UAE cricket World Cup hopes alive after big win over Canada

Shaiman Anwar scores century before Mohammad Naved and Nasir Aziz take four wickets each to power Emirates to 46-run victory in World Cricket League Championship match.

Shaiman Anwar scored an unbeaten 102 against Canada in King City on Tuesday. Chris Young / The National
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Shaiman Anwar and Rohan Mustafa put together an unbeaten 147-run partnership before Mohammad Naveed and Nasir Aziz each took four wickets as the UAE beat Canada by 46 runs in an ICC World Cricket League Championship game in King City late on Tuesday.

The win boosts the Emirates' chances of qualifying for the 50-over World Cup in 2015, to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

Canada won the toss and Rizwan Cheema, the captain, put the tourists to bat. It looked like a good toss to win as the Canada seamers had the UAE on the backfoot throughout the first 30 overs.

Thereafter, though, Anwar and Mustafa scored at a fast clip with the former scoring a brilliant 102 off just 109 deliveries. Mustafa chipped in with 68 off 61 balls as the pair took their team from 122 to 269 at the end of their 50-over quota.

In response, the hosts lost wickets at regular intervals as Naveed, the medium pacer, and Aziz, the off-spinner, made inroads into the batting line-up.

Ruvindu Gunasekera (50) and Usman Limbada (58) were the only batsmen to score half-centuries.

The win has pushed UAE up to fourth in the championship table with 12 points from 11 games.

Two teams gain automatic qualification for the 2015 World Cup with the third and final spot going to the winners of a World Cup qualifying tournament to be held next year.

Ireland have already made the cut by virtue of topping the championship table. The Netherlands and Scotland are joint second on 15 apoints but have played 12 matches as opposed to the UAE's 11.

Khurram Khan's team have one more match to go against Canada and two home games against Namibia in October.

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