Afghanistan and Namibia extended their unbeaten run in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier UAE 2012 to five matches after they won their respective matches on Sunday.
Afghanistan defeated Canada by 41 runs in a Twenty20 International at the ICC Global Cricket Academy Oval 1, Dubai Sports City, to stay on top of Group A while Namibia defeated Kenya by seven wickets at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah to continue to head Group B.
In other crucial matches of day six of the tournament, the Netherlands made short work of Papua New Guinea (PNG) by nine wickets to record its fourth win and Nepal beat Bermuda by 24 runs for its third win in Group A, while in Group B, Ireland had the better of its traditional rival Scotland by 17 runs in a Twenty20 International which gave William Porterfield's side a fourth win while Italy was back in contention with a 13 runs victory over Uganda, its third win.
The two sides that will top their respective groups will feature in the 1st Qualifying Final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on 22 March with the winner sealing a place for the Sri Lanka tournament to be staged from 18 September to 7 October.
The sides that finish second and third in the two groups will play cross-over matches. The two winners will progress to the Preliminary Final to be played on 23 March at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The 2nd Qualifying Final - for the second spot in the ICC World Twenty20 2012 - will take place on the morning of 24 March at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium between the loser of the 1st Qualifying Final and the winner of the Preliminary Final.
The two qualifiers will then lock horns in the tournament finale on the final evening and the side that wins the match will not only lift the trophy but will also join Australia and the West Indies in Group B. The losing team will complete Group A which also includes defending champion England and 2007 winner India.
Day six produced some outstanding individual performances.
Irfan Ahmed struck 10 fours and two sixes in a 60-ball 91 and Kinchit Shah took four for 21 in Hong Kong's 35 runs victory over Denmark, Tony Ura (70) of PNG was upstaged by an all-round performance by the Netherlands' Michael Swart (two for 20 and 59 not out) and Stephan Myburgh (52), Nepal captain Paras Khadka stroked a 48-ball 65 in his side's victory over Bermuda despite Curt Stovell's impressive figures of 4-0-25-4, Ed Joyce's superb 78 not out for Ireland and equally good 62 by Kyle Coetzer for Scotland, Namibia's Louis Klazinga's spell of 3-0-9-4 which doomed Kenya, the USA's captain Sushil Nadkarni's 59 which earned his side its first win in the tournament and Italy fast bowler Gareth Berg's figures of 3.4-0-20-4 which earned the European side a 13 runs victory over Uganda.
However, Afghanistan's Samiullah Shenwari's performance stood out as the all-rounder first scored 61 off 34 balls with six fours and three sixes in his side's 174 for eight. He then returned figures of 4-0-14-4 as Canada was restricted to 133 for nine.
Shenwari, adjudged man of the match, later said: "I am grateful that I was given a chance to bat higher up the order. I am very happy to take four wickets and score 61 runs. We are all feeling very confident and I am hoping we will have six wins from six and then seven wins from seven.
"It is up to the players to keep working hard and concentrate on the cricket. We are very happy to have Kabir back coaching us and things are going well."
In the Namibia-Kenya match at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Namibia's Louis Klazinga took four for nine as Kenya lost its last nine wickets for 24 runs to be bowled out for 108 in 18.4 overs. In its reply, Namibia chased down the target with 21 balls and seven wickets to spare with Raymond van Schoor returning undefeated on 49.
Klazinga, who was declared man of the match, later said: "We started off slowly by conceding a few boundaries. It was difficult to bowl seam up. But we summed up the conditions very quickly. Luckily, it worked well for us.
"I am very happy with the show. It was a good all-round performance by us. To pull it back from the position they were in at 84-1 was great for us. We batted very well and knocked off the runs pretty easily. The morale in the camp is very good. We are taking it as it comes and it has been going good for us."
In a match between the arch rivals, Ireland prevailed over Scotland by 17 runs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Ed Joyce clubbed the last two deliveries of Ireland's innings for maximum to lift his side to 159 for five. In turn, Scotland finished at 142 for seven, despite Kyle Coetzer's 62 off 52 balls.
Joyce, who struck six four and three sixes, later said: "We knew 160 would be a par score on a wicket which was good to bat on. So, I am really delighted that I able to hit the sixes which took us to that total which we thought we could defend.
"It was also good to hit sixes off the final two deliveries as twenty20 format is not my strength unlike the 50-over or four-day format. But I think I am playing well and hitting the ball nicely which is good as we approach a very crucial stage of the tournament."
At the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, Nepal captain Paras Khadka hit an unbeaten 65 and claimed one for 31 to help his side score 24 runs victory over Bermuda.
He later said: "Bermuda didn't play that badly against us but they were always going to struggle to chase down 150 against our bowling. It was a good effort by our bowlers but maybe we could have improved a bit, but that's always the case in any game."
Scores in brief
Group A
Afghanistan beats Canada by 41 runs at ICC GCA Oval 1, Dubai Sports City
Afghanistan 174-8, 20 overs (Samiullah Shenwari 61, Karim Sadiq 36, Mohammad Shahzad 27; Zahid Hussain 3-16, Harvir Baidwan 2-49)
Canada 133-9, 20 overs (Nitish Kumar 38, Samiullah Shenwari 4-14, Dawlat Zadran 2-23)
Man of the match: Samiullah Shenwari (Afghanistan)
Hong Kong beats Denmark by 35 runs at ICC GCA Oval 1, Dubai Sports City
Hong Kong 170-5, 20 overs (Irfan Ahmed 91, James Atkinson 31, Babar Hayat 28; Bobby Chawla 3-19)
Denmark 135-9, 20 overs (Aftab Ahmed 39, Frederik Klokker 27, Kamran Mahmood 25; Kinchit Shah 4-21, Munir Dar 2-18)
Man of the match: Irfan Ahmed (Hong Kong)
Netherlands beats PNG by nine wickets at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
PNG 140-7, 20 overs (Tony Ura 70, Chris Amini 44; Peter Borren 3-24, Michael Swart 2-20)
Netherlands 141-1, 16.1 overs (Michael Swart 59 not out, Stephan Myburgh 52)
Man of the match: Michael Swart (Netherlands)
Nepal beats Bermuda by 24 runs at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Nepal 151-6, 20 overs (Paras Khadka 65 not out, Sharad Vesawkar 44; Curt Stovell 4-25, Josclyn Pitcher2-29)
Bermuda 127-5, 20 overs (Janeiro Tucker 32, David Hemp 26; Shakti Gauchan 3-17)
Man of the match: Paras Khadka (Nepal)
Group B
Ireland beats Scotland by 17 runs at Dubai International Stadium, Dubai Sports City
Ireland 159-5, 20 over (Ed Joyce 78 not out, Gary Wilson 26, Alex Cusack 22; Majid Haq 2-18)
Scotland 142-7, 20 overs (Kyle Coetzer , Fraser Watts 33; Kevin O'Brien 3-34, Trent Johnston 2-23)
Man of the match: Ed Joyce (Ireland)
Namibia beats Kenya by seven wickets at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Kenya 108 all out, 18.4 overs (Duncan Allan 40, Collins Obuya 31; Louis Klazinga 4-9, Christoffel Viljoen 2-5)
Namibia 109-3, 16.3 overs (Raymond van Schoor 49 not out, Gerrie Snyman 22)
Man of the match: Louis Klazinga (Namibia)
USA beats Oman by 30 runs Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai Sports City
USA 141-7, 20 overs (Sushil Nadkarni 59, Abhimanyu Rajp 20; Zeeshan Siddiqui 2-19)
Oman 111-7, 20 overs (Vaibhav Wategaonkar 30, Adnan Ilyas 24; Japen Patil 3-29, Abhimanyu Rajp 2-23)
Man of the match: Usman Shuja (USA)
Italy beats Uganda by 13 runs at Sharjah Cricket Stadum, Sharjah
Italy 131-7, 20 overs (Damian Crowley 44, Carl Sandri 26, Andrew Northcote 23; Jonathan Sebanja 2-14, Deusdedit Muhumuza 2-19)
Uganda 118 all out, 19.4 overs (Charles Waiswa 25 not out, Deusdedit Muhumuza 24; Gareth Berg 4-20)
Man of the match: Gareth Berg (Italy)
| Teams | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | N/R | Pts | Net RR |
| Afghanistan | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1.764 |
| Netherlands | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1.008 |
| Canada | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.396 |
| Nepal | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.328 |
| PNG | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -0.005 |
| Hong Kong | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -0.196 |
| Denmark | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2.101 |
| Bermuda | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.292 |
| Teams | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | N/R | Pts | NetRR |
| Namibia | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1.032 |
| Ireland | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1.793 |
| Italy | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.405 |
| Scotland | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.34 |
| Uganda | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -0.362 |
| Kenya | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -0.897 |
| USA | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.648 |
| Oman | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.731 |
Monday's schedule
Netherlands v Nepal (1000-1300), Global Cricket Academy No.1, Dubai Sports City
Scotland v Italy (1000-1300), Global Cricket Academy No.2, Dubai Sports City
Kenya v USA (1000-1300), Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Afghanistan v Hong Kong (1000-1300), Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
PNG v Bermuda (1400-1700), Global Cricket Academy No.1, Dubai Sports City
Ireland v Uganda (1400-1700), Global Cricket Academy No.2, Dubai Sports City
Canada v Denmark (1400-1700), Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Namibia v Oman (1400-1700), Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
