Report

Ahmed five-for helps USA avoid last-place finish

A round-up of the playoffs of the World Twenty20 Qualifier held on November 26, 2013

United States of America 145 for 7 (Dodson 41, Hamid Shah 3-20) beat Denmark 124 for 9 (Pedersen 42*, Ahmed 5-18) by 21 runs
Scorecard
Left-arm spinner Danial Ahmed's maiden T20 five-for helped United States of America beat Denmark by 21 runs and avoid a last-place finish in the World Twenty20 qualifiers. USA finished the tournament on 15th place, while Denmark finished last.
Ahmed wrapped up Denmark's middle order, triggering a slide that saw them fall from 75 for 1 to 96 for 5 while chasing a target of 146. Pace bowler Imran Awan picked up another two wickets, even as Carsten Pedersen remained steady at one end, compiling an unbeaten 42 off 50 balls. Three wickets fell in successive balls in the 19th over, as Denmark finished at 124 for 9.
Earlier, Denmark managed to keep USA to 145 for 7, in spite of a strong start from their openers Steven Taylor and Akeem Dodson. The openers added 79 in nine overs before falling to offspinner Hamid Shah in successive overs. A late rally from Japen Patel, who hit 30 off 20 balls, lifted the side from 87 for 4 to 145 for 7.
Uganda 134 for 7 (Saleh 45, Leverock 2-24) beat Bermuda 123 for 4 (Hemp 53) by 11 runs
Scorecard
A second successive fifty from David Hemp wasn't enough to push Bermuda to victory as the team went down by 11 runs to Uganda in Dubai. The win helped Uganda finish on 13th place, while Bermuda finished 14th.
Chasing a target of 135, Bermuda were struggling at 34 for 2 in the eighth over before Hemp and Janeiro Tucker combined to add a 78-run third-wicket stand. While the partnership stemmed the fall of wickets, the Bermuda batsmen couldn't score quickly enough to keep pace with the asking rate. Hemp fell for 53 at the end of the 19th over with the side still more than 20 runs adrift. Tucker's wicket in the next over only sealed the game in favour of Uganda.
Earlier, Uganda overcame a shaky start after they won the toss and chose to bat. Struggling at 37 for 3, they were lifted by a 58-run partnership between top-scorer Hamza Saleh (45) and Davis Arinaitwe. Once the pair was dismissed, a late surge from Richard Okia, who smacked two sixes in his 12-ball 21, helped lift the total to 134.
Kenya 146 for 7 (Tikolo 40, Obuya 40, Raza-ur-Rehman 2-16) beat Canada 125 (Bagai 48, Tikolo 3-16) by 21 runs
Scorecard
An all-round performance from Kenya's Steve Tikolo set up a 11th place finish in the T20 qualifiers, after a 21-run victory over Canada in Sharjah. Tikolo struck 40 off 23 deliveries to propel the team to 146 for 7, before picking up three wickets to bundle Canada out for 125.
Kenya, choosing to bat, had begun brightly, as Tikolo and his opening partner Nehemiah Odhiambo raced to 58 inside six overs. The pair hit a total of 11 fours during their stand, but they were both dismissed in consecutive overs, leaving the team at 59 for 2 in the seventh over.
But Collins Obuya continued the scoring, despite receiving little support from the other end. He hit three sixes during his 36-ball 40, to take Kenya to a competitive total.
Canada's chase got off to a poor start, as seamer Ragheb Aga removed the openers Ruvindu Gunasekera and Rizwan Cheema in the second over. They continued to lose wickets at regular intervals, with the only form of resistance coming from captain Ashish Bagai, who scored 48 and was the last man out as Canada could not last the full 20 overs.