Zimbabwe, USA register wins in Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier B

Bulawayo, July 11 (IANS) Hosts Zimbabwe smashed Singapore by a record 111 runs in their opening match at the T20 World Cup Global Qualifier B at Queens Club here on Monday while the USA recorded a convincing eight wickets win over Jersey.

Sent into bat, Zimbabwe first proved to be costly for Singapore as the hosts put on a mammoth total in the first game of Qualifier B.

Regis Chakabva and Craig Ervine helped Zimbabwe off to a great start with the fifty partnership coming in the fourth over. Singapore fought back by dismissing Chakabva and Ervine soon after and Wesley Madhevere returned back early for 2.

However, the visitors failed to apply pressure and the experienced duo of Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza regrouped and unleashed a volley of sixes. Their century stand powered Zimbabwe to a massive 236/5.

In reply, Singapore struggled to get going, losing their first wicket in the second over. Tendai Chatara then removed Surendran Chandramohan and Aman Desai in the space of four deliveries to leave them stuttering at 32/3. There were a couple of brief partnerships but with a big target to scale, the pressure kept mounting on Singapore. In the end, Zimbabwe restricted Singapore to 125/7, securing a big 111-run win.

In another match, Jersey's start was a slow one with the USA bowlers controlling the scoring rate in the initial overs. Three wickets fell in the first 10 overs with a score of just 47.

However, No. 3 batter Asa Tribe was the lone warrior for Jersey and his fiery knock powered them to a respectable total. He remained not out on 73 off 45 as Jersey posted 154/5 in their 20 overs. Juan Theron and Nisarg Patel took two wickets apiece for the USA.

In reply, USA's chase was a pretty straightforward affair. A modest target of 155 was no match for their batting firepower. Despite losing their captain Monank Patel in the seventh over, the pair of Steven Taylor and Aaron Jones put up an 88-run second-wicket stand. When the second wicket finally fell in the 17th over, the USA were just 25 runs away from victory. Taylor scored an unbeaten 101 as they registered an eight-wicket win with 11 balls to spare.

Brief scores:

Zimbabwe 236/5 in 20 overs (Craig Ervine 34, Raza 87, Sean Williams 53, Amjad Mahboob 42/1) beat Singapore 125/7 in 20 overs (Janak Prakash 32, Aryaman Sunil 25, Tendai Chatara 14/3) by 111 runs.

Jersey 154/5 in 20 overs (Asa Tribe 73, Benjamin Ward 38, Theron 28/2) lost to USA 159/2 in 18.1 overs (Steven Taylor 101, Dominic Blampied 20/2) by 8 wickets