(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Afghanistan expectedly stormed into the semifinals of the T20 Desert Challenge with another convincing win over Namibia at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday.
The Pool A toppers await Scotland or Oman from Pool B in the last four to be played on Friday.
Having brushed aside Ireland and hosts UAE in their previous two league matches, it was a foregone conclusion against Namibia. And, after winning the toss and electing to bat, the ninth-ranked country in T20s posted 167 for 6 from their 20 overs.
Openers Mohammad Shahzad and Nowroz Mandal gave them the ideal start with a 56-run partnership. While Shahzad scored a run-a-ball 31 with two sixes and a four, Mangal spanked three fours and a six for his 32 from 25 balls.
Captain and one-down batsman Asghar Stanikzai kept the tempo of run scoring to eight runs an over but Naibullah Zadran departed after scoring only three.
Asghar continued to play positively and with Samiullah Shenwari also in aggressive mode the two batsmen put on 55 quick runs.
Asghar fell for 31 from 23 balls after thumping two sixes and a four but Shenwari bolstered the score with a quick-fire 35 from just 19 balls. His knock was peppered with two sixes and an equal number of fours.
If the batsmen gave Afghanistan a decent total to defend then man of the match Rashid Khan bowled superbly to bag three wickets for four runs from just 2.2 overs. He also had a hand in a run-out.
Brief scores:
Afghanistan beat Namibia by 64 runs
Afghanistan 167 for 6 in 20 overs (Samiullah Shenwari 35, Nowroz Mangal 32, Mohammad Shahzad 31, Asghar Stanikzai 31; Bernard Scholtz 3/17, Christopher Coombe 2/37) Namibia 103 all out in 19.2 overs (Jan Frylinck 28, Gerrie Snyman 26; Rashid Khan 3/4, Amir Hamza 2/24). Man of the match: Rashid Khan.
Hong Kong bt Netherlands by 91 runs
Hong Kong 183 for 4 in 20 overs (Nizakat Khan 59, Anshuman Rath 44, Waqas Khan 33) Netherlands 92 in 15.3 overs (Ben Cooper 22; Anshuman Rath 3 for 6, Nadeem Ahmad 2 for 26, Ehsan Khan 2 for 17). Man of the match: Anshuman Rath.
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