2020 T20 World Cup Qualifier: Six teams including UAE in a battle for four remaining spots

Here, we look at how the six teams vying for the four remaining qualification berths have performed so far in the tournament.

United Arab Emirates:

They finished level on points with Ireland and Oman in Group B but missed out on direct qualification due to an inferior run-rate. UAE lost two games and won four to gain eight points with a net run-rate of 0.682.

They face Netherlands in the first Qualifying Play-off on Tuesday.

Best players: Muhammad Usman and Rohan Mustafa

In Usman’s five innings, the middle-order batsman has managed 172 runs at an average of 57.33 in the tournament. His most important knock came in the final group game against Canada as he rescued his team from a tricky position with a timely, unbeaten 63-ball-89. His knock helped them achieve a competitive total and thus win what was a near must-win game. Rohan Mustafa is an all-rounder who opens the batting and bowls some handy off-spin. He has picked eight scalps in six games at an economy of 5.29.

Netherlands:

The Dutch narrowly missed out on securing automatic qualification after falling just short due to an inferior net run-rate compared to PNG. They lost only one group game to table-toppers PNG and won the other five matches to gain ten points.

Netherlands have recorded the biggest ever victory of the tournament so far after they beat Bermuda by 92 runs.

Best Player: Paul Van Meekeren & Roelof van der Merwe

In six matches, medium pacer Van Meekeren has picked up 12 wickets at a splendid economy of 5.60 runs per over. The 26-year-old’s best performance came in the Netherland’s biggest win when he finished with  figures of 3-26. He, alongside left-arm spinner Roelof Van der Merwe, have accounted for 22 wickets between them in six games.

Namibia:

Led by their talismanic skipper Gerhard Erasmus, Namibia  notched four straight wins to go through to the play-offs. Namibia finished at third position below Netherlands and PNG in Group A with eight points.

They play Oman in the Qualifying play-off 1, the winner of which will qualify for the World Cup.

Best Players: Gerhard Erasmus and Jan Frylinck

Erasmus has scored two consecutive half-centuries and was instrumental in helping his side get out of the group stages. He has thumped the most number of maximums in the tournament with as many as 10 to his name. Frylinck, the left-arm pacer, is the tournament’s leading wicket-taker so far with 14 scalps in the group-stage.

Oman:

A 14-run shock loss against Group B bottom dwellers Jersey saw Oman miss out an outright qualification chance. Oman’s strength is their top-order and all their wins in the group stage have come while chasing.

Best Players: Aamir Kaleem and Jatinder Singh

37-year-old left-arm spinner Kaleem has been an epitome of consistency, picking up eight wickets in the tournament thus far. His best bowling performance came against Nigeria when he finished with figures of 4-14. He has been frugal as well, conceding runs at the rate of just 5.50 per over. Jatinder Singh is the power hitter at the top of the order and has provided several quick starts.

Scotland:

The team led by Kyle Coetzer has been mercurial at best during the group stages. They might have lost to Singapore in their opening game but they remain the only team so far to have beaten table-toppers PNG in this tournament. All three Scotland wins have come while defending a total.

They posted the second highest total in the tournament when racked up a total of 204/4 against Bermuda.

Scotland will face the loser of the UAE v Netherlands play-off.

Best Players: Safyaan Sharif and Callum Mcleod

Sharif, the fast-bowler who famously picked a fifer against Zimbabwe in a tied ODI, has been among the wickets after picking as 10 already in this tournament. Mcleod may have just one half-century to his credit in six innings, but he remains Scotland’s lynchpin in the batting order.

Hong Kong:

After losing their first three games of the tournament, Hong Kong bounced back strongly to record consecutive wins against Jersey, Canada and Nigeria to squeeze through to the play-offs

Hong Kong will face the loser of the Oman v Namibia play-off.

Best Player: Kinchit Shah and Nizakat Khan

The 23-year-old batsman is one of three players to score more than 200 runs in the group stages. He was named the player of the match in Hong Kong’s win over Canada for his superb half-century. Shah has also managed to pick up three wickets in the tournament with his part-time off-spin. Nizakat Khan is a consistent opener and the second best batsman in the line up.  He has scored 139 runs in the group stages.