Khurram century powers UAE to victory

Khurram Khan's fourth List A ton set the platform for United Arab Emirates' comprehensive 150-run win over Papua New Guinea in Christchurch.

UAE, put in to bat, were precariously placed at 57 for 3 in the 10th over before Khurram strung together fifty-plus partnerships with Swapnil Patil, Rohan Mustafa and Vikrant Shetty for the next three wickets and take the team close to the 250-run mark. Khurram blasted 17 fours and two sixes during his 145-ball 138, but was dismissed by seamer Willie Gavera in the 44th over and UAE were subsequently dismissed for 280 by the 49th. Gavera was the pick of the PNG bowlers and finished with 3 for 39.

PNG were unable to gather any momentum during the chase, and slumped to 45 for 5 inside 12 overs as the pacers Mohammad Naveed and Manjula Guruge ran through their top order. The Amini brothers - Chris and Charles - counterattacked with a 58-run sixth-wicket partnership, but once the captain Chris fell for 17, defeat was inevitable. Charles struck six fours and a six during his 44-ball 49, but only two other batsmen managed to reach double digits as the medium-pacer Amjad Javed too four wickets as he cleaned up the tail to seal the win in 28.3 overs.

"That was a very important two points because PNG came into the Super Six stage with four points and most of the other teams came with two points. This stage of the competition you just have to beat every team, and we really respect PNG, they are an awesome team and have been doing very well but our guys did a wonderful job today," Khurram said after the game. "I played better today. The last few innings I got out on 88 and 87 and 78 but I wanted to bat for all the overs and tried my best today."

A 72-run stand for the fourth wicket between the opener Irfan Karim and Morris Ouma paved the way for Kenya's 10-run D/L win against Hong Kong in a rain-affected match in Rangiora. Kenya, chasing 255, needed 32 off the last 28 deliveries before a second shower forced the umpires to end the game and award Kenya the victory as they were 10 runs ahead of the par score of 213.

Karim scored 82 off 98 with seven fours, and added 55 for the second wicket with Ragheb Aga to set Kenya's chase underway. Seamer Irfan Ahmed removed both Aga and Collins Obuya in quick succession, but Karim and Ouma's partnership took the game away from Hong Kong. Karim fell in the 37th over, but Ouma remained unbeaten on 69 with seven fours.

Hong Kong, in their innings, were lifted by captain Jamie Atkinson's 85 that helped them recover from a slow start. He was run-out in the 37th over, but handy contributions from the rest of Hong Kong's middle order, including Babar Hayat's unbeaten 48-ball 45, propelled the team to a competitive 254 for 8.

The game between Namibia and Scotland was abruptly halted after 12.1 overs in the second innings due to heavy rain and winds in Lincoln. Namibia, chasing 280, were 59 for 2 before the umpires stopped play, but the game is set to resume on Monday.