Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran combined to douse Nepal’s hopes of a shock win over West Indies at the Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Harare.
The duo both hit centuries to rescue the two-time World Cup winners after a fine start from Nepal.
The Caribbean side were 9-2, and the 55-3 in the 16th over, but Pooran – who benefitted from two dropped catches – and Hope shared 216 for the fourth wicket.
The stand crushed Nepal’s hopes. In reply to West Indies’ tally of 339-7, the Asian side were bowled out for 238, losing by 101 runs.
Hope, the West Indies captain, acknowledged his side had been rocked by their lower-ranked opposition, but was pleased to help lead a turnaround.
“I am just happy that I came good for the team,” said Hope, who was the player of the match for his innings of 132.
“We were put on the back foot there, so I’m happy to get the team over the line today.
“The key was absorbing as much pressure as possible and then find a way to transfer that pressure in the back end. Pooran [who made 115 before being expertly caught and bowled by Dipendra Singh Airee] made it a lot easier for me."
It was the 15th ODI century of the Barbadian batter’s career, but he acknowledged it was not his most fluent.
“I don't think I hit the targets where I wanted to but happy to just bat as deep as I possibly could there,” Hope said.
“The team really needed me. They bowled well, I must commend their bowlers, especially their spinners, they stuck to their task well.
“We batted well in that period to overcome their spin threat. There's obviously room for improvement, so we need to make sure we are ticking those boxes going into the next game.”
It was Nepal’s second defeat in three matches so far in the competition, and they realistically need a win against the Netherlands in their next game on Saturday to make it to the Super Six.
Rohit Paudel, Nepal’s captain, rued an uncharacteristic off day in the field, and suggested his side had felt the burden of the occasion, playing against one of cricket’s leading nations.
“In the early stages our bowlers bowled really well but we dropped a few catches,” Paudel said.
“Usually we do better fielding but today we missed a few opportunities. We could have done better, but both Pooran and Hope batted really well.
“We are a good fielding side, but [made mistakes] because of the occasion. We want to improve that in the next match.”
The competition, which carries with it the final two qualifying places for the World Cup in India later this year, continues in Bulawayo on Friday.
The UAE will be targeting a first win in the tournament when they play Scotland, who stunned Ireland last time out, at Bulawayo Athletic Club.
Across the city at Queen’s Sports Club, top of the table Oman will play Sri Lanka.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Usain Bolt's World Championships record
2007 Osaka
200m Silver
4x100m relay Silver
2009 Berlin
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
2011 Daegu
100m Disqualified in final for false start
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
2013 Moscow
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
2015 Beijing
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
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KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN MARITIME DISPUTE
2000: Israel withdraws from Lebanon after nearly 30 years without an officially demarcated border. The UN establishes the Blue Line to act as the frontier.
2007: Lebanon and Cyprus define their respective exclusive economic zones to facilitate oil and gas exploration. Israel uses this to define its EEZ with Cyprus
2011: Lebanon disputes Israeli-proposed line and submits documents to UN showing different EEZ. Cyprus offers to mediate without much progress.
2018: Lebanon signs first offshore oil and gas licencing deal with consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek.
2018-2019: US seeks to mediate between Israel and Lebanon to prevent clashes over oil and gas resources.
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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1.
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United States
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2.
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China
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3.
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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7.
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Singapore
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8.
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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The biog
Age: 19
Profession: medical student at UAE university
Favourite book: The Ocean at The End of The Lane by Neil Gaiman
Role model: Parents, followed by Fazza (Shiekh Hamdan bin Mohammed)
Favourite poet: Edger Allen Poe
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Notable cricketers and political careers
- India: Kirti Azad, Navjot Sidhu and Gautam Gambhir (rumoured)
- Pakistan: Imran Khan and Shahid Afridi (rumoured)
- Sri Lanka: Arjuna Ranatunga, Sanath Jayasuriya, Tillakaratne Dilshan (rumoured)
- Bangladesh (Mashrafe Mortaza)
