Italy recorded their second consecutive victory in the ICC World Cricket League Division five tournament by defeating Qatar by six wickets at the Willowmoore Park C Field in Benoni, South Africa yesterday.
The victory took Italy to the top of the Group A and also secured a spot in the semi-finals for them.
Italian skipper Gayashan Munasinghe took 3 for 52 opening the bowling before Hasnat Ahmed ripped through the tail to claim 4 for 37 as Qatar were dismissed for 209 in 46.3 overs.
Qatari skipper Inam-ul-Haq (36), Kamran Khan (33) and Tamoor Sajjad (40) were the top scorers for their side while other batsmen failed to make an impact except a fighting knock down the order from Awais Malik who remained unbeaten on 23.
Italians replied with confidence and their openers Gian Meade (51) and Rakibul Hasan (62) scored half centuries, setting up an opening stand of 123 runs. Khurram Shahzad put an end to it when he clean bowled Hasan.
Damian Crowley fell four short of his second fifty in a row but by the time he was dismissed Italy needed just 23 to win.
Peter Petricola took Italy over the line with an unbeaten 21 to secure victory with 49 balls to spare.
In the other Group A fixture, Guernsey bounced back from their opening-day loss to Italy with a six-wicket win over Cayman Islands.
Cayman were in a strong position at the start, but things turned south when their team’s top scorer Sacha de Alwis departed for 60 at 115. Medium pacer David Hooper ripped through the middle order by taking 5 for 36 as Cayman Islands fell for 214, losing nine wickets in their allotted 50 overs.
Guernsey replied strongly with Josh Butler (93 off 87 balls) dominating a 97-run opening stand with Matthew Stokes while Oliver Newey produced his second half-century of the tournament, making a brisk 54 off 38 balls.
Guernsey eventually reached the target with 13.3 overs to spare, putting themselves back in the hunt for the other semi-final spot from Group B while Cayman Islands have been eliminated from semi-final contention following the two defeats in two days in a row.
In Group B, Ghana beat Vanuatu by two wickets while Jersey moved a shade closer to a semi-final berth with a five-wicket win over Germany.
