CWC Qualifier Day 8 preview: Ireland fight for survival, Oman face Scotland

Group B at CWC Qualifier will get interesting as Ireland will fight for survival against Sri Lanka. Oman and Scotland will face each other in a battle to determine who will finish second in the group

Ireland’s dream of participating in yet another ODI World Cup is hanging by a thread as they face Sri Lanka in a group B encounter at the Cricket World Cup Qualifier.

The Irish, who have lost their first two games against Oman and Scotland, must win their remaining two games against Sri Lanka and UAE. Not only this, they would also need to make sure that their net run rate is better than Scotland and Oman, both of whom have already won two games and would be going against each other for a third win and a place in the super six in the second game of the day. 

Full of players with great potential, Ireland have choked at the very end of the tunnel in both of their previous games. It is the last hurdle that they have been unable to cross. Sri Lanka have been the best team in the group so far and therefore Ireland face an uphill task. A loss today will spell the end of the Irish dream. 

SRI vs IRE, CWC Qualifier 2023: Details

Match No.- 15

Date- 25 June 2023

Time- 12:30 pm IST, 09:00 am Local Time

Venue- Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo

Series- Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023

Live Stream and Broadcast in India: Disney Plus Hotstar, Fancode and Star Sports

Sri Lanka probable playing 11

Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis (wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka (c), Dhananjaya de Silva, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara

Ireland probable playing 11

Andy McBrine, Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie (c), Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Joshua Little, Benjamin White

Sri Lanka vs Ireland CWC Qualifier, Pitch Report

The Bulawayo pitch has started to show its true colours. In back-to-back games, scoring runs has become difficult for batters. Wanindu Hasaranga has been at his lethal best for Sri Lanka with the ball. The leggie would love to pick up yet another five-wicket haul here. Spinners are more likely to get successful at this venue. 

What about the second game?

In the second game of the day, Scotland and Oman would look to go for the kill and book their place in the super six. Their place is almost fixed as second and third-placed teams. But it has not been formalised as Ireland might come from behind and win its last two games to force changes. Therefore, both these teams would not want to leave any chance of their next stage qualification to fate. 

Scotland have been unbeaten so far, getting brilliant wins against Ireland (come-from-behind one-wicket victory) and UAE (huge 111 runs win). They are missing key players and yet giving their best to reach the super six first and eventually their first ODI World Cup since 2015. 

Oman were humbled by Sri Lanka in their last game. However, prior to their 10-wicket defeat against the Asian giants, the team from the Gulf did well to beat UAE and Ireland.  This match against Scotland is going to be mouth-watering as Oman would like to leave behind their humiliation against Sri Lanka and write a fresh chapter in their already historic World Cup Qualifier campaign. 

SCO vs OMA, CWC Qualifier 2023: Details

Match No.- 16

Date- 25 June 2023

Time- 12:30 pm IST, 09:00 am Local Time

Venue- Bulawayo Athletic Club, Bulawayo

Series- Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023

Live Stream  and Broadcast in India: Disney Plus Hotstar, Fancode and Star Sports

Scotland probable playing 11

Christopher McBride, Matthew Cross (wk), Brandon McMullen, Jack Jarvis, Richie Berrington (c), Tomas Mackintosh, Michael Leask, Chris Greaves, Mark Watt, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole

Oman probable playing 11

Kashyap Prajapati, Jatinder Singh, Aqib Ilyas, Shoaib Khan, Zeeshan Maqsood (c), Mohammad Nadeem, Ayaan Khan, Naseem Khushi (wk), Bilal Khan, Jay Odedra, Fayyaz Butt

Scotland vs Oman, CWC Qualifier pitch report

Bulawayo Athletic Club ground has produced quality wickets so far and Scotland won their last game at this venue. Oman have managed to win both their games here. It has something for everyone (batter and bowler) involved and therefore becomes the best venue to play cricket in Bulawayo. 

Bulawayo Weather Forecast

It will be bright and sunny throughout the day in Bulawayo as the temperature will increase from 14 Degrees Celcius at 09:00 am Local time to 25 degrees Celcius at about 03:00 pm and then decrease back to 22 degrees Celcius by 05:00 pm. There are no chances of rain at all.