Zimbabwe and Netherlands have become the last two teams to qualify for the T20 World Cup 2022 with their respective wins in the semi-finals of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier B on Friday (July 15). Netherlands fought well to see off a spirited effort from USA. They beat USA by seven wickets for victory in their semi-final after restricting them to 138 in 19.4 overs even as Zimbabwe held of a valiant PNG by 27 runs.
It was a dream start for the USA, who were hoping to make their first global ICC tournament. The in-form Steven Taylor and skipper Monank Patel laid a solid foundation with a 51-run opening stand from in just five overs. Paul van Meekeren drew the first blood for the Netherlands with an all-important wicket of Taylor, who fell for 26 – his lowest score in the tournament so far. Unfortunately for the USA, the wicket triggered a collapse.
Chasing 139, the Netherlands got off to a shaky start, having lost their opener Stephan Myburgh for a duck to Saurabh Netravalkar. After the early hiccup, Max O'Dowd and Bas de Leede batted with caution. In the end, captain Scott Edwards took the side through to a second consecutive ICC Men's T20 World Cup appearance.
In the other semi-final, the tournament hosts Zimbabwe's decision to have a bat first turned out to be a fruitful one. The experienced duo of Regis Chakabva and skipper Craig Ervine provided a good start, with the former adopting an aggressive approach. Chakabva struck the first boundary of the match in the very first over, and followed that up with a flurry of fours – three back-to-back off Sema Kamea. An over later, he smacked a six, looking even more dangerous. The middle-order contributed with valuable runs, helping their side post a strong 199/5 from the allotted 20 overs. PNG could only manage 172/8 after 20 overs, falling short by 27 runs. The home crowd went wild as Zimbabwe sealed their place in the marquee event in Australia.
The last team to qualify for the ICC Men's #T20WorldCup 2022 _
See you in Australia, @ZimCricketv _
More _ https://t.co/OsuciyMrAR pic.twitter.com/q94G2PFlef
— ICC (@ICC) July 15, 2022
Australia calling _
Netherlands have booked their spot in the ICC Men's #T20WorldCup 2022 _ pic.twitter.com/lPJLQhrOCe
— ICC (@ICC) July 15, 2022
Confirmed teams:
Hosts - Australia (defending champions)
Top 11 teams from the 2021 ICC Men's T20 WC - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, England, India, Namibia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies
Top two teams from Global Qualifier A - Ireland and United Arab Emirates
Top two teams from Global Qualifier B - Netherlands and Zimbabwe
