Afghanistan take on PNG in must-win game today

DUBLIN: Clinical bowling by the Netherlands’ bowlers earned them a four-wicket win over Namibia on Tuesday and consequently a berth at the World Twenty20 2016 to be played in India.
Opting to bat first, Namibia rode on Craig Williams’s 32-ball 43 to post 135 for 6 at The Village in Dublin. And although Bernard Scholtz, the off-spinner, took three wickets to dent Netherlands’ charge, they reached 137 for 6 in 19.2 overs.
Netherlands lost Wesley Barresi off the first ball of the innings. But Stephan Myburgh hit six boundaries in the power play to get the side off to a flier. When Jason Davidson had him caught in the fifth over, Myburgh had already scored 31 off 18.
Peter Borren (16), Michael Swart (28) and Ben Cooper (18) steadied the ship in the middle overs. Scholtz impressed with his accurate line and length, taking three for 15 in his four overs.
With 32 required from the last five overs, Max O’Dowd and Roelof van der Merwe steered Netherlands closer to victory with a 31-run sixth-wicket stand.
Earlier, Namibia got off to a disappointing start, losing the openers inside two overs.
Stephen Baard fell to Timm van der Gugten in the first over and Gerrie Snyman was run out soon afterwards.
Raymond van Schoor (16) and Williams then consolidated the innings with a 57-run third wicket stand. When they got out, Namibia were 69 for 4 in 11.4 overs.
That Namibia could get to 135 was due to handy contributions from the lower order comprising Sarel Burger (27 not out) and Nicolaas Scholtz (37). The duo added 52 runs for the sixth wicket before Scholtz, the captain, became van der Gugten’s second victim in the penultimate ball of the innings.
But all is not lost for Namibia. They have another chance to get to India. Their clash against Oman at the same venue on Thursday in Qualifier 4 will be a knockout with the winner booking their tickets for the World Twenty20 2016.
Experienced Afghanistan vs buoyant PNG:
Following a spirited display at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, Afghanistan came into the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2015 carrying plenty of hope.
They lived up to their reputation by notching up three consecutive wins, against Scotland, Netherlands and United Arab Emirates, in Group B, but a loss to Oman and rained out games against Canada and Kenya pushed them to third on the table by the end of the group stage, meaning they need to take the play-off route to qualify for the World Twenty20 2016 in India.
Afghanistan needed to get the better of Hong Kong on Tuesday (July 21) to seal their berth but went down off the last delivery of the game.
However, they have another shot when they take on Papua New Guinea, who finished fourth in Group A on Thursday (July 23), with the winner going through to India.
Ireland and Scotland have been joined by Hong Kong and Netherlands, leaving four sides to battle it out for the two remaining places.
The first of those two encounters, between Afghanistan and PNG in the third qualifying play-off, will be played at The Village in Malahide, Dublin. It will be followed by the match between Namibia and Oman at the same venue later in the day.
Afghanistan will hope for yet another good display from their batting unit and a more disciplined show from the bowlers.
On the batting front, Mohammad Shahzad, the third leading run-scorer in the tournament with 199 runs, Samiullah Shenwari and Asghar Stanikzai, the skipper, are in fine form.
Hamid Hassan and Mohammad Nabi have been the pick of the bowlers and there is plenty of quality within the ranks, but Afghanistan will have to weigh up their options at the death.
PNG finished fourth in Group A by virtue of wins against Ireland, Jersey and Nepal, and have shown that they can compete with some of the more experienced sides on an equal footing.
Assad Vala has been PNG’s most successful batsmen with 124 runs, and Tony Ura has been effective with his cameos.
Willie Gavera, the paceman, has been clinical with the ball, as has been Mahuru Dai.
Afghanistan have had a taste of the big stage and have been in such must-win, high-pressure games in the past, so they will look to call on all their experience to put it past PNG, for whom this is one of the biggest games in their cricketing history.
PNG can take positives from an impressing run in the group stage, but with so much hinging on this result, it will be as much about nerve as about skill.
Squads (from):
Afghanistan: Asghar Stanikzai (captain), Javed Ahmadi, Aftab Alam, Mirwais Ashraf, Sharafudin Ashraf, Hamid Hassan, Nawroz Mangal, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Shafiqullah Shafaq, Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Samiullah Shinwari, Dawlat Zadran, Najib Zadran, Shahpur Zadran.
Papua New Guinea: Jack Vare (captain, wk), Charles Amini, Sese Bau, John Boge Reva, Mahuru Dai, Willie Gavera, Loa Nou, Kila Pala, Pipi Raho, Lega Siaka, Chad Soper, Tony Ura, Vani Vagi, Assad Vala, Norman Vanua.