(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Dubai - The top rated sides in the ongoing 14-team ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2015 at eight centres in Ireland and Scotland have maintained form so far to justify the trust put on them by the seeding committee.
Six of the top sides from the event will make it to the T20 world cup in India in 2016. Scotland after a superb outing against the UAE were not as impressive in their second and third outings while the UAE who made it to the 2014 Twenty20 World Cup in Bangladesh have still to win a match.
The UAE are in a predicament they did not expect before they began their campaign in the cold windy conditions of the isles either side of the Irish Sea this summer. They have been put in a situation of having to hope for the best in must win last three games in Group B. Mohammad Tauqir's men have Canada to play on Tuesday (1pm UAE time start) and meet Kenya on Wednesday (5.15pm UAE time start). Their final Group B game is against Oman beginning on Friday (1pm UAE time start). Tauqir has been critical yet encouraging and has not given up on the chances of the UAE making it to the next phase, at least as the third placed side as the Scots too have run into inconsistent form after their easy opening win against the ECB lads.
"The batting has been woefully short of application except in one or two situations but we lost again due to the poor choice of strokes as the innings moved into the final phases whether while batting or fielding.
"Sometimes we have to bat along and wait a little patiently without too much of risks in the beginning with singles and twos and then shift gears and hope for the best. We still have a chance to move forward in this long tournament and will never give up."
In a Sunday fixture, the Gulf's second representative in the event, Oman, made light work of Canada's respectable 133 off 13 overs in a rain-affected game at Stirling. Zeeshan Maqsood smashed an unbeaten 86 off just 41 balls, including five sixes and nine fours, as Oman passed Canada's score with 10 balls and seven wickets to spare.
In Group B, Afghanistan look the best side so far in the qualifiers for the ICC Twenty20 World Cup-2016 in India.
They have established their dominance with three convincing victories over the other top sides in the pool - the Netherlands, UAE and Scotland, the latest being the adventurous batting against the highlanders, one of the pre-event favourites behind champions Ireland.
About Afghan star Mohammad Shahzad, UAE coach Aqib Javed said: "Shahzad is an explosive batsman, who can turn things around in an over or two against any side. He is so dangerous and when into a groove, can demolish good length deliveries consistently."
Ireland were not as comfortable as one might have thought they would be against USA in Group A on Sunday before pocketing another two points for their third straight win in as many fixtures.
The Netherlands were too good and organised for the UAE with slow left-armer and Man of the Match Roelof van der Merwe (2-10 off four overs) mainly restricting UAE to 119-7, a total that the Dutch passed without fuss as Ben Cooper came up with a fine unbeaten 50.
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