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Windies bowlers deliver in must-win tie

Skipper Jason Holder led from the front with a four-wicket haul as West Indies defeated UAE by six wickets in their crucial final round-robin Pool B match to reach the quarterfinal of the World Cup on Sunday.

Opting to field after winning the toss, Holder (4/27) got useful support from fellow fast medium bowler Jerome Taylor, who returned figures of 3/36, to help West Indies bundle out their opponents for a paltry 175 in 47.4 overs at the McLean Park. Lower-order batsmen Nasir Aziz (60) and Amjad Javed (56) emerged as the main contributors for the side batting first after the top and middle-order failed miserably. In reply, the West Indies chased down the target in 30.3 overs.

West Indies, who now have three victories and as many defeats from six games, pipped Ireland in net run rate to seal last eight birth after the latter lost to Pakistan in the final group match played in Adelaide Oval.

After being bowled out so cheaply, it was always going to be a difficult task for the UAE bowlers, even in the absence of the big-hitting opener Chris Gayle in the opposition line-up. Johnson Charles made a brisk 55 off 40 balls with the help of nine fours and two sixes, getting the chase off to a quick start. West Indies, though, lost Dwayne Smith and Marlon Samuels cheaply. After Charles’ dismissal, Jonathan Carter (50 not out) guided the team home in the company of Denesh Ramdin, who contributed an unbeaten 33 off 50 balls with the help of two fours.During his 58-ball knock, Carter found the fence five times.

BRIEFSCORES West Indies 176 for 4 (Charles 55, Carter 50*) beat UAE 175 (Aziz 60, Javed 56, Holder 4-27) by six wickets.

World Cup good learning curve, says UAE skipper
Notwithstanding defeats in all their Pool games, UAE captain Mohammad Tauqir on Sunday said the mega event was a good learning experience for his side. “It was a good learning experience for us. Also it was very enjoyable,” Tauqir said. The 43-year-old said the side will go back home with some positives and look forward to the World T20 qualification in July. “There were some positives from this World Cup. We have the T20 World Cup qualification ahead of us in July. Overall it was a decent performance from us in this tournament,” the skipper said as his boys finished with six consecutive losses.
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