first win of the ICC Twenty20 qualifying tournament, beating Papua New Guinea by five wickets thanks to an unbeaten 52 from Janeiro Tucker.

Tucker smashed sixes off the first three balls of the last over, as Bermuda chased down a 156 target set by the Pacific islanders in their Group A match in Dubai.

Vani Vagi Morea had earlier top-scored for Papua New Guinea with 49 not out in their 155-6 but Tucker and his 55-run, fourth-wicket stand with captain David Hemp (30 in 27 balls) helped Bermuda home with three balls to spare.

Tucker was jubilant after the match, describing hitting the final six as "amazing".

"That was always my intention to try to get us to victory in the last over," he said.

"I guess our strategy for the last couple of games will be pretty much the same as today. We got a victory, so I guess we've done something right."

In other Group A matches, favourites Afghanistan overcame Hong Kong with ease in Sharjah, with Dollat Zadran bagging an impressive five for 14.

"This was my best bowling in a T20 match," he said afterwards. "I am glad that I could contribute to the win. The captain and coach showed a lot of faith in me. We are going from strength-to-strength in the tournament."

Netherlands won against Nepal by six wickets in Dubai while Canada beat Denmark by 55 runs in Abu Dhabi.

In Group B, an all-round performance with the bat and ball from skipper Sarel Burger (53 and 3-14) helped unbeaten Namibia beat Oman by 36 runs in a low-scoring game.

Scotland secured a seven-wicket victory against Italy thanks in part to an impressive 67 from Richie Berrington.

Ireland triumphed by 82 runs over Uganda and Kenya scored an easy nine-wicket win against the United States, with Nelson Odhiambo taking three for 14 in a blistering spell.

The top two teams in the groups play off in the first qualifying final in Dubai on March 22, with the winner guaranteed a place in the World Twenty20 competition in Sri Lanka in September-October.

The second- and third-placed sides in the groups play cross-over matches, with the winners facing off on March 23 for a second spot in the tournament.

Brief scores

Group A

Hong Kong 103-9, 20 overs (Irfan Ahmed 54; Dollat Zadran 5-14, Izatullah Dawlatzai 2-19) v Afghanistan 104-1, 11.1 overs (Karim Sadiq 22, Javed Ahmadi 38 n.o., Mohammad Shahzad 43 n.o.)
Result: Afghanistan beat Hong Kong by nine wickets

Nepal 85-7, 20 overs (Gyanendra Malla 32, Basanta Regmi 20; Michael Swart 2-13) v Netherlands 86-4, 13.5 overs (Basanta Regmi 3-32)
Result: Netherlands beat Nepal by six wickets

Papua New Guinea 155-6, 20 overs (Vani Vagi Morea 49 not out, Chris Amini 32, Geraint Jones 23; Curt Stovell 2-21, Sam Robinson 2-27) v Bermuda 158-5, 19.3 overs (Janeiro Tucker 52 not out, Curt Stovell 31, David Hemp 30)
Result: Bermuda beat PNG by five wickets

Canada 178-3, 20 overs (Ruvindu Gunasekera 95, Hiral Patel 43) v Denmark 123-4, 20 overs (Rizwan Mahmood 65, Freddie Klokker 40; Henry Osinde 2-16)
Result: Canada beat Denmark by 55 runs

Group B

Italy 136-6, 20 overs (Gareth Berg 29, Peter Petricola 28, Carl Sandri 25; Majid Haq 2-16, Matthew Parker 2-24) v Scotland 137-3, 18 overs (Richard Berrington 67, Preston Mommsen 36)
Result: Scotland beat Italy by seven wickets

USA 90 all out, 18.2 overs (Sushil Nadkarni 41; Ragheb Aga 3-16, Nelson Odhiambo 3-13) v Kenya 93-1, 10 overs (Duncan Allan 34 not out, Collins Obuya 24 not out, Alex Obanda 34)
Result: Kenya beat USA by nine wickets

Namibia 120-7, 20 overs (Sarel Burger 53, Gerrie Snyman 29; Farhan Khan 2-14, Ajay Lalcheta 2-13) v Oman 84, 18.4 overs (Christi Viljoen 4-8, Sarel Burger 3-14)
Result: Namibia beat Oman by 36 runs at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah

Ireland 179-5, 20 overs (William Porterfield 53, Paul Stirling 43, Kevin O'Brien 39 not out, Gary Wilson 30; Jonathan Sebanja 2-9) v Uganda 97 in 19.5 overs (Jonathan Sebanja 20; George Dockrell 3-26, Kevin O'Brien 2-7, Trent Johnston 2-8)
Result: Ireland beat Uganda by 82 runs

World Twenty20 qualifying tables after Monday's sixth round of matches
(played, won, lost, tied, no-result, points, net run rate):

Group A
Afghanistan      6 6 0 0 0 12 +2.063
Netherlands      6 5 1 0 0 10 +1.207
Canada           6 4 2 0 0  8 +0.806
Nepal            6 3 3 0 0  6 -0.07
Papua New Guinea 6 2 4 0 0  4 -0.066
Hong Kong        6 2 4 0 0  4 -0.713
Bermuda          6 1 5 0 0  2 -1.025
Denmark          6 1 5 0 0  2 -2.233

Group B
Namibia          6 6 0 0 0 12 +1.15
Ireland          6 5 1 0 0 10 +2.207
Scotland         6 4 2 0 0  8 +0.423
Italy            6 3 3 0 0  6 +0.223
Kenya            6 3 3 0 0  6 -0.049
Uganda           6 2 4 0 0  4 -0.988
USA              6 1 5 0 0  2 -1.177
Oman             6 0 6 0 0  0 -1.728

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