United Arab Emirates versus Sri Lanka
With a decisive 175-run victory over the UAE to start their World Cup Qualifiers campaign, Sri Lanka made a statement. This was made possible by a strong team performance with the bat and Wanindu Hasaranga’s first five-wicket haul in ODIs. Sri Lanka bowled the UAE out for 180 after posting 355/6 with half-centuries from their top four batsmen. As a result of the UAE hitters’ failure to capitalize on the Sri Lankan spinner, Hasaranga finished with career-best figures of 6-24.
After being asked to bat, Sri Lanka got off to a strong start with an opening wicket partnership of 95 between Pathum Nissanka and Dimuth Karunaratne. Karunaratne was the quicker of the two, hitting seven fours before being dismissed for a 54-ball 52 by Aayan Khan. Nissanka needed 66 balls to reach his fifty before Basil Hameed bowled him. After that, Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama added 105 runs for the third wicket in just 79 deliveries, giving Sri Lanka a strong foundation.
Ali Naseer terminated Mendis’s performance, which featured 10 fours, at 78; Samarawickrama was also out in the 70s. Wanindu Hasaranga’s spectacular cameo of 23* off 12 and Charith Asalanka’s blitz of 48 not out off 23, with five fours and two sixes, helped Sri Lanka surpass the 350 threshold despite losing quick wickets in the last overs.
Before Rohan Mustafa was caught and bowled by Lahiru Kumara, UAE had a good start in the chase. Then, Wanindu Hasaranga broke up a promising partnership between Muhammad Waseem and Vriitya Aravind by dismissing the former, and in the next over, she also removed Basil Hameed. Asif Khan was sent back after Hasaranga won another match, leaving the UAE at 99/4. Aravind was defeated by Dhananjaya de Silva, making the score 119/5. Ali Naseer made an effort to defend the UAE, but Hasaranga persisted as he collected a five-wicket haul for the first time in an ODI and added one more to bowl Sri Lanka to a decisive victory.
Oman vs. Ireland
Oman surprised Ireland by winning by five wickets in their opening match of the Qualifiers. Ireland scored 281/7 thanks in large part to the opposing knocks of Harry Tector and George Dockrell. However, the total was insufficient as half-centuries were scored by Kashyap Prajapati, Aqib Ilyas, and Zeeshan Maqsood, while Mohammad Nadeem scored an undefeated 46 to help Oman cross the finish line with 11 deliveries left to spare.
After being introduced, Ireland’s top-order batters got off to promising beginnings, but three of the top five fell in the 20s as Oman struck frequently. Tector’s patient 50-run innings was part of a 79-run partnership with Dockrell that stabilized the innings.
However, further dismissals came after, leaving Ireland at 240/7 after 46 overs. In order to assist Ireland beyond 280, Dockrell, who was on 65 off 77, ensured a fruitful end to the innings. He concluded with 91 not out off 89, with seven fours and two sixes.
With only nine on the board in the fourth over of the chase, Oman did not get off to the best of starts. Jatinder Singh was lost. However, Ilyas and Prajapati gave Oman a boost with a 94-run partnership for the second wicket, with Ilyas scoring a fifty in just 47 balls. In his second over, Dockrell put an end to the partnership by having Ilyas top edge a slog sweep. When Prajapati reached fifty, he and Maqsood put together a successful 63-run stand to keep Oman in the game.
Although Prajapati was out, Maqsood’s fifty kept the team going, and he and Nadeem worked together to reduce the equation to 64 off the final 12 overs. Josh Little made a crucial breakthrough when he dismissed Maqsood for 59, leaving Oman four down. In order to reduce the target, Nadeem and Ayaan Khan formed a key partnership for the fifth wicket, however the latter was removed by Mark Adair with Oman 23 remaining. However, Nadeem made sure there were no more difficulties by helping Oman win in the penultimate over with Shoaib Khan.